Galactic
by The Blue Engine
Summary: When four trainers leave on their league journeys, and one trainer arrives unexpectedly in Sinnoh, they do not expect to find themselves entangled in the plots of Team Galactic. But as they are drawn into a deadly and dangerous war, they are forced to deal with their own faults and each other as they slowly uncover Cyrus' real plot could destroy not only Sinnoh but the world
1. Prologue: Ilex Forest

**Prologue: ****Ilex****Forest**

_January 02 2010_

Ilex Forest: Johto

The sun was setting at Ilex Forest, sucking all of the green and brown away with it, to be replaced by black. Within minutes, it was difficult to make out the trees without the use of some sort of light. Caterpies, Weedles, Metapods and Kakunas rested for the night, while Oddishs emerged and the number of Zubats and Paras' blossomed.  
Watching all of these Pokemon coming and going was a boy and a Typhlosion.

Charles Golden was fifteen years old, and had lived in New Bark Town for the majority of his life. At thirteen, he had started his Pokemon journey, and had set off with a Cyndaquil and an Eevee. He had caught several more Pokemon since then, and he nearly conquered the Elite Four, but was defeated after a dramatic battle with Lance, leaving his entire team unconscious, and only managing to knock out one of the champions Pokemon. Charles was now planning his rematch, and was training himself as well. He had just finished his daily run, and was wearing his running outfit: a dark blue jacket with white lines down the middle and side with matching shorts and a white shirt underneath. Cyndaquil had evolved into a powerful Typhlosion now, and the starter always joined in on the run, and seemed to be enjoying the exercise.

"Should we head back now?" Charles asked, his face red from exhaustion.

"Typhlo." Typhlosion replied, and Charles nodded. The two turned around, preparing to leave, when a girl appeared from behind a tree.

"Oh, hey Lyla." Charles said with a smile. Lyla and Charles had been dating for the past few months, but the two been good friends for many years, and had even begun their Pokemon journeys together. Lyla was wearing an outfit identical to Charles', except that it was pink, not blue.

"I thought I would come along for the run as well." She said, and her Marill followed her out from behind the tree, but she looked very tired compared to Typhlosion, who had barely broken a sweat.

"That's nice, but we were just about to head back." Charles said. Lyla looked at him, a sad expression on her face.  
"We could run back together." Charles added, and his girlfriend's face lit up, and she rushed forwards and kissed him on the cheek.

"Very well, but don't beat me back there." Lyla huffed, and turned around. Charles and Typhlosion went to follow, when something flashed behind them, casting an eerie green glow onto the surrounding area.

"What the hell is that?" Charles gasped, and they all turned around.

In front of the shrine, there was a large circle of green light, stretching several metres. The two trainers covered their eyes, the light nearly blinding them. Bolts that looked almost like green electricity was shooting out of the light, making firework sounds. The noise stopped, and there was a wave of green energy, blasting Charles, Lyla and Marill backwards, but Typhlosion rushed over and saved them from hitting a tree.

"Charles, what is happening?" Lyla huffed, and stamped her foot.

"I don't know what it is." Charles grunted, as the green light was still glowing, but gradually dying down. As it disappeared, the two noticed that something was forming.

"I think that's a Pokemon." Lyla said, and fumbled for her PokeDex.

"I know that one!" Charles exclaimed. "There was a book about it at Professor Elm's. If I am right, than that is Celebi."

"What is a Celebi?" Lyla asked.

"It is a legendary, like Lugia and Ho-Oh, and is said to have the ability to travel through time." Charles explained. The light fully disappeared, and a small green and white Pokemon remained, floating in front of the shrine. It had big blue eyes, small wings and a curving head.

"That thing is so cute!" Lyla said, and began to edge forwards, clutching an Ultra Ball. "Come on Marill, it is time to catch another Pokemon."

"Lyla, don't try to catch it!" Charles warned. "It is meant to be a peaceful Pokemon, just leave it." But Lyla rushed forwards, Marill waddling behind.

"Phlosion." Typhlosion growled, and stared at his trainer.

"I'm going!" Charles replied, and ran forwards, his starter following behind. Lyla was rushing towards Celebi, ready to aim. Celebi was flying around the shrine, its eyes staring intensely at it. Lyla looked at Marill, and mouthed to her to use Water Gun.

"Ma-rill!" Marill cried, and fired a small jet of water. Celebi dodged perfectly, and hid behind the shrine.

"Darn." Lyla growled.

"Just leave it be." Charles snapped.

"Don't tell me what to do." Lyla growled, and threw the Ultra Ball, hoping it would work. Celebi blasted it back with a Magical Leaf, and then flew up into the air, and moved behind them, glowing green.

"I don't think that is very good." Charles said, and was proven right when the green light stretched out, covering them. Inside the light was much different: there was more green electricity, which Charles realised were strands of time. Celebi appeared to be encased in a green orb, and its eyes were shut firmly. Large rifts formed like compass points around Celebi, which showed rock faces and a pathway.

"CHARLES!" Lyla yelled. There was a bang, and Marill and Lyla yelled, and the four were all sucked away into the rifts, along with the light, electricity and Celebi.

* * *

_December 31st 2007_

Route 22

Charles, Lyla, Typhlosion and Marill landed on a footpath, their bodies numb and unresponsive. They were once again surrounded by green light, and were joined by Celebi seconds later.

"Where are we?" Charles asked.

"How am I supposed to know?" Lyla shrieked.

"I think I have walked down here before, does it look like Route 22 to you?" Charles asked, and checked his PokeGear. Typhlosion nodded, and walked over to Celebi.

"Typhlosion Ty Phlo Typhlo." He said, and Celebi began to chatter excitedly.

"I hate when Pokemon talk, it is impossible to understand." Lyla huffed. Charles rolled his eyes, and something caught his attention.

"Quick, to the side." He whispered, and dragged Lyla and Typhlosion behind a rock. Celebi followed. Charles poked his head around, and could see two figures standing a bit away from them. One of them had a trench coat on, along with a wide brimmed hat which successfully covered the majority of his face. The other person had messy red hair and a pale, unfriendly face. He was younger, and seemed to be angry about something.

"I think that is Silver." Charles whispered to Lyla. She looked as well, and nodded.

"But who is the man in the trench coat?" She asked. Celebi looked excited, and quickly tried to talk to them, but they didn't understand a word. Charles tried to listen to the conversation. Silver was having a disagreement with the man, and was yelling at him.

"I don't care what you want!" Silver was saying. "I want to start my journey tomorrow with the other trainers."

"Silver, I am your father; therefore I need you to obey." The man in the trench coat snapped, and Lyla gasped. "I need your assistance with my new plans."

"Just let me be." Silver roared. "I am going to Professor Elm's tomorrow and getting my starter." His father remained still for a minute, but then turned and headed towards Johto. Silver watched him leave, but headed towards the group. They watched him walk away, and Charles then turned to Lyla

"I didn't know Silver had any family." Lyla said. "I thought he was just moody and grumpy."

"Everyone has a family." Charles said, looking quite grumpily at his girlfriend. Lyla looked a bit ashamed, but Celebi  
was still buzzing around.

"What do you want?" Lyla growled. Marill and Typhlosion rolled their eyes, and the trainers exchanged looks. But then Celebi began to glow green, and they prepared to transform.

* * *

April 23 2009

They appeared outside of a cave, which Charles checked on his PokeGear.

"We're in Johto, but I don't quite know which part though." He announced. Lyla nodded, and they looked at Celebi. The legendary was pointing inside the cave, and they walked over. Inside, there was a man, sitting on a rock and clutching a lamp. A radio was beside him, playing out a familiar message.

"I recognise that." Lyla said.

"Yeah, it's the message that Apollo sent out a couple of months ago." Charles replied.

"Ma Marill." Marill said, and pointed excitedly at the man.

"Ssssh!" Lyla growled, but this was what alerted the man. Charles tried to drag her out of the way, but the man turned around. Charles noticed the hat, and realised it was Silver's father.

"I have had to put up with enough pesky trainers in my lifetime, so I recommend you leave right now." The man snarled, and turned away.

"Not until we know who you are." Lyla said, smiling suspiciously. The man turned around, a vicious expression on his face, and the female trainer backed down, and quickly brought Marill back into her PokeBall. Celebi flew in between the two, and the man suddenly smiled.

"Ah... the elusive Celebi." He smirked. "I have had task forces looking for his creature for many years now, but it decided to find me instead, how fascinating." He reached out to touch it, but Charles ran forwards and pulled it backwards.

"Who are you, and why do you have 'task forces'?" He asked. The man stepped backwards, and stared quizzically at him.

"My name is Giovanni, and I created the organization Team Rocket, which you may have heard of." Lyla gasped, but Charles hid his shock.

"Yes, we have heard of them, and have even met some people on several occasions."

"Really? Well, I shouldn't be surprised. After the issues I had in Kanto, I always presumed other brats would get in my way over here." Giovanni sighed, and paced around the cave. Lyla clung onto Charles, petrified by the man in front of them. Giovanni stopped, turned to them, and pulled out an Ultra Ball.

"Would one of you care for a battle?" He said.

"Um... a battle?" Charles asked. "Really?"

"I don't see why not." Giovanni retorted. "Since I gave up the Viridian Gym, I don't get to battle that much." He sighed again, but stared intensely at Charles. 'So, what do you say, a double battle?" Charles then smiled wickedly.

"Of course." He nodded. "Typhlosion, sit this one out."

"Phlo Typhlosion." The Volcano Pokemon said, and stayed with Lyla and Celebi.

"Ok, come on out my royals!" Giovanni said, and threw two UltraBalls onto the field. After a flash of white light, a Nidoking and a Nidoqueen emerged, both letting out a roar as they did so. Charles smiled, and Lyla couldn't resist a laugh.

"Dragonite, Lugia, battle positions!" Charles yelled, and threw a Safari Ball and a Master Ball onto the field. There was a flash of green and a flash of purple, and two Pokemon came out, causing Giovanni to gasp. Dragonite choose not to fly, instead standing in front of Nidoking, towering over him. Lugia floated above the field, it's wings and tail bending to allow it to move comfortably.

"I think I'll go first." Charles smiled, as Giovanni stared, stunned. "Dragonite and Lugia, Draco Meteor and Aeroblast combination!" Lugia rose up more, and began to spin around, a wind forming in the cave. Dragonite's eyes glowed orange, and an orange ball formed inside his mouth. As Lugia spun, the wind formed inside its right wing, using the cup-like shape to catch it. Dragonite then fired the orange ball so it was align with Lugia's chest. Lugia then stopped spinning, an orange-purple ball now formed, and then clapped its wings together, releasing a tornado. It struck the Draco Meteor, and multi coloured meteors joined the tornado. It struck both of the Nido's, knocking them against the back of the cave, and rendering them unconscious.  
"Nice job!" Charles said, and danced a little. Giovanni stared at his two unconscious Pokemon, and then turned towards Charles.

"How dare you disgrace me!" He roared, and quickly whipped a gun of his pocket. Lyla screamed, and the three Pokemon rushed to block their trainer. Giovanni fired, and Celebi sped forwards, blocking the path. The bullet entered Celebi's body directly underneath the heart. Charles and Lyla gasped, and the Pokemon edged backwards.

"Draga Nite Dragonite!" Dragonite exclaimed, and knocked Lyla to the ground. Typhlosion rushed for Charles, leaving the trainer confused, but noticed Celebi was glowing a much darker green. Bolts of the green electricity flew out, nearly hitting Typhlosion. Charles was shocked, as bolts now surrounded him, encasing him inside the green light.

"CHARLES, GET OUT!" Lyla whimpered.

"TYPHLOSION!" Typhlosion yelled, and fired a Flamethrower, but it disappeared before striking the light. Giovanni let out a laugh, glad that Charles was suffering. Charles reached out, trying to get to his Pokemon, but he began to choke, and was dragged into the time rift. Lyla watched in horror, and the light disappeared, and Celebi landed with a thump on the ground.

"Well, isn't this interesting." Giovanni said, turning the gun towards Lyla, unaware that there was a blue light forming in the middle of the cave...

* * *

January 02 2010

Lake Verity, Sinnoh

Charles was yelling: it felt like his chest was being crushed. All he could see was green light. For some reason, the journey was taking longer this time. His hair was standing on end, and goose bumps ran down his body. Finally, he was spat out of the portal, but quickly realised he was in mid-air. He began to fall, and he started to scream louder. Below, he could see a lake. He rolled, trying to get towards it. He felt for his other three PokeBalls, and pulled the one he needed out.

"Gyarados, save me!" He yelled, and threw it. The ball fell, and opened to release red light and a number of golden stars. The ball came back to Charles as a shiny red Gyarados formed. Charles flew past it, and the large sea serpent quickly flew down. Charles was still yelling. As he fell, he saw two houses to one side of the lake, and a giant rock in the middle. And as he reached the water, he could also see a figure and a Pokemon standing by the lake. There was another flash as this figure release their own Pokemon. Charles knew it wouldn't help, he was inches from the water's surface. But Gyarados had caught up, and clamped down onto his trainer, but couldn't stop and crashed into the lake. Charles had his back outside of his Pokemon, and felt the impact, which finally knocked him out.


	2. The Beginning

_January 01 2010_

Diamond Estate, Verity Lakefront, Sinnoh

As the sun began to rise over the small town of Sandgem, many people were only just going to sleep after a long night or partying 2009 away. The streets were silent, except for a van delivering milk and two teens on paper routes. Kids were stirring in their beds, while drunk parents tried to get some sleep before they awoke. Snow had stopped falling for the time being, and the sun was already causing it to slowly melt away.

Halfway between Sandgem Town and Lake Verity (one of the three main lakes of the region), two large mansions stood side by side, each one was 1500 acres, with a 120 acre house. Both areas used to be one large farm, but the families that owned it decided to get rid of the livestock and rebuild the houses. Large hedges surrounded the properties, and there were small houses for the gardeners, cleaners and butlers that worked for them, along with large garages and Pokemon training facilities.

At the Diamond Estate, the three storey house was a pale blue with white for the windows and pillars. A pointed, grey tile roof was on top, and a three metre wide fountain stood in front of the front steps, a large diamond on a podium in the middle. Wrought-iron gates were attached to two blue pillars at the front of the house, and a cobbled driveway stretched for nearly a kilometre past trees, bandstands, a large pond and a miniature golf course.

Directly behind the house, there was a large bandstand, an Olympic sized swimming pool, a garden that stretched one hedge to the next, with pale yellow brick paths entwining around them to make a pattern of a Ninetales, the only Pokemon currently owned by Lady Carolina, the wife and part owner of the Diamond manor. She had long, well cared for brown hair, and didn't go downstairs for breakfast before putting a layer of makeup on. She was married to Palmer Diamond, better known as the Tower Tycoon and head of the Sinnoh and Johto Battle Frontier. They had one child, Xavier, 14. He was tall, with messy, sandy blonde hair. He generally would wear striped shirts, with a slight fascination for them, and a striped green and brown jumper with matching scarf. It was finished with plain black pants and white sneakers with soaks that matched with jumper.  
Xavier had not celebrated New Year, as he didn't think it was that big of a deal. Instead, he had gone to sleep at ten as usual, and woken up at precisely seven. He went down to a the stables in the middle of the paddock. He owned three Pokemon, Roserade, Snorlax and Ponyta. He didn't like his Pokemon living in PokeBalls, and Snorlax slept in a giant metal shed at the corner of the property, and Roserade slept in the flowers, and Ponyta slept in a stable.

"Hello Ponyta." Xavier said, saying it rather matter-of-factly.

"Pony." Ponyta said, and shook her head, the fire moving with it. Xavier opened the door, and prepared her to go out for a ride. After several minutes, Ponyta was ready, and they headed off.

"I am leaving for my journey today." Xavier told her. "Mother told me that Roserade has to stay to assist with gardening, and I don't think I can feed Snorlax, so looks like you it'll just be you and me on the journey." Ponyta neighed at this, and they ran in silence for several more minutes. But as they reached the back of the property, Ponyta suddenly stumbled and fell. Xavier barely registered it was a problem, until he was thrown off, and his head slammed into the wall of Snorlax's shed.

* * *

Pearl Manor

Half an hour later, the Pearl family sat down for breakfast.

They were a happy family of four. The parents, Adrian and Leah, were both 42, and had been happily married for twenty years. Adrian had inherited the house from his father, and kept it going by arranging numerous Pokemon competitions and several Pokemon related businesses. Leah ran a successful Pokemon breeding company, and had given Xavier the Budew that grew into Roselia. They had two children: Matthew and Peter. Matthew was 14, and had known Xavier all of their lives. He was shorter than Xavier, and had short black hair. He generally wore yellow shirts, with a dark blue jacket on top. He wore long black pants, a plain white scarf and a blue and yellow hat as well, finished with blue and yellow shoes. Peter was only 11, and was rather short for his age. He wore a variety of clothes, but they were usually bright colours. Matthew was leaving for his journey that day as well, and was impatiently waiting to hear from Xavier of when to leave. He had woken up early, along with his parents. His father was reading the paper at the dining table, but Leah was meditating with her Lucario.

"Calm down there son." Adrian said, looking at from across his newspaper. "Professor Rowan won't open up this early."

"I don't care, I want to go and get my Piplup!" Matthew huffed, ignoring his breakfast.

"What about the other Pokemon?"

"I don't want a Chimchar." Matthew replied.

"And Turtwig?" Adrian asked, as Leah and Lucario walked in, looking rather calm.

"Carolina has had a Turtwig specially trained for Xavier in order to keep up with his condition." Leah said. Lucario looked over at Matthew as she said this, and the son shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Leah whacked Lucario around the head, and he grunted at her and sulked over to a corner of the room, where he sat down and began to meditate again.

"Is Peter up yet?" Leah asked.

"No, he stayed up late last night playing on his Wii." Matthew said, always in the mood to rat on his brother.  
"Mum, do you think I can go over to Xavier's and get him to go to Sandgem Town now?"

"Calm down Matthew!" Adrian snapped, and Matthew gave his father a nasty look before sitting back down. Suddenly, Lucario stood up, looking worriedly over at the Diamond Estate.

"What is it Lucario?" Leah asked, looking worried. Lucario didn't reply, instead he opened a door and ran off. Leah followed quickly afterwards, and Adrian and Matthew exchanged looks and hurried off as well.

* * *

Diamond Estate

Lucario used Aura Sphere and blasted a hole in the hedge, and rushed over to the other property. Adrian and Matthew had caught up with Leah, and they took it in turns to go through the hole.

"Oh my!" Leah gasped. Xavier was lying by the large metal shed, not moving and very pale. Lucario was helping Ponyta get up, and a loud banging was coming from inside the shed.

"Snorlax obviously wants to come out." Matthew said.

"Lucario, use Force Palm on the door." Leah commanded. Ponyta was upright, and Lucario turned to the door, his left palm glowing blue. He ran up to the door, and hi-fived the padlock, smashing it. A second later the doors were flung open, nearly hitting Xavier, but Ponyta used Headbutt to stop this. Snorlax waddled out of the shed, his whole body shaking with each step. He looked around for Xavier, and let out a soft moan when he saw his unconscious trainer.

"We need to contact Carolina." Adrian said as he ran over to Xavier, and put him in the recovery position.

"I'll take care of that!" Matthew said, and he went back through the hole. "Chimecho, Chimecho!" He called. A few moments later, a Pokemon that looked like a blue wind chime appeared, moving slowly downwards.

"Chime Chime." He said, and nuzzled up to his trainer.

"Chimecho, can you go and wake Carolina up for me please?" Matthew asked. Chimecho smiled, and quickly flew away towards the Diamond Manor. He came across an open window at the back of the house, and quickly flew through. He was now in a large, expansive master bedroom, with a king sized bed, doorways leading off to a walk in wardrobe and bathroom, and a large crystal chandelier. There was a figure on the bed.

"Chimecho." Chimecho said, and the figure stirred, and turned over.

"What?" Lady Carolina snapped.

"Echo Chime Chime." Chimecho said, and wrapped his long tail around her arm, pulling her.

"Alright, hold on." Carolina growled, and grabbed a silk dressing gown. Chimecho led her over to the window, and Carolina gasped as she saw the scene by the shed. She turned and rushed out of her bedroom. Her feet made no sound as she rushed across the thick carpet, and but she then thundered down the curving staircase. As she headed for the back door, Carolina's Ninetales awoke. She slept on a comfortable bed by the fire, but could see her owner was worried. She leapt up, and followed her out onto the stone patio. Ninetales looked at the sky, her eyes glowing like fire, and then fired an orange orb. It rose up to the clouds, and then burst, releasing harsh sunlight onto the garden.

"Thank you darling, it is rather chilly." Carolina shivered. They past Roserade in the garden, who was waking up due to the change in weather, and she followed after them.

"Leah darling, whatever has happened?" Carolina called.

"I think Ponyta fell and Xavier hit his head." Leah replied, and Carolina let out a wail, and pushed Adrian aside and cradled her child. Xavier battered an eyelid, and looked up.

"Mother, why are all these people here?" He asked, ignoring the bruise on his head. He looked up at Snorlax, who smiled back at him.

"Oh baby, you've hit your head. But don't worry, mummy's here now." Carolina said, and went to kiss him, but Xavier stood up.

"I don't have time for this now Carolina, I need to pack for my trip." He said, and turned to Matthew. "Come now, I need you to assist me." Matthew smiled, but rolled his eyes to his mother, who prodded him forwards.

"Now Leah, why don't you have a cup of coffee while you're here?" Carolina said, looking rather flustered. Adrian smirked, but Leah glared at him and followed her friend back to her house.

* * *

Route 201

The route was very quite at this time of morning. There were several Starlys, Bidoofs and Kricketots nestling around the grass, but none of them were being bothered by trainers, so they all seemed happy.  
Suddenly, there was a burst of white light, and the Pokemon all scattered, rushing for the long grass to hide in. The light died away quickly, revealing two figures.

The first was an Abra. His eyes were closed as normal, but it seemed a bit more serious than others of its kind. However, there seemed to be a braclet on his left wrist. It was red on one side, and white on the other, much like a PokeBall.

The second figure was a girl, about 14. She had long ginger hair, which went halfway down her back. She was currently wearing a pale blue jacket over a long, flowing, sequined blue dress, finished off with loud orange high heels and long white gloves. A large, heavy, yellow backpack rested on her shoulders, nearly weighing her down. She was an average height. Her name was Vanessa Backlot, and she was heading for Professor Rowan's as well. She pulled out a small handheld device, much like an iPod Touch, except she had built it herself.

"This seems close enough, good job Abra." Vanessa said, tapping several buttons and bringing up a map. Her face was flashing on the screen, right next to Abra's. "I don't need you at the moment. If Staraptor doesn't heal up, I'll contact you again." Abra nodded at this, and glowed white and teleported away. Vanessa looked at the frightened Pokemon and smirked at their expressions, before turning and heading for Sandgem.

* * *

Sandgem Town

Sandgem, which was marginally larger than Twinleaf, was already bustling. More people were moving around, heading down to the beach or up to Jubilife City. As people walked towards Rute 202, they had to move aside due to a delivery van racing down the road. It looked like a large, grey block, and the driver seemed to have little experience.

The van eventually pulled up outside a one storey, wood and brick house. It had a large garden area, covered with snow, and a low brick fence around the property. Two women got out of the van, looking inquisitively at the town. One of them was tall, with long brown hair tied back in a ponytail. She had half-moon glasses, with a sand coloured frame, and was wearing a black button-up shirt, a black belt with a gold buckle, and a long black skirt. Her name was Deidre, and she was 45 years old and worked as a geologist. Her daughter was the other girl, and her name was Sahara, after her mother's passion for the Earth. Sahara had blue hair, and it went down to her shoulers. She was wearing a fluffy white cloak with pale blue buttons, and had matching boots. Her hat was white with a blue stripe down the middle, and she was wearing white stockings. Sahara's outfit caused her to blend in with the snowy surroundings. This a motion behind her, and a Pachirisu leapt onto her shoulder,

"Looks like this is our new home Nutty." Sahara said, and gave her mother a nasty glare.

"Oh get over yourself Sahara, you are in no condition to go on a journey." Deidre said, and went over to the van, and began to unlock the door.

"Mother, I am 15, if I don't go on a journey this year, I will probably lose the motivation." Sahara groaned.

"Pachi Pachi." Nutty replied, and Deidre rolled her eyes, and opened up the door. Within seconds, a large, long Seviper slithered under the door, smiling widely.

"S-s-s-s-seviper." She hissed, and moved towards the new house.

"Bloody snake." Deidre mumbled. "If you do leave, don't excpect that bloody creature to still be here when you get back!" And Sahara groaned, and quickly picked up one of her boxes, and marched sullenly away from her mother, unaware of a teenage girl dressed in blue entering the town.

* * *

Diamond Manor

Lady Carolina changed into an appropriate outfit, and then came back downstairs, where a butler had already set out pots of coffee and tea, piles of toast, a platter of waffles and a selection of muffins. Leah had gotten use to Carolina's extravagant meals, but she still felt a bit awkward. Lucario was behind her, looking at a number of photos, mainly of Palmer and Carolina at different events.

"So Leah, do you think the boys are ready to start their journeys?" Carolina asked, as she pondered over which muffin to have. Ninetales was by her feet, looking grumpily at Lucario.

"Of course, they have been held back quite a bit." Leah replied. "I mean, there aren't any blizzards or psychotic killers on the loose to stop them this time." And Carolina nodded.

"I hope that the Turtwig I've had trained is going to be alright." She said. "I wouldn't want all that money to go to waste."

"Of course, Xavier does need special care." Leah nodded. There was a movement at the door, and Xavier and Matthew appeared, both carrying backpacks: a green one for Xavier and a blue one for Matthew.

"We have to go apply now." Matthew explained, and the mothers got up.

"Oh darling, take care of yourself." Carolina said, and hugged Xavier, who merely nodded.

"I shall see you later." He said, and pulled out of the embrace.

"Goodbye darling." Leah said, and pulled him into a hug. "Make sure Xavier is fine, or Carolina will blow her top." She whispered, and Matthew smiled.

"See you mum." Matthew said, and Xavier led him out of the house.

"Mother told me earlier that I am getting a Turtwig, what Pokemon have your parents chosen for you?" Xavier asked.

"Oh, they chose Piplup." Matthew said, smiling and nodding.

"I think Oreburgh City will be the best gym to go to first." Xavier said. "I mean, we could use Milotic to go to Canalave, but then we would just get defeated." And he let out his version of a laugh: it sounded like a cat being strangled mixed with a gargle. Matthew nodded, looking ahead towards Sandgem.

* * *

Professor Rowan's Laboratory, Sandgem Town.

It was noon when Professor Rowan arrived at his laboratory. His white beard and hair were moist with sweat after running to get to the lab. He looked around, surprised that the lab was spotlessly clean. Three PokeBalls were on a bench, one with a X on a card next to it, and there were three PokeDexes behind them. The rest of the surfaces were empty, except for test tubes and contraptions tucked away in the corners.

"Mason, I suppose you're here." The Professor yelled, putting his briefcase on his desk, which was empty as well, some boxes next to it. He looked around, and saw his assistant walking in from one of the rooms, a Lunatone and Solrock floating behind him. Mason was tall and skinny, with short black hair and glasses with a black frame. He was only 17, and if wasn't for the pimples on his forehead, he would come across as a lot older.

"Hello sir." He said. "I came in early to continue my experiments on these two." He said, and pointed at the two Pokemon.

"That's is good, are the at least responding?" Rowan asked.

"Luna!"

"Sol Sol!" The two Pokemon replied.

"Yes actually, I think they will be able to go into space soon." Mason translated. He looked at his boss, and was surprised that he was sweating. "Um, sir..."

"My car broke down on the way back from the doctor, so I ran here." Rowan replied.

"Um, what about Arcanine?" Mason asked. Rowan, who been opening up his briefcase, stopped, and sighed.

"I suppose that would have been logically, but I was stressed at the time." He mumbled, and went back to unpacking his briefcase. There was a knock at the front door, and Lunatone and Solrock turned, and their outlines glowed purple. The doors glowed the same, and swung open.  
Vanessa walked in, now wearing oversized red glasses with tinted black lenses.

"Hello there m'dears." She said, and took her bag off and passed it to Mason. "I believe you are Professor Rowan?"

"Yes, and you are?" The professor said.

"Horny, but I don't think that matters." Vanessa replied, and laughed loudly. Mason's eyes were bulging out of his sockets, and Lunatone and Solrock exchanged looks.

"Well, um..." Rowan coughed. "I guess you are here to get a starter?"

"No, I want to become the new cleaner." Vanessa said sarcastically, and laughed loudly again. She took her glasses and gloves off, passing them to Mason, and looked over at the PokeBalls.

"Is there a particular species you wanted?" Rowan asked. "Unfortunatley, Turtwig is unavailable, but Piplup and Chimchar are both there." Vanessa nodded, and grabbed the one in the middle. She pressed the button, and red energy came out, and quickly formed into the little fire chimp, Chimchar.

"Chimchar char chim chim." Chimchar said, and looked happily at Vanessa, who smiled back at it.

"I'll take this one, he seems to be an appropriate choice." She said, and put the PokeBall in her pocket. Chimchar leapt onto her shoulder, and it looked like her hair had just grown an extra bit.

"Ok, I have to send your application in, which should take between two hours to twenty four, depending on the number of applicants." Rowan explained. "I also need to add your details into the PokeDex."

"Why?" Vanessa asked, putting her finger out for Chimchar to grab onto.

"Well, it is in order for you to be recognised if it gets lost. And it also allows you to compare your weight and height with your Pokemon, for contests and stuff like that. And you need it to apply for certain items, like the Poketch." Vanessa nodded, absent minded.

"Well, I'll go wander around your fair town while you sort all that stuff out." She replied, and picked up her stuff. Chimchar leapt onto the backpack, and Vanessa put the glasses on him. Rowan and Mason exchanged looks, and then watched as Vanessa left the building.

* * *

Plattina Household

Sahara put down her last box, and then slumped down onto her bed. She looked around her room: mucus green, lace curtains, a pink set of drawers, and her uncomfortable, single bed. Nutty was by her feet, staring over at Sahara's white and blue backpack, hoping to get some food, but Sahara was in no mood.

"I already hate this place." Sahara huffed, and she stretched out.

"Pachi." Nutty said, and she leapt onto the bed and patted her trainer, making Sahara smile.

"Thanks. But I am going to talk to granddad and see if we can go. He'll convince mum, don't you worry." Sahara said, and she picked Nutty up and walked out of her room. She walked through the patchy hallways, and found her mother at the doorway, a sandy-cloak Wormadam floating by her side.

"Hello darling." Deidre said. "I was about to start doing some garden work."

"Shouldn't you unpack the boxes first?" Sahara snapped, and Deidre rolled her eyes. Sahara smirked and walked out of the house.

"Where are you going?" Deidre asked.

"Seeing granddad of course." Sahara snapped, and began to walk faster. Deirdre began to follow, and Sahara broke into a run. She sped along the path, barely noticing where she was going. Suddenly, a car appeared out of nowhere, racing across the road. Pachirisu squealed, and Sahara stared at the car, stunned. Something blue appeared in front of her, and forced her to the ground. The car sped past, and Sahara watched her in leave. She looked up, and found a Chimchar staring at her, wearing large glasses. There was a ginger girl on top of her, smiling widely as if this was normal.

"Hello, I'm Vanessa, and you are?"

* * *

Route 201

Matthew's feet were beginning to hurt, and it wasn't helping that Xavier was not shutting up. The teen decided to watch the Pokemon, interested by the Starlys fluttering about. He could also see some Bidoofs, but he found them to unattractive to look at.

"Matthew?" Xavier said, seeming to have a question to pose.

"Yes?" Matthew said, irritated.

"Did you know there was a car coming towards us?" Matthew froze, and looked back to the road. Sure enough, a four wheel drive was speeding down the road, apparently unaware or otherwise not caring about the two boys in front of him.

"JUMP!" Matthew cried, and shoved Xavier as the car edged closer.


	3. Meetings

******Meetings  
**

Xavier cried out as he landed in the bushes.

"Matthew, what are you playing at?" He said. Matthew ignored him, and he went to move out of the way. But his foot got caught in a pothole, causing him to trip and land face first on the concrete. He looked up, seeing the car was showing no sign of stopping. Matthew reached his hand out, and Xavier suddenly realised what was going on. He reached out and grabbed Matthew's hand, and quickly pulled him out of the way. The car sped past, and Xavier had a brief glimpse of a surly looking man with spiky blue hair, before it headed away towards LakeVerity. Matthew stood back up, moaning in pain. Xavier looked at his friends hands, and was surprised to see blood pouring out of them.

"I think I've sprained my ankle." Matthew moaned.

"Well that isn't very helpful." Xavier sighed. "You can't be treated if you just 'think' something." Matthew rolled his eyes, and picked up his bag which had fallen to the ground with him.

"Let's just head there before any other trainers take Piplup." He said, and began to head off.

"I thought you had a Piplup booked for you." Xavier said, confused. Matthew ignored him, and hobbled down the road.

* * *

Sandgem Town

Deidre rushed over towards her daughter, and quickly pulled Vanessa off her.

"Excuse me grandma, but no one touches my originals." The teen snapped, and straightened her jacket.

"HOW DARE YOU RUN OFF!" Deidre bellowed, pulling her daughter up.

"You can't control my life mother, though I know how much you want to." Sahara hissed. Nutty and Wormadam glared at each other, instantly taking their trainers sides.

"I can control your life as much as I want to until you are old enough to leave." Deidre said, and pulled her back towards the house.

"I have been old enough to leave for years!" Sahara yelled, pulling away from her. "Just let me be!" Deidre was about to respond, but there was the crunch of gravel, and all three women turned to see Professor Rowan and Mason rushing to the scene.

"Deidre, Sahara, I wasn't expecting you to until this afternoon." He said, and kissed Deidre on the cheeks.

"Hello father." Deidre said.

"Hi Sahara." Mason said, blushing slightly. Sahara smiled politely, while Vanessa openly snorted.

"I heard you two arguing, is everything alright?" Rowan asked.

"Yes father, it's fine." Deidre said.

"No it isn't!" Sahara grumbled, and turned to her grandfather. "Can Nutty, Seviper and I hang out in your office for a bit?" Rowan seemed surprised, and looked at his daughter, who sighed and nodded. Sahara smiled widely, and headed off towards the house to get Seviper. As they left, Vanessa stepped forwards.

"I may not be a mother, but you really need to be a better job than that." She smirked, and walked off, leaving Deidre positively stunned, and she barely registered as Xavier and Matthew appeared behind her.

* * *

Professor Rowan's Laboratory

Nutty and Seviper nestled around Sahara, who was spinning around on her chair, staring over at the two PokeBalls that were on the desk. Vanessa was discussing her registration with her grandfather at his desk, leaving her alone with Mason.

"So... what experiments are you doing?" Sahara asked, as Mason attached some wires together inside a large, circular machine. Mason looked at her, and instantly blushed.

"We want to see if Pokemon could survive in space." He explained. "So we are making this machine to recreate the effects. I captured a Lunatone and Solrock last year, and we decided they would be useful." Lunatone and Solrock nodded, and Sahara chuckled.

"Viper." Seviper hissed, and began to circle Mason's legs. Sahara sighed, and grabbed the sharp tail and pulled the snake back.

"Sorry, Seviper doesn't like most people." Sahara chuckled. "She only likes me and my fath..." And her voice trailed off, and she looked away. "She hates my mother though."

"Seviper." Seviper hissed, as if agreeing.

"Pachi Pachi." Nutty added, and Sahara and Mason chuckled. Lunatone and Solrock exchanged looks, and Seviper poked he tongue out at them. There was a cling from the door, and Sahara turned to see two boys walking in.

"Hello, is Professor Rowan here?" A boy with black hair asked. Sahara smiled, and stood up.

"Yes, he is, but he is with another budding trainer at the moment." Sahara explained. "I am Sahara, by the way."

"Hey, I am Matthew, and this is Xavier." Matthew said, grinning.

"I'm Mason." Mason piped in, looking rather grumpily at the two new arrivals. Xavier walked past Sahara, and looked for his PokeBall. He saw the one with the X by it, and picked it up, pressing the button. There was a flash of red, and a small green turtle formed, with some leaves on his head.

"Turtwig." The Pokemon said, and looked happily up at Xavier. A small smile appeared on his face, and Turtwig leapt up, landing on his trainers shoulder.

"This Pokemon seems like it will do." Xavier said. "It reminds me of Roserade when she was a Budew." Professor Rowan and Vanessa appeared, looking surprised.

"So, are you two my competition?" Vanessa asked, smiling at Matthew and Xavier.

"We haven't signed up yet, but we will be." Matthew replied confidently. Vanessa tipped her head back, laughing. She walked forwards, and towered over Matthew.

"If that's so, the league is the bag." And with that, Vanessa walked out of the lab, leaving Matthew stunned.

"That seemed rude." Xavier said.

"Um... you two must be Xavier and Matthew?" Rowan asked.

"Yes, we are." Matthew said. "Can I guess the last Pokemon is Piplup?"

"It certainly is." Rowan replied, and tossed the PokeBall over. Matthew excitedly released it, and a small blue penguin with a cape appeared. The Piplup looked up at Matthew, and smiled.

"Piplup Pip." She said.

"I'll take her, she is perfect." Matthew said, and began to cradle the Pokemon.

"That is truly excellent." Rowan smiled. "I'll program your details into your PokeDexes and send your application."

"Thank you. We shall wait somewhere else." Xavier said, and walked off. Matthew went to say something, but Xavier dragged him off.

"They seemed interesting." Mason muttered, and went back to programming the machine. Sahara looked crestfallen as her grandfather took the two PokeDexes away.

"Pachi?" Nutty asked.

"Oh, I just hoped that I might be able to go on my own journey this year." Sahara sighed. Rowan heared her, but choose to say nothing. Instead, he pulled out the rulebook, and began to look something up.

* * *

Lake Verity

The car that had nearly hit Xavier and Matthew was now sitting by the edge of the lake. It was a black 2008 Jeep JK Wrangler Unlimited, with a large dent on the bonnet. The four passengers were now standing by the lake, staring into the water. They were all male, but were wearing different yet similar outfits. Two of the men, in their early twenties, had turquoise hair with bowl haircuts. They were wearing a sleeveless white vest with black sides, a white shirt with thin stripes, and black pants tucked into their white boots. A bold, yellow, italic G with black lining was on the vest, underneath the neck. The third man was old, in his late fifties. He had pale skin, and pale purple, thinning hair, matching his rose tinted glasses. He had a large white lab coat, with a grey shirt that was black at the top, and black pants, but had smart grey shoes instead of boots. Like the other two, he had a G on his shirt, underneath the black part. The final man was older than the two identical men, but younger than the scientist, but he radiated authority. He had spiky blue hair and a lined face, despite being in his early forties. He was wearing a long sleeved black shirt, a grey jacket with two black stripes going across, and black trackpants with several grey lines at the top. He had a G on the top left hand corner of his jacket. He was the man that Xavier had seen early, and was the leader of the organisation. He was staring intensely into the lake, blocking out the rest of the world. The two younger men were perfectly silent, but the scientist was getting restless.

"Come on Cyrus, we really need to head back." He snapped, pulling out a laptop and starting it up. The man called Cyrus turned to him.

"Charon, if I didn't need your assistance on this operation, I'll blast your brains out." He snapped, and then smirked. The two men exchanged nervous glances, and Cyrus stared at them.

"I was hoping Draco would have you trained up a bit better than to crack." He growled. "I expect the grunts to act better than this." He gave another look into the lake, and then stared towards the small cave in the middle of the lake, and let out a furious roar. The two grunts stepped backwards, while Charon rolled his eyes.

"Stop being such a drama queen sir and get back in the car." Cyrus breathed deeply for a few moments, before heading towards the passenger seat of the Jeep. Charon smiled happily, and clambered into the back.

"We'll come back tomorrow, and hopefully Mesprit will want to come out and play." Cyrus said.

"Ok, I'll call the base, have them send us some more grunts as back-up." Charon said.

"Is that necessary?" Cyrus grunted.

"There are going to be more trainers in Sandgem due to the training year starting." Charon explained. "I think it is good to be precautious." One of the grunts started the car up, and Cyrus remained quiet, thinking things over.

* * *

January 02

Lake Verity

The water at the lake was crystal clear and calm. There was little wind, leaving the grass still, but there was still a chill in the air. Only a single person stood by the lake, staring into the water, hoping it would answer his problems. The man was in his late forties, and his black hair was going very grey, matching his wrinkles. He was wearing a big brown trenchcoat, perfectly protecting him from the cold.

"Looker, come here." The man looked away from the water, looking around for the voice.

"What do you want?" Looker growled.

"The boss wants me to be your shadow." The voice replied. There was a rustle, and Looker approached the trees.

"I don't need anyone to shadow me; I have been doing this job for years." He snapped, and the voice laughed.

"Don't I know it." It replied. "If you were any good at this job, you would have gotten a promotion a long time ago. But, you have been stuck as a simple agent for twenty years." Looker seethed with fury, and whipped out a PokeBall. A fist appeared out of the trees, and sent it flying into the air, and then kicked Looker to the ground.

"Watch it, or I'll pull you from this case." The voice said viciously. There was a beeping sound, and Looker pulled a Blackberry out of his pocket.

"Cyrus is on his way." Looker said, and looked worried. There was another rustle, and Looker realised the voice had left, leaving him on his own.

* * *

Sandgem Town

As the sun rose over the small town, Matthew and Xavier woke up, lying on cushy inflatable mattresses inside their expansive tent. Their parents had cashed out, and they would soon have a chilly bin, cooking utensils and a portable DVD player. They were waiting for their registrations to be accepted before they would head home to bid their parents and Pokemon goodbye for the time being.

"That wasn't that bad of a sleep." Matthew yawned.

"I was very pleasant." Xavier said, and stood up, revealing to have already dressed.

"When did you do that?" Matthew asked.

"I wanted to start training Turtwig, so we went and battled several wild Pokemon." Xavier said. "I believe it has learnt a new move." Matthew was surprised.

"Could you battle Piplup, see if you can help her out?"

"Possibly, maybe in an hour." Xavier replied, and went to walk out of the tent, when black leather burst through. He stood back as Vanessa walked in, her hair in a ponytail, and now wearing a gothic red trenchcoat and knee high boots.

"Morning twigs." She said, and smirked as Matthew pulled his sheets up over his body. "Oh please, like I care what you look like."

"You implied that you did by calling us twigs." Xavier said. "Are you referring to our thinness?" Vanessa raised an eyebrow, but ignored him.

"I heard you talking about battling. I would gladly take one of you." She said, smirking.

"Piplup and I will take you down!" Matthew said, and put his dressing gown on before dramatically standing up.

"Bring it on then pasty." Vanessa grinned, flashing her shiny teeth and red lips, before walking out of the tent.

"Get out, I must change." Matthew ordered, and Xavier unwillingly left.

* * *

Plattina Household

Sahara had awoken early, and struggled to get back to sleep, and eventually gave up, and put her thick purple dressing down on and went into the living room. It was rather large and spacious, but there was a hole in the ceiling, and only one of six lights worked. The carpet in this room was thick and shaggy, and their single couch has bad scorch marks. They had no TV, so Sahara merely jotted down her dream Pokemon team, and contemplated moves she'd like to teach Nutty. After an hour of doing this, she went into the cramped kitchen, and nearly broke one of the cabinet doors as she pulled it open, and groaned at the rusty hinges.

"This house is crap." She snapped.

"Hey!" A voice said, and Sahara turned, only to find Deidre leaning across the door frame. "It is the best I can afford until I pay off the damages on our last place." She finished with a scowl.

"That wasn't my fault, it was Jakis!" Sahara protested.

"It still comes back to you." Deidre snapped, and turned the toaster on. There were several sparks, and it died. "But don't worry, I'll touch the place up once some money comes in. Now, can you go and check the mail?"

"You don't have to ask me, you'd just force me anyway." Sahara snapped. As she turned to leave, Nutty and Seviper appeared, looking eagerly at her.

"Come on, let's go check the mail." Sahara smiled, and Nutty leapt onto her shoulder.

* * *

SandgemTown

Vanessa and Matthew, now fully dressed, were standing several metres apart, with Chimchar and Piplup next to them respectively. Xavier was referee, standing near Sahara's fence, with Turtwig by his feet.

"It is a one-on-one battle." He boomed. "The first Pokemon to faint will lose, now begin!"

"Chimchar, use Scratch!" Vanessa yelled.

"Piplup, counter with Pound!" Matthew said. Chimchar and Piplup ran forwards, and scratched and punched each other. As they fought, Sahara walked up to the letterbox, and smiled.

"Have you just started?" She asked Xavier.

"Oh, yes yes, their first battle each." Xavier replied, as Chimchar Leered at Piplup while being Pounded.

"Please, physical moves aren't the only important thing." Vanessa snorted.

"Physical moves are better." Matthew replied indignantly. As they spoke, they were unaware of five Jeeps entering the town.

"Ok, use Scratch!" Vanessa yelled. Turtwig turned, and noticed the cars were coming towards them.

"Twig!" He exclaimed, and bit at Xavier's pants. He looked over, and Sahara followed his eyeline.

"Oh bloody hell, not more cars!" Sahara screeched.

"Pachi!" Nutty exclaimed, and Seviper hissed. Matthew turned, and ran forwards, pulling Piplup aside. Vanessa pulled Chimchar's PokeBall out, just as the first car came. Chimchar's fingers touched the front right wheel, slashing it open. The Jeep began to skid, and came to a halt. The second Jeep smashed into the left side, and a pile-up quickly began.

"Get in, quickly!" Sahara gasped, and opened her gate. The three trainers ran in, holding their Pokemon, just as the first passenger got out.

"Look at his outfit, I have seen that on the news!" Matthew spluttered.

"Galactic Grunts." Vanessa whispered, and the grunt smiled.

"One of you has interrupted our plans, and I am not leaving until I get some answers." He growled, and pulled out a black machine gun, which made Matthew and Sahara scream loudly, just as a dozen more men approached them, holding identical weapons.  
**  
**


	4. The First Showdown

**The First Showdown**

The grunts all smiled, enjoying the trainers torment. Vanessa stood in front of the others, a twisted look on her face and her fists clenched.

"You can take me down first." She said.

"No." Sahara said weakly, but Vanessa turned her head, and winked slightly.

"Killing you won't stop me from killing them." The first grunt said, and lifted the machine gun. He was about to shoot, but a bang of a different sort sounded nearby, and the grunt turned, distracted as a figure appeared. Vanessa smiled, and she bent her body backwards. Her legs came up, and she knocked the gun out the grunts hand. It cluttered onto Sahara's property, and Vanessa spun and picked it up.

"I love it when things go the way I want it." She smiled, and shot the grunt in the shoulder, sending him tumbling backwards. Matthew gasped, and Sahara rushed forwards, but leapt back as Vanessa emptied the round, smashing several car windows and causing the grunts to duck for cover.

"You know how to work a machine gun?" Sahara gasped.

"You don't?" Vanessa asked, as if it was normal. Chimchar leapt onto Vanessa's shoulder, looking determined for a fight. "Good idea, use Scratch if someone comes near us."

"Send out your Pokemon you fools!" The injured grunt shouted. The other grunts nodded, and pulled out their PokeBalls. Within seconds, dozens of Zubats were flapping in the air, along with several Spinarak. The injured grunt managed to move his other arm, and sent out a Skarmory and an Ariados.

"Bring them down!" He yelled, trying to pull himself up.

"Skarmory!" The Skarmory squawked, and it flew into the air, and led the numerous Zubat forwards.

"Aria!" Ariados said, and scuttled across the ground, the Spinarak following him.

"I think they are about to attack." Matthew whimpered.

"No shit Sherlock." Vanessa growled. Chimchar leapt into the air, and scratched at Skarmory's face. Skarmory shook her face, and then fired a number of stars, sending Chimchar crashing into the fence. The Zubat began to fire Leech Life attacks, and Turtwig, Piplup and Nutty ran to avoid them.

"Nutty, use Quick Attack!" Sahara yelled. Nutty zoomed forwards, and leapt into the air, and slammed into a Zubat's middle, knocking it backwards.

"Come on you two, at least try and help!" Vanessa snapped, glaring at Matthew and Xavier.

"Ok then, Turtwig, use Tackle on that weakened Zubat." Xavier commanded. Turtwig quickly obeyed, and slammed into the Zubat before it could take off again, knocking it out.

"I don't want to hurt Piplup." Matthew huffed, but screeched as Ariados fired a String Shot, followed by the Spinarak. Chimchar became entangled, and Vanessa threw the machine gun at the advancing spiders.

"Nutty use Spark!" Sahara boomed. The Pachirisu's blue line glowed, and then a small ball of bolts was fired towards a Zubat, instantly frying it.

"Wow, it must be highly advanced!" Matthew said, impressed.

"Thanks, no time for flattery now, we need the big guns." Sahara said.

"I thought they had the big guns." Xavier said, looking confused. Sahara sighed, and quickly threw a PokeBall and Great Ball onto her lawn. Vanessa leapt out of the way as a Floatzel emerged from the PokeBall, and an Electivire emerged from the Great Ball.

"Guys, met Aqua and Virus." Sahara smiled, as Vanessa and Matthew looked stunned, along with several grunts, while Xavier looked relatively impressed.

"How long have you been training with Pokemon?" Matthew asked.

"Again, now isn't the time!" Sahara snapped. "Ok, Aqua use Ice Fang on Ariados and Virus use ThunderPunch on Skarmory!" Aqua leapt over the fence, white teeth now icy blue, and bit on Ariados, making the spider squirm and fire several Poison Stings. Virus lifted a glowing yellow fist, and punched Skarmory, instantly knocking the metal bird out.

"We still need to get rid of the rest of the others!" Matthew said, as the Ariados fought Aqua back with a String Shot, and the Spinarak and Zubat were still approaching, along with the grunts. Just then, there was the clang of a door, and Deidre ran outside, followed quickly by a very large Camerupt. Matthew looked frightened by the camel, but Sahara rolled her eyes.

"Do you have to use the retarded one?" She snapped, and Deidre shot her daughter the evils.

"Camerupt is feeling under the weather, don't be mean!" She snorted. "Now, I think we should all attack, agreed?"

"Gladly." A grunt smirked, raising a machine gun. The trainers all exchanged looks, and nodded.

"Nutty use Bite, Aqua use Aqua Tail, Virus use Shock Wave!"

"Turtwig use Tackle!"

"Piplup use Pound!"

"Chimchar use Scratch!"

"Camerupt use Eruption!" The Pokemon all ran forwards to attack. The three starters each went for the grunts instead of Pokemon, and Chimchar scratched one's face, Piplup hit one over the head and Turtwig knocked one to the ground. Nutty bit a Spinarak, as Aqua flipped Ariados into the air, showering it in waves, and Virus released a powerful burst of electricity, frying the other Spinaraks. Camerupt let out a low grunt, and then two towers of flames from his humps. Several Zubat were toasted, but the other jet went in the wrong direction, curved, and smashed into a Jeep. Everyone covered their eyes as it exploded, instantly killing two grunts and knocking the rest over.

"Well, this has certainly become an eventful day." Xavier said with a smile, as he bent down and picked Turtwig up. The Zubat had given up on the battle, and went back to the grunts. The car continued to burn, but the flames were suddenly sucked away. They turned, and saw an Arcanine standing there, looking very proud.

"What exactly is going on here?" Professor Rowan, followed by a shaking Mason, walked onto the scene, looking disgusted.

"Oh father!" Deidre said, and rushed forwards, explaining what she had witnessed. Sahara huffed, and went to congratulate her Pokemon.

"Nice job guys, we haven't had a decent battle in ages." She grinned. "Well, at least you haven't with me." Her voice began to trail off, and Vanessa and Matthew exchanged looks.

"Well, I think we should go and see our parents now." Xavier said. "We don't seem to be needed here anymore."

"We really should wait until our registrations have gone through." Matthew said, holding Piplup.

"I don't want to wait, I want to go and say goodbye now." Xavier huffed, and he and Turtwig walked past the other trainers and the injured grunt, and heading back towards Twinleaf. Matthew sighed, gave the others a depressed look, and followed off.

"Both of those kids are very weird." Vanessa sighed, patting Chimchar on the head. She looked down at the grunt she had shot, and was surprised to see he was smiling.

"Why is he so happy?" Sahara asked, noticing as well.

"You obviously don't know what is going on down there." He said. He looked, and the two girls saw several grunts getting up, creeping behind Rowan and Deidre.

"OI, DO SOMETHING!" Vanessa yelled. Rowan turned, but another grunt began to fire his machine gun. Vanessa ran forwards, leapt off the fence and landed on the grunt, her boots perfectly on his throat. The machine fire stopped as the man stopped breathing, and Vanessa then pulled father and daughter out of the way.

"Arcanine, use Fire Fang!" Rowan said, and Arcanine bit on a grunt with a fiery mouth, pulling him from the car.

"Get inside!" Sahara whimpered, and Rowan and Deidre rushed towards the lab.

"Keep fighting!" Deidre yelled to her Camerupt, who was lazily eating grass.

"Virus, use Low Kick!" Sahara said, watching two of the Jeeps as they started up. Virus nodded, and ran forwards. A Jeep came towards him, and the hairy Pokemon kicked the car's front, causing it to flip skywards. It tipped backwards, and landed on the bonnet of the Jeep behind it. Arcanine fired a Flamethrower, causing the two Jeeps to burst into flames and exploded several seconds later. There was a cloud, blinding the two Pokemon up front. Sahara went to rush forwards, but the final working Jeep burst out of the smoke, and raced down the road. The Zubat's began to follow, and they were too high up for Nutty's Spark attack.

"Camerupt, would you mind being useful?" Sahara snapped. Camerupt rolled his eyes, as if he didn't think he should be attacking, and fired several rocks out of his humps. There soared towards several Zubat for a second, before crashing down onto the Jeep with the burst tyre. Vanessa and Sahara watched the Jeep disappear.

"How are we going to help them now?" Sahara said. Vanessa let out a sigh, and pulled a PokeBall out of her pocket.

"Staraptor, use Twister!" She yelled. There was a burst of red light, and Sahara briefly glimpsed a Staraptor before it shot off into the distance, spinning rapidly.

* * *

Route 201

Xavier was power-walking, swinging his arms stupidly as Turtwig walked alone side him. Matthew was running along behind, panting and trying to keep up, Piplup bobbing on his shoulder.

"Xavier!" He called. His friend turned around, and came to a halt.

"You really should be fitter." Xavier said. "I have a schedule to keep to."

"What schedule? You just randomly decided to head off." Matthew grunted, as he finally caught up.

"Don't judge me! And we should keep moving, it seems another car is coming." Xavier said, and began to walk off again. Matthew groaned, and turned around, and groaned even louder as he saw the Jeep approaching them.

"Get off the road Piplup." He said, and moved towards a bush. But Piplup was staring into the sky, amazed. Matthew looked into her eye line, and was surprised to see a Staraptor, flying through all of the Zubat.

"Star-APTOR!" Staraptor called. The trees along the route began to shake and quiver, and even Xavier stopped as the long grass began to move. Suddenly, around a hundred Starlys burst into the air. Matthew saw the Staraptor smile, and moved out of the way as move Starlys moved into the air, slamming into the Zubats two at a time. The Staraptor soared down towards the ground, nearly knocking Xavier over with its wide wings, and began to spin around madly.

"It is heading for that car!" Xavier yelled. The grunt driving the Jeep could see the Staraptor, and tried to turn. But the Staraptor suddenly became covered in a blue tornado. Matthew clenched onto Piplup, trying to have some balance himself, as the tornado went past, heading straight towards the car. Before the grunt could even blink, the Twister smashed through the widescreen. The car was sucked into the vortex, and began to spin violently around. The Staraptor then released the energy, blasting the car to bits and sending them flying around the route. Turtwig tackled Xavier to the ground, narrowly avoiding a car tyre.

"Let's get out of here!" Matthew whimpered.

"Pip Pip!" Piplup nodded, and the two began to race ahead, leaving Xavier and the Staraptor behind. Xavier looked at the large bird, which smiled back at him before speeding off. Xavier looked quizzically at Turtwig, who began to led the way.

* * *

Lake Verity

_Several minutes earlier_

Another Jeep Wrangler was at LakeVerity, parked in the exact same spot from the previous day. Cyrus was the only one to have gotten out of the car, and was on his knees, staring into the water. Several Surskits moved happily towards him, but he shot them an evil look, and they moved away, frightened. Cyrus put his hand into the water, and felt suddenly more relaxed and happy, as if nothing was wrong anymore.

"Sir, I believe there is someone nearby." Cyrus snapped out of the feeling, and turned, finding Charon standing behind him, holding a handheld heat detector.

"Someone else?" The leader growled.

"Yes, I just said that." Charon replied. "I believe it is a man, somewhere in the trees."

"The International Police." Cyrus whispered. He stormed past his head scientist, straight past the car and whipped out a PokeBall.

"Houndoom, battle position!" He yelled, and released the fiery dog. Houndoom stared into the trees, and then fired a Flamethrower. A tree burst into flames, many leaves instantly incinerated. A man leapt out from behind the tree, blowing on his hands which had nearly been burnt.

"Ah, you must be Looker." Cyrus smiled. "I have heard a lot about you."

"Good to know I am well known."

"Yes, for being a bumbling idiot." Cyrus added, and burst into laughter. Looker growled, especially as Houndoom and Charon were smirking as well.

"I am here to arrest you for suspected terrorism." He said, and pulled out a set of handcuffs. Houndoom fired a blue ball of fire, which hit the handcuffs and melted them.

"What are you going to do now, detective?" Cyrus smirked. Looker was stunned, and Cyrus and Houndoom went to turn. Then, Looker suddenly realised something, and pulled out a PokeBall, throwing it in front of him. A burst of light later and a Lickilicky rose up, smiling broadly and licking her lips.

"Now, use Muddy Water!" Looker commanded. Cyrus turned back, and then turned to the lake, just as a brown wave rose up. Houndoom knocked both Cyrus and Charon over, and the wave crashed down, causing the Jeep to turn over.

"Dark Pulse!" Cyrus yelled, dripping mud.

"Rollout!" Looker cried, and the battle begun.

* * *

Diamond Estate

While the destruction rained around the area, Lady Carolina had her feet up, sipping away at a cup of Earl Grey, wearing a glamorous blue dress with a leather black belt. Adrian and Leah were sitting on the couch opposite. Leah was having a glass of orange juice, and Adrian was greedily eating a chocolate chip muffin. Lucario and Ninetales were sitting opposite each other, glaring at each other.

"Ah, I am so sad about seeing Xavier going." Carolina sighed.

"I know, I hope they'll be alright." Leah added, reaching for a banana muffin.

"Oh please, they'll be fine, whats the worst that could happen?" Adrian chuckled, spraying bits of chocolate onto the table, getting him a look from Ninetales.

"Mum, I'm bored." The adults turned, and Matthew's brother, Peter, was standing there, holding his Mime Jr.

"Ninetales, could you show Peter to the Xavier's Wii please?" Carolina smiled. Ninetales looked cross at this, but sighed and headed off, making Lucario smirk. Carolina sipped more of her tea, when a loud bang in the distance made her drop her cup.

"Goodness, what was that?" She gasped.

"It came from the lake." Adrian said, and stuffed a cookie into his mouth before rushing off towards the front door. Carolina and Leah exchanged looks, nodded, and followed as well.

* * *

Lake Verity

Houndoom let out a howl, moaning as Lickilicky initiated a Stomp attack.

"Sir, would you wish for my assistance?" Charon asked absent-mindedly.

"Not now, I can take him." Cyrus growled. "Use Thunder Fang!" Thunder appeared in Houndoom's mouth, and he leapt forwards.

"Brick Break!" Looker cried. Lickilicky waited until Houndoom was closer, and then both fists together and hit Houndoom on the back, instantly knocking him out.

"Now, are you coming to come quietly?" Looker said, and pulled out a Glock handgun. Charon suddenly came forwards, and threw an Ultra Ball onto the field. A burst of yellow light later, and a Magnezone appeared, stars fluttering around it.

"It's a shiny." Looker said, staring at it with awe despite the situation.

"I know, now use Magnet Bomb." Charon said, smirking.

"Use Rollout, quick." Looker gasped, and Lickilicky curled up and charged forwards, but was blasted back by a small silver ball.

"Halt!" Came a yell, and the three men turned as Adrian ran into the lake area, throwing a Great Ball. There was blue light, and a Zangoose formed.

"Zan Zan." He snarled, showing his claws.

"Yes Slash on the Magnezone!" Adrian yelled, and Zangoose sped forwards, and swiped at Magnezone with a long, glowing left claw. Magnezone emitted a strange buzz-like groan, and Charon looked furious.

"Signal Beam!" He boomed.

"Detect!" Adrian said.

"Continue with Rollout!" Looker added. Charon and Cyrus exchanged looks, as Zangoose raised its hand, blasting the rainbow beam aside, and Lickilicky hit Magnezone, sending him falling to the ground and skidding towards the lake. There were more footsteps behind, and Leah, Carolina, Peter and their Pokemon appeared.

"Oh bloody hell!" Cyrus snapped, and whipped out another PokeBall, releasing a Weavile.

"Vile Wea." She said, and Zangoose glared at her.

"Ah, I haven't had a good battle in years." Carolina said. "Think you're up to it Ninetales?" The fox nodded, and Lucario seemed pleased it was there.

"I love the help of good Samaritans." Looker grinned, as Lickilicky continued to roll alongside.

"This could be bad sir." Charon whispered.

"Shut up." Cyrus snapped. "Weavile, use X-Scissor

"Magnezone, use Iron Head!"

"Continue with Rollout!"

"Zangoose, use Night Slash!"

"Ninetales, absorb in the sun and use Fire Blast!"

"Aura Sphere Lucario!"

"I think we should stay back here." Peter said, as the Pokemon all charged for their attacks. Zangoose slashed Weavile with his left claw, which was now black, and then Lucario fired the Aura Sphere to finish her off. The Fire Blast hit Lickilicky, and turned into a giant Flame Wheel. Magnezone stood now chance, and crash landed into its trainer, knocking the balding man over.

"I am getting to old for this." Charon moaned, as he brought his Pokemon back.

"The jig is up Cyrus!" Looker snarled. Lickilicky had finished the Rollout, and now stood by his trainer, tongue rolled out fully, blocking Cyrus from moving further down the lake.

"Lucario, don't be afraid to attack them." Leah whispered, and Lucario nodded, and lifted his fist up. Cyrus let out a sigh, and reached into his pocket, about to pull out a grenade, but a thin bolt of lightning shot out of the sky, smashing into the Jeep. The water was the perfect conductor, and the whole car exploded, blasting Looker and Lickilicky backwards, and covering the parents in smoke. Cyrus smiled, and brought Weavile back and ran forwards, Charon limping behind. Adrian could see them approaching, and went to order Zangoose when Cyrus punched him in the head, knocking the father out. Peter and Mine Jr cowered as they ran past.

"I have sent the message out for the helicopter." Charon said, tapping into his laptop. Cyrus was about to respond, but he ran straight into something, and fell backwards.

"Excuse me!" Cyrus looked down, and saw two grumpy teenagers with a Turtwig and Piplup.

"Oh great, more brats!"

"We aren't brats!" Matthew huffed, rubbing his head. Charon sighed, and pulled out his taser, and zapped the two.

"I love doing that." He chuckled, side stepping Turtwig's Tackle. Moments later, they heard whirring, and a green and white helicopter appeared overhead.

"Let's leave before the do-gooders wake up." Cyrus yelled, as a ladder was rolled down. Charon began to climb, and Cyrus grabbed onto the bottom rung, and the helicopter headed off. Xavier watched them leave, his hair standing on end, and looked up as the parents all rushed forwards.

"Mother, whatever is going on?" He asked, as Matthew stirred.

"Those people were doing something at the lake." Carolina said, hugging her son. "They were about to be arrested, but then _he _turned up." She added spitfully.

"Who did?" Xavier asked.

"Your darling father."

* * *

Diamond Estate

It turned out that Palmer had been flying back on his Dragonite to wish Xavier good luck on his trip, but had spotted the commotion below. Dragonite had fired a Thunder Wave to distract Cyrus, but hit the car by mistake.  
However, most people were pleased to see him back. Palmer and Adrian sat side-by-side on one of the couches, laughing and swapping stories, while drinking a foaming glass of beer each. Leah was chatting to Xavier and Matthew about their adventure so far, with Peter listening on eagerly. Carolina had dropped her usual glamorous demeanour, and was leaning against the wall, her dress looking crumpled and a ugly look upon her face.

"So son, I see you choose Turtwig." Palmer boomed suddenly, eyeing the green turtle.

"Well actually, Mother chose it for me." Xavier said, and Palmer looked over at his wife, his broad smile drooping a bit.

"Did she know?" He muttered. "How lovely." Carolina looked away, and Ninetales moved forwards, her tails rising slightly in anger.

"Matthew, I think we should go and say goodbye to Chimecho and Milotic before you go off." Leah said, looking nervous.

"Oh, yes, of course, great idea!" Adrian added, standing up. "Nice to see you again mate." He added, patting Palmer on the back, and then grabbed Peter, pulling him away.

"Thanks for the food Mrs Diamond." Peter squeaked as he left.

"See you in a few minutes." Matthew said, smiling awkwardly. Leah smiled weakly at Carolina, who forced a smile in reply. The Pearls left, leaving the door askew. Snow was beginning to fall, and Xavier saw that Roserade was looking chilly.

"I'll go and say goodbye to my Pokemon." Xavier said, unaware of his parents tension.

"Good idea son." Palmer boomed, and Xavier and Turtwig rushed outside.

"Don't worry Roserade, you'll be alright." Xavier said, and patted her.

"Rose." Roserade said, smiling. There was a soft sound, and Ponyta came up, followed by the thunderous booms of Snorlax, who was waddling up behind.

"Ponyta, you could make a fire for us." Xavier said, and Ponyta nodded, and fired an Ember onto a dying bush.

"Snor-LAAAAAAAAAXXXXXX!" Snorlax boomed, happy about making it up to the house.

"If Ninetales was here, she could make some sun." Xavier said, shivering slightly. He looked towards the house, and the Pokemon did as well.

The site was shocking.

Palmer was bellowing at Carolina by the glass cabinets, and Xavier heard his name mentioned. Ninetales' tails were fully raised, and she looked vicious. Carolina seemed frightened, and Palmer slapped her. Ponyta and Turtwig seemed shocked, but Roserade leapt forwards, raising her blue hand. The snow was building up, forming a white ball. As Ninetales leapt at Palmer, Roserade fired the Ice Weather Ball. Carolina heard it coming, and ducked as it zoomed past. It smashed into the cabinets, instantly shattering the glass and several shelves. Palmer yelled out, falling to the ground, along with numerous photos and several of Carolina's PokeBalls.

"What the hell is this?" Palmer roared.

"Roserade seemed to be distressed by you hitting Mother." Xavier said. He looked at Carolina, whose right cheek was bright red.

"Bloody Pokemon." Palmer hissed.

"I think I should go now." Xavier said. He rushed back outside, and quickly hugged his Pokemon. "I promise to see you all again soon." The three Pokemon looked very upset, and Turtwig muttered something to them, and they nodded. As Xavier went to pick his backpack up, he noticed a PokeBall was lying by it.

"Must be Turtwigs." He said, and pocketed it. Palmer and Carolina stopped giving each other the evils, and patted their son on the back and hugged him.

"See you around." Palmer grinned.

"Good luck, make mummy proud." Carolina said, tears in her eyes.

"Goodbye Mother, goodbye Father." Xavier said, and picked Turtwig up and headed towards the Pearl Estate.

* * *

Pearl Manor

"Oh, I love you both so much, I can't wait till I can use you both."

Matthew was nearly in tears, hugging Chimecho and his Milotic, who he had gotten as a Feebas along with Chingling. She lived in a large water area, that stretched out into an aquarium like area underground.

"Milo Milotic Lotic." Milotic said, and patted Matthew with a wet tail.

"Chime Chime Chimecho Cho Chime." Chimecho added, and used his tail to pat as well. Piplup was watching nervously, watching the snow stopping to fall.

"Matthew, Xavier is waiting!" Leah called, and Matthew struggled to pull away.

"See you guys soon, I promise!" Matthew whimpered.

"Piplup Pip." Piplup said, and Milotic and Chimecho grinned. Matthew and Piplup ran back towards the house, and brushed the little bit of snow. Xavier was tapping his foot impatiently, and he put his bag on. Leah, Adrian and Peter hugged him, and Xavier rolled his eyes. Piplup and Turtwig began to chat, and the family eventually pulled out.

"I will see you all soon." Matthew promised.

"We'll try and meet you at the next contest." Adrian said.

"Good luck with the first gym battle." Leah added, tears streaming down her face.

"We need to leave." Xavier yelled.

"Bye." Matthew said hoarsely, and hurried off. His family waved him goodbye, and Xavier sighed with relief. Turtwig and Piplup marched off behind them.

* * *

Professor Rowan's Laboratory (_Night time_)

Sahara and Mason sat in swivel chairs, watching as Vanessa, Xavier and Matthew stood in a row, their starters standing by their feet.

"I am here to present your PokeDex to you." Professor Rowan said, a small metal trolley by his side.

"First, Vanessa, um..." Rowan stuttered. "You didn't give me your last name." Vanessa scoffed at this, and put her hands on her hips.

"Do I need one?" She scoffed.

"Oh, I suppose not. Anyway, here is your PokeDex." Rowan said, and passed over the 2010 Sinnoh model. Vanessa and Chimchar nodded, and stood backwards.

"Secondly, Xavier Diamond." Rowan said, and passed the second PokeDex over.

"Thank you." Xavier said, snatching it up and stepping backwards.

"And lastly, Matthew Pearl." Rowan finished, sounded irritated by the last two recipients.

"Thank you very much." Matthew said, bubbly, and shook Rowan's hand. Vanessa coughed, muttering something about 'nerd' as she did so.

"Congratulations, you are now all eligible to take part in the Sinnoh Pokemon league." Rowan beamed. "I have a number of cases over there you can choose from to put your badges in, along with different covers for your PokeDex. And, you can stay in here for the night if you want to."

"We have a tent thank you." Xavier said instantly, and Matthew sighed obviously, making Sahara and Mason exchange looks.

"Odd couple much?" Sahara whispered, and they sniggered. Sahara watched as the three choose their new accessories. The badge cases were small, only twelve centimetres long and six centimetres wide. There was a picture of the three starters surrounding a PokeBall, and a plain background or a border. Matthew choose light blue, Xavier dark green, and Vanessa a violent orange one with a fire border. They each choose a skin that matched their case for their PokeDexes, and then they bid the Professor goodbye, and left, heading out into a snow-free night

"I better leave as well." Mason said, standing up and yawning. "I'll be in around 6:30 Professor. Bye Sahara."

"Bye." Sahara replied, and she got up as well.

"You should leave as well." Rowan said, looking at his granddaughter.

"I wanted to talk to you about something first." Sahara said, looking a bit nervous. Nutty looked a bit confused, and Sahara stepped forwards. "Mum said that I can sign up for the league, so, could you put a registration through?" Rowan was stunned, and scratched his head, thinking.

"I believe that Pachirisu can be a starter in a certain region, so I could sign you up."

"OVER MY DEAD BODY!" Sahara, Nutty and Professor Rowan turned, and Deidre stood at the doors, looking shocked. "HOW DARE YOU TRY AND DECIEVE YOUR GRANDFATHER!" Deidre snarled. Nutty leapt onto Sahara's shoulder, hoping to protect her trainer, but Sahara ran past her mother, nearly shoving her into a filing cabinet.

"SAHARA!" Rowan yelled, as Sahara ran out into the night.

* * *

LakeVerity

Running at full speed, Sahara had cleared Route 201. She had considered going to Twinleaf, but her mother would look there. Instead, she ran past two large mansions and towards LakeVerity.

"Deidre would never think to look here." Sahara wheezed. She looked around, and was surprised to see a burnt out car, a scorched tree and several holes in the ground.

"Pachi?" Nutty said.

"Yeah, it looks like there was a battle here." Sahara replied. She was about to investigate the car, when there was a loud noise above her. She looked up and nearly fainted in shock. The sky seemed to have split open. Green light was emerging from a growing hole, and a figure appeared.

"What the hell?" Sahara gasped as the hole closed up, the light disappearing. Then, she realised the figure was a boy, wearing a white outfit. He was screaming, and seemed to be feeling for something.

"Pachirisu!" Nutty gasped.

"Good idea!" Sahara nodded, and reached for Aqua's PokeBall. There was a burst of light, and a red Gyarados appeared above their heads. Sahara sent Aqua out anyway, who formed inside the water. The boy's Gyarados had grabbed his trainer inside his mother, but crashed into the lake, sending waves. Sahara 's eyes widened as the wave came towards her, but Aqua stood in front of her. Both Pokemon looked at Sahara, worried, when the Gyarados burst out of the lake, holding the boy in his mouth.

"Well, this side of Sinnoh definitely is interesting." Sahara sighed, looking from Nutty, Gyarados, the sky and the boy's body, and collapsed, desperately having to think things through.


	5. Time of our Jubilife

**Time of our Jubilife**

_January 3rd 2010_

Plattina Household

Charles let out a loud groan: his whole body aching, especially his back. The last thing he could remember was falling towards a lake, but he had no idea where the lake was, whether he was still in Johto, or what had happened before and after that. He was also feeling very cold. Struggling, Charles managed to sit up and took in his surroundings.

He was lying on a thin mattress in the middle of what was obviously a girl's room. There was a pink set of drawers, purple bed sheets and a number of posters stuck to the walls, showing male models and several television personalities. A number of boxes were stacked against the walls, and Charles presumed whoever lived here had recently moved. He suddenly realised that someone had taken his jacket off, and he was only wearing his running shorts and a white shirt.

"This is seriously weird." He moaned. He stood up properly, and looked around for his bag. "Must still be in Johto." He muttered to himself. All of a sudden, he remembered what had happened: Lyla running up, Celebi appearing, suddenly watching Silver and a man, being back in a cave, battling Giovanni, Celebi getting shot... Charles let out an angry grunt, and kicked out at the boxes. They all fell to the ground, and their contents spilled out. There were footsteps, and a young girl burst into the room.

"Will you please not make so much noise?" She hissed, slamming the door shut. Charles noticed a white squirrel had come into the room with her. He recognised it from TV, but couldn't remember its name.

"There was someone at the lake, and they had some Pokemon." Charles muttered, rubbing his head.

"Yes, Nutty and I were there when you fell out of the sky." The girl said, as she bent down in order to pick up the boxes.

"Ok, who are you and what is going on?" Charles snapped, sitting down on the edge of the mattress. The girl sighed and stood up.

"My name is Sahara Plattina. My mother and I just moved to Sandgem and we got in a disagreement about me signing up for the league, so I ran away. I went to LakeVerity and watched as you fell out of the sky. I sent my Floatzel, Aqua, out to rescue you, but then you Gyarados caught you. However, you were knocked out when you hit the lake and your Gyarados brought you over to us. I took you two to my house and snuck you into my room. As we just moved, everything is all over the place so I was able to get the spare mattress." Sahara explained. Charles was thinking: SandgemTown, LakeVerity, Floatzel, they didn't make any sense.

"What region is this?" He asked.

"Sinnoh, why?" Sahara asked, an eyebrow raised.

"I come from Johto!" Charles said, and stood up and began to pace the room. "This is really bad, I can't be in Sinnoh."

"Well, you did fall out of some green hole in the sky, I think anything is possible at the moment." Sahara said. Charles shot her a nasty look, and she turned angrily to him. "Hey, I rescued you from that lake! I brought you back to my warm-ish home so you wouldn't freeze to death, as you might not have realised it's winter, and I am trying to distract my vicious tart of a mother from finding out I've got some boy in my room!" She shrieked. Charles backed away, half frightened.

"Ok, sorry, I shouldn't have snapped." He replied. He moved past her and sat down on the mattress again. He felt inside his pockets, and pulled out four PokeBalls, a Safari and a Master.

"I checked your Pokemon when I had to bring Gyarados back." Sahara said. "You only have three Pokemon on you." Charles nodded, a single tear coming down his cheek. Sahara saw and went to comfort him, but he stood up, and brushed it off.

"I need to get to a Pokemon Centre and contact Professor Elm." Charles said.

"There is one by Route 202." Sahara said.

"Thanks. I'm Charles by the way." Charles replied.

"Nice to finally know your name." Sahara chuckled. "How old are you?"

"16, you?"

"15."

"I see. Could you lead me to the Pokemon Centre?"

"Sure, I'll just go and distract my mother." Sahara said.

"Pachi." Nutty said, and the two rushed off. Charles looked at his empty PokeBalls, and stifled a sob.

"Don't worry guys, I'm coming for you." He whispered, and put them back in his pocket and followed Sahara.

* * *

Route 202

It had snowed lightly over night, leaving a sprinkling of snow on the grass. Matthew looked at the snow, shivering slightly as he put his jacket on.

"Come on Piplup, we have to go." He whispered.

"Pip Piplup Pip Lup Lup." Piplup huffed, and looked over at Xavier and Turtwig, who were sleeping. Matthew sighed, and knelt down.

"I know it may seem mean, but we have to continue, and we can't progress properly if we hold their hands every step of the way." He said. "We will still meet up with them occasionally, but at the moment, we need to head off. Besides, he isn't designed to care anymore." Piplup was about to argue, but then gave up, nodded, and the two began to walk out into the snow. Matthew had left half the stuff behind, and had made sure he had packed a spare tent before he left home. With one last look at the grey and blue tent, he and Piplup headed towards JubilifeCity.

Xavier opened his eyes.

The tent was empty, except for Turtwig, who was waking up as well, seemingly responding to his trainer's actions.

"Turtwig, have you seen where Matthew went?" Xavier asked, standing up. Turtwig shook his head, and then ran outside, and looked around, but snow was falling again, and visibility was low. Xavier came and checked as well.

"Well, maybe Matthew had to go on ahead. We'll move out after breakfast." Xavier said. Turtwig looked up at his trainer, and could tell that he was upset about his friend's disappearance. The two were rather quiet while they ate their breakfast, and then they got ready to continue onwards.

"I think you should go back inside your PokeBall, I wouldn't want you to get caught in the snow." Xavier said.

"Twig." Turtwig said, and stood back as Xavier felt inside his pockets. He pulled out, not one, but two PokeBalls.

"Turtwig Tur?" Turtwig asked, staring at the two.

"I think I picked one of these up from Mother's house." Xavier said. He opened one up, and it was empty. He then pressed the button on the next, and pointed it outside the tent. There was a flash of red light, and a Pokemon began to form. It was large, with a yellow front and a blue back, though she had a large grey shell.

"That is Mother's Lapras." Xavier told Turtwig. Lapras noticed that someone had spoken, and turned towards the tent. Her eyes were pink, and the tent suddenly rose up into the air, Xavier and Turtwig still inside.

_Tell me who you are and I may let you down _A female voice echoed inside Xavier's head.

"Is that you Lapras?" He asked

_Yes, it is me. Your voice sounds familiar.  
_

"You are one of my Mother's Pokemon, Lady Carolina Diamond." Xavier said. The tent full with a soft thud on the snowy ground, and Xavier tumbled out of it, landing right in front of Lapras' front flippers. She was smiling warmly now, and looked down at him.

_Ah, I remember you know. Xavier, isn't it?  
_

"Yes, my name is Xavier." Xavier replied, standing up. "How are you talking?"

_I was taught Psychic many years ago. It allows me to communicate with humans, though I usually don't let people know of this added effect. _Lapras added, smiling.

"I am very sorry for have taking your PokeBall. If you would like to, I will transfer you back at the next Pokemon Centre." Xavier went to pick up her PokeBall, but Lapras gave him a sad look.

_I have been sitting on a shelf, trapped inside my PokeBall, for many years now. I only get to go out once or twice a year. I beg of you, please me go on your journey. I will be very useful for your upcoming gym battles, as I also know Waterfall, Blizzard and Dive. _Lapras explained. Turtwig rolled his eyes, and then looked at Xavier, who nodded.

"It seems you will be a welcome addition. I will still put you inside your PokeBall though." Xavier said. Lapras went to say something, but turned into red energy and was pulled inside the PokeBall. Turtwig was visibly shocked, but Xavier didn't register the expression as he began to pack things up. Six minutes later, with the tent and supplies inside his bag, Xavier picked a still shocked Turtwig up, and the two headed towards Jubilife.

* * *

Jubilife City

Skyscrapers, so tall they were touching the sky, quaint little buildings that had been there for decades, and people, bustling about everywhere, talking and laughing, sucking in the hype of the city. Vanessa loved being in the centre of cities, they made her feel so alive, so free and happy. There were so many buildings to go to: Poketch, Jubilife TV, the Global Trading Station, the Pokemon trainer's house. Plus, there were tons of shops to go to as well. The only thing Vanessa loved more than shopping was making stuff. She had made the outfit she was wearing today from scratch: giant, squiggly hoop earrings, a large jacket made from rainbow fabric, with some wires to make the sleeves wide and stick up, and a long gold hoop dress, finished off with ocean blue high heels. Many people were staring apprehensively at her outfit, and several old ladies asked her if this was some sort of publicity stunt. Vanessa just ignored them, and skipped happily down the footpath, humming loudly to herself.

"Ah, what a beautiful morning!" She said loudly, talking to no one in particular. Vanessa did a little twirl, and noticed a sign, reading POKEMON TRAINERS SCHOOL. She smiled brightly, and sent out Chimchar.

"Chim Chim?" He said, staring at the unfamiliar surroundings.

"We're in JubilifeCity now Chimchar." Vanessa said. "First, we are going to pop into the school, and then we'll take a look around." Chimchar nodded, and followed after Vanessa. The snow was starting to pick up, and people were rushing past, their collars up and their heads down to avoid the breeze. People stared at her more, as she was wearing a dress and walking slowly, accepting the cold breeze. After waddling through the snow, the two reached the bright blue wooden door, and thrust it open.

It was very warm inside the single storey building. There were lots of children inside, most of them around 10 and 11, and they were talking, reading books and guides, battling or watching the Sinnoh Now Network.

"_... many young people are today starting their journeys as Pokemon Trainers. People register to compete in the Sinnoh League and battled eight gym leaders. Upon defeating all eight, they are automatically entered in the Sinnoh League Championships, where they will battle each other, and the top people go onto to battle the Elite Four and the current champion. The current champion, known as Cynthia, was able to talk to our reporters earlier today..._" Vanessa turned away from the screen, wishing to look at something else. But as she walked forwards, someone appeared from behind a bookshelf, and walked straight into her. Chimchar rushed away to avoid Vanessa falling on him. Her flaming hair went everywhere, and she rolled to avoid hitting a desk as she stood up.

"You should have watched where you were going, stupid cow." A voice grunted. Vanessa turned around and looked down. The boy she had walked into was wearing a thick leather jacket, which had some sort of family crest stitched onto the right side, black leather gloves, ripped denim jeans and black leather boots with silver buckles on the side. He had brown hair, which was quite long and looked like it hadn't been watched in about a decade. A black spike was protruding through his earlobe. He looked about fifteen, and seemed to be trying to hard to be cool. Vanessa gave him a quick look, and then started to laugh.

"Nice fashion choice," She smirked, arms crossed. "It looks really good, if you want to look like Metallica threw up on you." The boy growled, and he stood up, and was about fifteen centimetres taller than her.

"Well... well... at least a rainbow didn't throw up on me!" He replied, smirking slightly. Several teenage girls at the next table laughed, and the boy smiled.

"You do realise they are laughing at you, not with you?" Vanessa said, and the boy looked at her.

"Oh, what would you know? You're nothing more than a stupid red head." He said. He went to turn, but Vanessa grabbed his hair, and pulled him back. She completely lost her airy, happy nature that she had had outside, and looked very vicious.

"Listen here you prick." She hissed. "You may be wearing enough leather to fit in perfectly at a furniture store, but in the real world, you look like a completely dickhead. Take it from me, and find another style and lose the tough guy attitude, otherwise next time we meet, you are going to find my left heel wedged some place where the sun don't shine, alright?" And Vanessa let him go. But the boy leapt up, and quickly wiped out a Dusk Ball. But Chimchar quickly leapt up, and fired a small ball of fire. It hit the boys jacket, and it quickly caught alight. The boy stood backwards, and stared down at the flames, transfixed by them. The girls that had laughed screamed, and one of them threw their glass of water onto his jacket, ceasing the fire. The boy shook his head, and then stared angrily at Vanessa.

"Bloody bitch, that was my best jacket!"

"If that's your best, I'd hate to see what the others look like." She smirked. Just then, a short, rather stout woman with long grey hair rushed over.

"No fighting outside of the battle arena!" She squawked. "If you want to settle a dispute, than go and wait for your turn to battle." And she pointed towards a large field, which took up the whole right side of the building. There was a short cue, and two boys were currently battling with a Starly and a Bidoof. Vanessa and the boy exchanged looks, and nodded.

"See you in a few then." She said, and walked away. The woman rushed off, muttering about misbehaving kids, and the boy walked towards the other cue, placing the Dark Ball back in his pocket and contemplating his first attack.

* * *

Sandgem Town Pokemon Centre

The small Pokemon Centre was very quiet. Nurse Joy was talking to a young trainer, a group was heading up into the union room, and an older trainer was flicking through a book, a Dragonair coiled up on the seat next to him. Charles wandered quietly over to the PC box. He grabbed the special pen and tapped the "PC Access" box on the screen. A password screen popped up, and he quickly tapped in his password. A list of options then came up, and he tapped the "Withdraw Pokemon" box. The list disappeared, and a wide screen popped up, with small pictures of lots of his Pokemon. He quickly scanned them, and couldn't see any small pictures of Lugia, Dragonite or Typhlosion. He knew that they wouldn't be there, but he had been hoping. He looked through several other boxes, but no luck. Charles went back to the first box, and tapped the first three pictures: Gligar, Tauros and Poochyena. A message popped up, telling him his party was now full. Three small circles, composed of grey circles, then appeared on the screen. They spun around, and Charles heard a whizzing sound as the three PokeBalls were transferred over. The circles disappeared as a Poke, Safari and Great Balls flopped into a slot. He quickly scooped them up, and turned around. He noticed the old man's Dragonair as well, and remembered an instance from about six months ago...

_Charles and Lyla had decided to have a break from their work. They had found a small pond, and had stretched out towels and were lying down, wearing swimming gear and soaking in the sun. Typhlosion and Lyla's Meganium were absorbing the heat in as well, and Charles' Dragonair was diving in the water with Lyla's Marill. An Eevee egg lay beside Charles' bag, shaking every now and then.  
_

_"Ah, I wish we could do this all the time." Lyla said, adjusting her glasses.  
_

_"I know, it is so peaceful." Charles added, and rolled onto his right side, and stared at her. She noticed after a few seconds, and smiled.  
_

_"What?" She giggled.  
_

_"You just look really pretty in this light." He said. Lyla giggled again, and the two leaned towards each other. For a minute, they stared into each other's eyes, and then they leant in, and kissed. Their Pokemon all turned to watch as their trainers sat there, their lips locked together in a tight embrace...  
_

"You alright there sonny?"

Charles blinked his eyes, and looked around curiously. He had completely forgotten where he was, what he was doing, and what had happened to Lyla. He just wanted to be back on that bank, touching her, being near her...

"I am fine, just remembering something." Charles replied, smiling weakly. The Dragonair looked up at him, and Charles struggled to stop himself from crying, as it looked almost exactly like his. The man, who was still smiling, looked slightly familiar as well. Charles found himself getting creeped out, and quickly moved away. The man and the Dragonair watched Charles go, and didn't stop staring until he had disappeared from view.

* * *

Professor Rowan's Laboratory

The glass doors rebounded off the stopper, nearly hitting Charles in the face as he rushed into the lab. Sahara, along with an old man he recognised from TV as Professor Rowan, and a rather nerdy looking kid, all stared at him as he entered.

"Charles, I want you to meet my grandfather, Professor Rowan, and his assistant, Mason." Sahara said. Charles smiled, and noticed that Nutty the Pachirisu was next to a Solrock and a Lunatone.

"Nice to meet you Charles." Professor Rowan smiled. "Professor Elm has mentioned you several times when we have chatted."

"Nice to know I am being talked about." Charles smiled weakly.

"So... Sahara tells us you're an alien." The boy called Mason snapped.

"Mason!" Sahara gasped. "I just said he fell from the sky."

"Yeah, from green light!" Mason grunted. Charles rolled his eyes.

"I fell through some sort of time rift." He snapped, and Mason scoffed. "Oh, and like alien activity is more realistic?" Charles added, and raised a fist. Mason dodged, but he landed onto a bench and knocked over a number of test tubes.

"Calm down!" Rowan gasped, going to block them, but Mason pushed his bosses hand aside, and pulled out a PokeBall.

"Nidoking, front and centre!" He boomed, and tossed the ball onto a tile. Sahara pulled Charles backwards as Nidoking emerged, and let out a roar. Charles stared at the purple Pokemon, and smiled.

"Gyarados, make this quick." Professor Rowan stared in awe as the infamous red Gyarados emerged, many stars encircling him.

"Nidoking, use ThunderPunch." Mason roared.

"Hydro Pump, quickly now." Charles commaned. As bolts of electricity began to cover Nidoking's right fist, Gyarados lifted up his head (with difficulty, as he had to curl up to fit inside the lab) and then fired a large jet of water. Nidoking was hit in the chest, and was instantly blasted backwards. His large body smashed into a bookcase, and all the shelves broke, as well as the back of it.

"Don't give up yet, use Strength!" Mason yelled, his voice cracking.

"Dragon Pulse!" Charles boomed. Nidoking's eyes glowed a white, and white energy wrapped around his hands. He charged forwards, and slammed them into Gyarados. The giant sea serpent flew backwards. His tail smashed the roof, bringing down bits of plaster and a light, before he crashed through the double doors.

"Wouldn't that hurt?" Sahara asked.

"It doesn't hurt anything except my bank account." Rowan snapped. "Gyarados have exceptionally strong skin." The two watched as a lime green light formed inside Gyarados' mouth, and then a beam was blasted out, hitting Nidoking in the jaw and flipping him, before knocking him into the bookshelf again. Nidoking collapsed to the fall, leaving behind a large gap in the wall. Mason quickly brought him back, and before Sahara or Rowan could stop him sending another Pokémon out, Mason brought out another PokeBall.

"Golduck, it's your turn!" He said.

"Gyarados, return!" Charles said, as a large blue Pokémon, that resembled a human with a duck head, known as Golduck formed. "And Ampharos, make your mark." Charles finished, as he pulled out a ball with a little lightning bolt above the button. There was the familiar red light, but a number of lightning bolts appeared around Ampharos as it formed together.

"Just give it up Mason, you have no chance of winning." Sahara snapped, as Mason stood there, his mouth open wide in shock.

"Just like you have no shot of ever going on a journey!" As every eye turned towards the source of the voice, Sahara let out a loud sigh, before turning to face her mother.

* * *

Jubilife City

The snow was falling thick and fast now. The skyscrapers were blending into the grey sky, and the streets were empty, except for several trainers and a number of clowns, all dressed in brightly coloured orange and cream costumes.

"Hello there young trainer." They were saying. "Would you like to take our quiz?"

"No one thank you." One grunted.

"But if you get the questions right, you can win coupons to exchange for a Poketch, the latest gadget all the trainers..."

"I said NO!" Matthew snapped. Piplup grumbled as well from inside his coat, and the clown stepped away, looking very cross. Matthew was about to apologise, but an icy breeze struck his face, and he quickly rushed away. He looked around for the Pokémon Centre, but the first building he came across had a bright blue door. The sign, which was covered a lot by snow, had "Pokémon Trainers" on it, so he rushed inside.

"Smart idea." A teenage boy said, smiling warmly. "It definitely looks very freezing out there."

"Definitely." Matthew smiled, opening his jacket up so Piplup could come out.

"Piplup Pip Pip." She said, and then pointed excitedly towards one side of the building. Matthew looked over, and saw a familiar head of red hair.

"Vanessa." Matthew muttered.

"You know that girl?" The boy said, laughing slightly. "That girl came in here about an hour ago. The guy had been sulking around here for a bit, and they bumped into each other and started fighting. Her Chimchar set his jacket on fire, it was rather furious." He added. "Anyway, they have been waiting to fight, and they are about to begin. And everyone is looking forward to it." Matthew nodded, and quickly rushed over.

"Can you stay out of trouble for one minute?" He muttered, and Vanessa turned around and rolled her eyes.

"I don't need to deal with some pasty nerd at the moment, thanks." Vanessa growled. "Besides, you owe me."

"For what?" Matthew scoffed.

"Because, dickhead, I saved your arse yesterday." Vanessa snapped, turning around and towering over him. "If I hadn't stepped in, you would have become Galactic Grunt brand road kill, so show me a bit of gratitude or you can pay the debt of in _other _ways." Matthew's eyes widened, and Vanessa smiled brightly and turned back towards the field. The short stout woman was referring, and the boy was on the other side, holding two Dark Balls.

"The double battle between Emerson Hesas, from PalletTown, Kanto, and Vanessa... um..." The lady turned towards Vanessa.

"My last name is on a need to know basis, and definitely don't need to know." She replied, giving the lady a smirk as she pulled out her PokeBalls. The lady grunted, and waved a green flag.

"Machop, Magmar, come on out!" Emerson yelled, and threw the balls onto the field.

"Staraptor and Shinx, make this snappy!" Vanessa yelled, as she threw her balls.There were two bursts of dark purple light, and two bursts of red, as the four Pokemon formed. Magmar was the tallest Pokemon, and his fiery body and wicked smile made him more intimidating. Staraptor was shorter than him, but taller than Machop, but gave them both a wicked look. Machop eyed up Shinx, who was low to the ground and was smiling slightly.

"I didn't know that you had either of those." Matthew whispered, a she flipped out his PokeDex and scanned the Pokemon excitedly.

"Just sit down and shut up, I'll explain later." Vanessa snapped, as Emerson began the battle.

"Magmar, use Fire Punch, and Machop use Karate Chop, and aim for Shinx." He yelled.

"Staraptor use Aerial Ace on Machop and Shinx use Tackle on Magmar." Vanessa boomed. Magmar and Machop ran forwards, their right fists covered in white and glowing white respectively. Machop jumped up, his hand straight and raised to chop down, but Staraptor flew forwards, her wings glowing white, and slammed into him, knocking him backwards. Magmar aimed his punch, but Shinx dodged it, and then slammed into him, but Magmar merely stumbled backwards.

"You'd have to do better than that." Emerson smirked. "Machop use Bullet Punch on Shinx and Magmar use Fire Spin on Staraptor.

"Staraptor, use Close Combat on Magmar, and Shinx use Charge." Vanessa ordered, her left eye twitching. Machop set off like a rocket, his left hand now a glowing silver fist, and he punched Shinx, blasting him backwards. Shinx's smile faded, and he looked a bit upset.

"Shin Inx Shi Shinx." He said, looking sadly up at Vanessa.

"Keep it up." Vanessa encouraged, smiling. Shinx nodded, and glowed a light yellow as he charged up. Meanwhile, Staraptor and Magmar were deep in battle. Magmar was leaping and dancing, trying to avoid Staraptor's talons and beak, while still trying to produce a circle of flames.

"Sta-RAPTOR!" Staraptor yelled, and slashed down Magmar's body, and then whacked him backwards with his wing. Magmar fired some flames, which tried to encircle Staraptor, but she managed to avoid becoming trapped.

"We need to get some good hits!" Emerson snarled. "Machop use Focus Energy, and Magmar use Smog on Staraptor."

"Staraptor use Twister, and Shinx use Thunder Fang, but wait for my cue." Vanessa commanded, looking serious. Staraptor quickly began to spin rapidly, a tornado forming around her.

"She must be the one who saved us." Matthew whispered to Piplup.

"Pip,_ Lup_!" She replied, as if it was obvious. Machop was glowing white, the floor shaking slightly around him. Magmar inhaled a deep breath, and purple air began to waft out.

"Shinx, NOW, bite the Twister!" Vanessa yelled. The Twister was fully raging now, and Shinx ran forwards, and quickly bit the bottom of the Twister. His electricity filled mouth transferred onto it, and the Twister turned a bright yellow. Staraptor then turned the Twister horizontally, and two long bolts fired, resembling a mouth, and Machop and Magmar were both blasted. Magmar accidentally fired the Smog towards Machop, who gasped for breath, turned purple, and collapsed onto the ground.

"Machop is unable to battle." The fat lady announced, waving the red flag.

"Magmar, bring Staraptor down with Fire Punch." Emerson roared, his face distorted into a hideous look.

"Staraptor, use Twister and Shinx use Tackle." Vanessa commanded, talking smoothly and smirking openly. Staraptor continued to spin, and moved towards Magmar. He became covered in the Twister, and both were made invisible. They could make out some fire from the heart of it, but it disappeared quickly. Shinx watched the Twister, his eyes moving, and then ran forwards. He jumped into the Twister, and a few seconds later Magmar fell out, landing with a thud against the floor. The Twister stopped, and Staraptor landed, Shinx resting on her back.

"Magmar is unable to battle, Vanessa is the winner!" The lady boomed, and people whooped and cheered for her, including Matthew. Emerson brought Magmar back, and looked at Vanessa. She grinned and winked, and he let out a grunt like an elephant and marched off. Vanessa's eyes followed him for a second, but a number of people were surrounding her, and she had to stop to answer their questions.

* * *

Plattina Household

Sahara had never seen her mother this angry, even when half of one of their old houses was flooded in the space of five minutes. But Deidre was pacing around the room, bellowing out a lecture every few minutes. Charles sat awkwardly in a corner, watching the proceedings with Nutty and Seviper on other side of him.

"This is probably the most stupid thing you have ever done!" Deidre was saying, pacing backwards and forwards.

"You ran away last night, and then brought a boy back! This is so stupid."

"He could have died out there." Sahara snapped. "He was freezing when he appeared, I wasn't going to leave someone out there to freeze to death."

"I don't really care about him!" Deidre roared, facing her daughter. "I only care about the fact that you have disobeyed me, again! And what would you have done if you'd been struck by water?"

"I didn't plan on going to the lake, I just ended up there." Sahara said, a bit quieter, and Deidre growled.

"You really need to grow up! You are still acting like you are ten and can get away with everything." Deidre growled, and slapped her daughter across the right cheek.

"HEY!" Charles said, standing up and looking horror struck.

"You have to get it through your head that you can't get away with anything anymore." Deidre said, leaning down over her daughter. "You are reasonable for their actions, and from now on, you aren't going to leave this house, and your Pokémon will be looked up." Sahara let out a sob, and tears began to roll down her face.

"You can't do this." She whispered.

"Watch me." Deidre said, smirking. She turned around, and found Seviper at near full height, smiling widely. Before Deidre could react, Seviper opened her mouth fully, and then clamped her fangs around her throat. Sahara stood up, wiping away tears, as Deidre choked, and Seviper let go, and swung her tail. Charles gasped as Deidre was sent flying across, and smashed into a wall, and slumped down, landing quite perfectly into an armchair.

"What the hell?" Charles mouthed.

"Good job Seviper." Sahara said, and hugged the snake, who hissed with delight.

"Viper." Seviper added. Sahara then ran towards her room, with Seviper following behind.

"I am confused." Charles said.

"Pachi." Nutty said, shrugging. A minute later, Sahara come downstairs, a blue-lined white bag over her shoulders.

"Come on, we have to go." She said.

"Wha-?" Charles said.

"I locked Seviper in my room, and left the window open so she can still hunt." Sahara said, and picked Nutty up.

"What about your mother?"

"Oh, Seviper always does that, she'll be fine." Sahara smirked, and ran out the front door. Charles was partially stunned, but followed after. They soon reached the lab, and found Professor Rowan contemplating how to block the door.

"Oh, hello." He said as they approached.

"Granddad, guess what?" Sahara piped.

"What?" Rowan asked.

"Mother has finally agreed, I can start my Pokémon journey now!" She said excitedly. Both Charles and Rowan looked stunned, but Sahara stood there, smiling widely.

* * *

Jubilife City

It was still snowing badly, but Vanessa and Matthew were sitting on a bench, with Chimchar providing them with warmth.

"Well, it is lucky you sent her after us, those Galactic people seemed serious." Matthew was saying, smiling.

"Rowan nearly caught me when she came back, so I had to rush away." Vanessa added.

"Well, at least you saved us." Matthew said, and couldn't stop grinning. Vanessa rolled her eyes, and watched as a Poketch van went past, and parked a few metres down the road.

"Char Char." Chimchar said, and he appeared to be shivering slightly, his flame decreasing.

"We better head off then." Vanessa said. Before Matthew could reply, they heard footsteps. They turned, and saw Xavier wandering around behind them, muttering to himself and looking around.

"Oh bugger!" Matthew gasped. "I can't let him see me." Vanessa watched as Matthew ran off, and looked back at Xavier. The boy looked up, and noticed her.

"Hello Vanessa, who are you?" He called, and walked towards her.

"I am fine." She replied. "Managed to win a battle today."

"Oh, that is always good." Xavier replied. "Have you seen Matthew anywhere?" Vanessa considered for a moment, and then smiled.

"Yeah, he went over there." She said, and turned to point, and gasped.

Matthew was being dragged across the snowy road, obviously been knocked out.

"What are those clowns doing to him?" Xavier asked.

"OI, PAEDOS!" Vanessa boomed. The two clowns looked up, and quickly tossed Matthew into the back of their van. Vanessa ran forwards, Xavier and Chimchar following. One of the clowns pulled a gun out, and fired. Vanessa dodged, and stumbled backwards, hitting Xavier. The two fell to the ground, and they heard doors slam and a car engine start up.

"What is going on?" Xavier asked.

"I am not quite sure on this one Wattson," Vanessa said, looking up as the car disappeared. "But I think Matthew may have been kidnapped by a couple of clowns."

* * *

Route 202

Professor Rowan had managed to contact a good friend, who had put her details through. She had got a quick approval, as she was a Pokémon Professors relative, and had already been approved. Sahara and Charles had then raced off, and had pitched a tent on the side of Route 202.

"Finally, I can now battle in the league!" Sahara said, rolling out a sleeping bag.

"Yeah, it's a good feeling." Charles said, forcing a smile. "What are the gyms like here?"

"Alright, Nutty should work well at some, and Aqua can cover the first." Sahara smiled. "What are they like in Johto?"

"Oh, very reasonable, nice spread." The voice issued from outside the tent. The two looked around, frightened. Nutty whimpered, and began to glow with electricity. The tent flap was zipped opened, and a man stuck his head in. He had spiky turquoise hair, and was wearing a more advanced uniform of the Galactic grunts.

"Who are you" Sahara said, covering her and Nutty with her sleeping bag.

"Oh, my name is Cyrus, and I think we are going to get to know each other very well.


	6. Ups and Clowns

**Ups and Clowns**

Charles leapt up, and quickly whipped out a Safari Ball. However, Cyrus raised a fist and punched him, sending the PokeBall flying.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Sahara screeched, as Charles moaned.

"Oh be quiet you stupid little girl!" Cyrus snapped, and went to punch her as well, but Nutty leapt forwards.

"Pachirisu!" She cried, and fired a Spark attack. Cyrus was blasted back out of the tent, and Sahara instantly rushed over to tend to Charles.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

"I am fine." Charles said, but there was blood trickling down over his lip.

"Your bleeding!" Sahara said.

"I don't care, just pass Tauros back." Charles growled. Sahara looked around and saw the Safari Ball nestled next to her sleeping bag. She grabbed it and passed it over, and Charles stood up. He was about to speak, but something suddenly made a hole through the fabric, adn then whooshed over Charles' shoulder.

"They must have guns, like the other day!" Sahara cried, and pulled Charles down. More bullets were fired, and they could hear footsteps and many flapping wings. Sahara looked at the top of the tent, and she could make out a mass of Zubat above them. Charles looked through a small gap at the bottom of the tent, and he could see two cars and about a dozen people.

"That weirdo has brought a small army!" Charles hissed. Sahara had a look, and gasped.

"What are we going to do?" She whimpered.

"What we have to do!" Charles replied, and threw the Safari Ball behind him. There was a flash of green light, and it turned into a Tauros. Sahara looked at it and gasped. It was about a head and a half taller than Charles, and looked like he weighed more than 250 pounds.

"Taur Os Tauro." Tauros said, looking angrily around.

"This is Tauros. He is a bit big for his size, but that makes him extra handy." Charles smiled. Sahara was still staring at the huge Pokémon, which was towering over her, and Charles laughed. "Quick, hold that flap."

"This one?" Sahara asked, as she grabbed the left flap.

"Yep, now wait for my cue before you tear it open." Charles said, as he grabed the other.  
Cyrus was waiting impatiently outside the tent, and was staring at his watch. Several of the grunts were reloading, and Charon was standing nearby, tapping away at his laptop.

"Jesus, doesn't anyone know how to do anything around here?" Cyrus snapped, as he kicked out at one of the Jeeps tyres.

"Oh calm down Cyrus." Charon sighed. "We have found both Ceres and the key together, what could be better?"

"If we actually had them!" Cyrus snarled, and he raised a fist, but his shoulder hurt from where he had landed after the Spark attack. Charon chuckled, and continued to tap away.

"Tauros, HYPER BEAM!"

Everyone looked towards the tent, just as the tent flaps were pulled back. A powerful, orange beam of energy was blasted out of it, and it hit three grunts, blasting them backwards into the other Jeep. One of the windows shattering, impaling a grunt in the back of the head, while the others groaned with pain, glass in other parts of their bodies.

"Little bastards." Cyrus snapped, and reached inside his pocket for a PokeBall. As he pulled it out, Sahara and Charles leapt out the tent, and dodged the bullets that came their way.

"Pachirisu, use Spark!" Sahara bellowed. Sahara fired another ball of electricity, which blasted a machine gun out of a grunts hand.

"Houndoom, finish them up!" Cyrus yelled. He threw the PokeBall, and the devilish Doberman formed. Tauros came running out of the tent, his horns ripping the tent flaps as he came out.

"Tauros, use Water Pulse." Charles boomed.

"Houndoom, counter with Flamethrower." Cyrus yelled. A ball of water formed inside Tauros' mouth, and then he let out a loud moo, releasing a number of blue shock waves. Houndoom opened his mouth wide, and then fired a jet of fire. The jet and the shock waves collided, causing a large amount of steam to form. Sahara looked over, and Nutty had to tackle her to stop some bullets smashing into her chest.

"Charles, keep a look out!" Sahara yelled.

"I think you should be careful!" Charles replied, and pointed at the sky. Sahara looked up, and screamed as all of the Zubats dived down, firing Poison Stings and Leech Life attacks.

"Nutty, use Spark, and do it as many times as possible!" Sahara yelled.

"Pachi Pachiri Risu." Nutty cried, and fired a Spark, knocking one of the sky. Sahara was very puzzled: they seemed to be a lot weaker than last time. And they all seemed to be flying in a giant mass, as if trying to block her way...

"Charles, this is a trap!" Sahara bellowed. Charles looked away, shocked, and looked back to the smoke. Cyrus was standing there, holding a hypodermic needle.

"Oh fu-" Charles began, but Cyrus jabbed his upper arm, and pushed it down, injecting him with a clear liquid. It was fast working, and Charles' legs instantly gave way. He looked up at Cyrus, but then his eyes rolled and collapsed, his eyes out of focus. Tauros began to paw at the ground, and Cyrus had to jump out of the way to avoid a Horn Attack.

"Houn Doom!" Houndoom cried, and fired a Will-O-Wisp, which Tauros avoided and then lowered his head, and lifted his glowing horns up, and jabbed Houndoom in the jaw, lifting him into the air and tossing him onto the already damaged Jeeps bonnet.

"Charon, take care of this thing!" Cyrus snarled, as he brought Houndoom back and lifted Charles' limp body up. Charon walked forwards, pulling out a white spray can.

"I have been looking for a test subject for my Whirlwind Spray." The scientist smiled, and he pressed the button. A spray came out, but it made a wind whistling noise, as Tauros suddenly turned to red energy, and zapped back inside the Safari Ball. As more Zubats fell, two grunts ran inside the tent. Twenty seconds later, they emerged, holding a small brown canister with a white top: a pill bottle.

"What shall we do with this?" The grunt asked, as the other helped Cyrus toss Charles' body into the back of the better Jeep.

"Put them behind the tyre." Cyrus replied, as Charon climbed in with him.

"You won't get away with this!" Sahara screamed, as Nutty blasted down more Zubats. Cyrus smirked, as the grunts quickly brought the Zubats back. Sahara ran forwards, but the Jeeps had already started.

"SPARK!" Sahara yelled. Nutty fired another burst of electricity, but it smashed into the wrong Jeep. It exploded, and Sahara and Nutty were blasted backwards, crushing the tent.

"NOOOOO!" Sahara screeched, and she tried to run after the Jeep, but something caught her eye. Next to the flaming wreckage of the Jeep, small bits of brown plastic were lying there, a white powder underneath. Sahara stared at it, and collapsed.

She had lost the battle.

She had lost her friend.

And now she would lose her mind.

* * *

_January 4th 2010_

Jubilife City

"Matthew!"

"MATTHEW!"

"Matthew Pearl!"

"MATTHEW!"

"Would you keep it down; people are probably trying to sleep."

Vanessa turned towards Xavier and slapped him. The boy's face turned a bright red, but he didn't seem annoyed about that.

"That seems like a mild overreaction, I was just thinking about the city's residents." Xavier replied, and continued walking. Vanessa, who was today wearing a jacket with purple scales, a ruffly orange dress, blue high heels and rainbow coloured tassels on her fingernails, let out an annoyed growl and followed after. She and Xavier had been searching for Matthew for most of the night, trying to locate where the van and the clowns had gone. Staraptor was flying in the skies, looking around for any obvious sign of the van, and Chimchar, Turtwig, Shinx and Lapras had assisted with the search, looking in low windows and blasting aside barriers, but they were having no success.

"I don't really care about the snobs in this city, I am just looking out for a friend." Vanessa snapped, catching up to Xavier.

"I am trying to look for Matthew, but I remember him going missing on a number of our families outings and turning up hours later after taking the wrong route." Xavier explained.

"He hasn't just wandered off down the lane!" Vanessa growled. "Some possibly paedophilic clowns have kidnapped him, and we need to find him!"

"Then we have been wasting our time."

"What?"

"Well, if he had just gotten lost, than we could have found him." Xavier said, sounding irritated. "But if he has been kidnapped than he would probably be locked deep underground, and wouldn't even be allowed to respond if he heard us anyway." Vanessa thought about this for a second before she slapped Xavier again. This time Xavier stumbled slightly, and he grabbed onto a nearby pole for support.

"Think what want, but we need to find him." Vanessa said, poking Xavier in the chest with one of her tasselled fingernails. She turned on her heel and stomped through the snow. She pulled out her touch screen device and tapped a button, and then held her left arm out straight. As the snow began to fall, and Xavier stood there, rubbing his face, he watched Staraptor landed onto Vanessa's arm, and then the two disappeared into the snow.

* * *

Jubilife Condominiums

Lucinda Large awoke with a groan.

She always woke up at seven due to a tiny crack of light seeping in through her curtains. She didn't have to wake up until nine thirty, but she could never get back to sleep after the first pinprick of light. With a loud grunt, Lucinda swung her legs over the side of her bed and stood up. The springs on her bed gave a sigh of relief, glad to have her large weight off.

Lucinda weighed around 200 pounds.

Ever since she was six, Lucinda had to put up with jokes with about her weight and her last name. She became considerably larger as time went by, mainly due to her insecurities after being teased, and by the time she turned 13, Lucinda weighed more than most of the 18 year olds at her school. Lucinda, who was now 22, was currently on her twelfth weight lose program, and as she tucked her feet inside a pair of woollen slippers, she stared into the mirror. There was a large tear in a grey nightgown, and her skin was sticking out of it. Lucinda prided herself on the rest of her body, and long pink fingernails, short black hair that was well kept, and she generally spent her money on fancy clothing (though she did have to pay to have the measurements changed.)

"Give it another week, just one more week." Lucinda muttered to herself, as she poked the . She waddled over to her kitchen, but it didn't take long. She lived inside one of the cheapest apartments of the Jubilife Condominiums: a giant room for her bed and living room, a dingy bathroom with a cramped shower and disgusting toilet, and a small corner for her fridge, freezer, and several benches. She grabbed a box of cereal, which had a picture of a Tropius on it and several different types of fruit on the box, and poured herself a large bowl. She then filled it to the brim with Miltank milk, grabbed a spoon and went over to her squishy armchair. It groaned as she plopped down, and Lucinda turned the news on. A beautiful, blonde, tanned woman was on the screen, interviewing a group of small children. Lucinda let out a nasty growl at the appearance of this woman: Clarisse Miller was her rival at the SBC: Sinnoh Broadcasting Company. She always got to interview the hottest celebrities, meet the coolest trainers, won all the awards and even hosted two reality shows and a talk show. All the fashion designers wanted her to wear their latest outfits, and Clarisse was today wearing a spotless white suit. As Clarisse spoke, Lucinda continued to growl: her own voice was rather nasal, while Clarisse's was the perfect tone and pitch for a journalist.

"_And while the trainers school is the perfect stop for all beginning trainers_," Clarisse said, walking around the spacious room. "_It is also a place where trainers can battle. We have some footage taken yesterday, showing a fantastic double battle between a young male trainer, Emerson Hesas, and a powerful female known only as Vanessa. She took out the battle, using her Staraptor and Shinx to counter Emerson's Machop and Magmar._" The screen now cut away to some grainy footage of the battle. It had obviously being recorded on some sort of phone, as the sound quality was bad, and you couldn't make much out due to the heads. But then the screen showed a Staraptor using Twister, and swallowing up a Magmar. A Shinx than used Tackle to finish up the match.

"Wow, that girl is good!" Lucinda gasped. The footage stopped, and cut back to Clarisse.

"_I am sure that, however this Vanessa girl is, that she is feeling very happy about her victory_." Clarisse said, and flashed her pearly white teeth. "Back to you in the studio." The scene now cut back to the hosts of _The Morning Show with Allie and Stan. _Lucinda finished up her cereal as she listened to the mornings headlines, which included the usual dribble about the bad weather and something about a burnt out car found on Route 202, and then she got up and tossed her bowl in the sink. It clinked loudly as it landed on top of her dishes from yesterday. Lucinda didn't particularly care, and she went to her pile of clothes and searched for a good outfit for that day.

"Matthew! Matthew! MATTHEW!"

"Will you shut up!" Lucinda snapped, looking out of her window. She then gasped as she looked at the girl who was yelling. She was wearing different clothes, but the girl calling for someone was obviously the Vanessa from the battle. Lucinda shook with excitement and did a little dance, causing some dust to trickle down from her dilapidated roof. She rushed over to her cell phone, and she grabbed it up and pressed the 1 button and dialled.

"Harrison, hey, were you watching the news?" Lucinda blabbed. "Yes, I know, she is a slut. But did you see the battle? I know, her outfit was great, must be from Hoenn. Well, anyway, I was just looking out my window and guess who is still in town?" There was an excited screech for the other end of the phone, and Lucinda. "I'll put something on and then I'll look for her. I think she would be perfect for Showdown."

* * *

The residents of Jubilife were soon awake and bustling, racing around to their jobs. A number of trainers were moving around as well, looking at maps or heading to the trainers school for more tips. None of them registered as Sahara wandered into the town, shivering slightly and clutching Nutty in her arms. She had not slept longer than five minutes last night, and her eyes were showing the consequences. Nutty, who had managed a proper sleep, was wide eyed and looking around. They were both trying to find the Pokémon Centre, and Sahara also needed to tend some bruises she had received after the blast.

"After we've got you recharged, we are going to find a hotel or something, I need to sleep!" Sahara fumed.

"Pachi." Nutty agreed. She looked around, and suddenly gasped.

"What is it?" Sahara asked, raising a hand to stifle a yawn. Nutty leapt out of Sahara's hands and raced across the icy ground. "Hey, come back!" Sahara yelled, and she ran after. The crowd parted, allowing them to continue moving. Sahara began to feel tired, and her coat was feeling exceptionally heavy. Nutty had disappeared in the snow, so Sahara quickly took her coat off, revealing a black sleeveless vest over a white, a bright blue skirt and a blue scarf.

"That feels better." She puffed, and continued to run forward, kicking snow aside.

"Pachi Pachirisu!" Sahara turned, and saw Nutty waving from a park bench. Sahara rushed over, and was surprised to see Vanessa sitting alongside.

"Ah, now I know why." Sahara said, panting.

"Know what?" Vanessa asked, and she let out a yawn, and Sahara knew that she wasn't the only one that had spent the whole night awake.

"Nutty must have seen your hair, it really stands out against the white." Sahara chuckled, but stopped as Vanessa glared at her.

"My hair is to be admired, not mocked." She said huffily, and she shook her hair magnificently and stood up.

"You look really tired." Sahara said, scooping Nutty up.

"Hey, you don't look like no Sleeping Beauty either." Vanessa replied, and they yawned simultaneously. "Well, some clowns kidnapped Matthew last night, and the Android and I have been looking for him all night."

"Oh my goodness, really? That is just so bad!" Sahara gasped, and she looked around, but then froze. "Who is the Android?"

"Xavier, duh!" Vanessa grunted, and she began to walk, and Sahara followed after.

"Do you guys have any leads of where he might be?"

"If I did, I wouldn't be here talking to you, would I?" Vanessa replied. Sahara groaned, and tried to run after, but Vanessa had stopped, staring at two people in front of her.

One of them was a rather large girl, who had short black hair, and was wearing too much makeup and a black cardigan over a purple dress with matching purple heels. Standing next to her was a skinny man, about a head taller than the stout woman. He looked muscular and had a deep tan and sandy brown hair that came down to below his ears. He was wearing a blue shirt, a green jacket, jeans and white sneakers, and a red cap that was turned backwards. The woman was holding a microphone, and the man had a large camera. They looked the same age, about

"Hello there, I am Lucinda Large." The woman smiled.

"She can say that again." Vanessa muttered out of the corner of her mouth, and Sahara stifled a laugh.

"This is my cameraman, Harrison Maude." Lucinda said, and pointed towards the man.

"Pleased to meet you." Harrison said, grinning and talking with a flamboyant tone. Vanessa and Sahara exchanged a look, silently agreeing he was gay.

"Well, is there something you want?" Vanessa asked.

"Yes, we saw your news report today and want you to come on Showdown." Lucinda said. Sahara let out an excited squeal, and Vanessa stared at her, her orange eyebrows raised.

"Showdown is the best thing on the SBC, asides from the soaps, of course." Sahara explained. "It is just a battle thing, except it is one trainer in quick fire rounds against all these different trainers. If they get past all the trainers, than they face off with a randomly selected trainer, and then they win a cash prize, though they go home empty handed if all their Pokémon faint." Everyone looked, slightly stunned, as Sahara stopped, and giggled nervously.

"Yes, the psycho girl is correct." Lucinda said, talking nervously. "Anyway, only three people have ever won, and none of them have ever won with all their Pokémon conscious."

"However, we saw your battle on The Morning Show and we think you have what it takes." Harrison beamed, as he put the camera into position.

"Give me on reason why I should do this?" Vanessa growled, and pushed Lucinda's microphone away.

"I heard you yelling Matthew outside my window this morning." Lucinda said, whispering slightly. "And I heard you were looking for him all of last night as well, along with some weird guy. Now, I am the heiress to the Adeim Empire, and I have access to all the money in my father's accounts. If you agree to do this and do your best to win, I'll provide you with any assistance you need in finding him." Lucinda backed away to discuss things with Harrison, and Vanessa turned to Sahara.

"Find Xavier and look for Matthew, I'll meet up with you later."

"Are- are- are you going to do the Showdown?"Sahara giggled, and she did a little dance. Vanessa nodded, and then gaveSahara a little push before turning back to the camera.

* * *

_"And before we end our show this morning, I believe Lucinda has a last minute story..."  
_

The words seemed strange, almost alien like. Matthew tried to let out a groan, but he had some sort of liquid in his mouth and spat it out. His eyes hadn't properly refocused, so he had no idea what colour it was, though juding by the taste in his mouth, it was blood.

Matthew no recollection of what had happened to him. He could faintly remember talking to Vanessa and rushing away suddenly, but the rest was a blur. He might have witnessed a battle, but he wasn't sure. His last clear memory was of him and Xavier heading to Route 202.

Desperately looking for answers, Matthew tried to look around. There were sharp pains in his neck, and the rest of his body felt numd and weak. However, his eyes had properly focused now. He seemed to be in some sort of basement: the walls were grey, and they were lots of pipes around him. It also smelt faintly of sewage and it was very moist and chilly. Matthew looked in the other direction and saw his bag. He suddenly thought of Piplup: was she safe?" He tried to move his hands, but he was either to weak or he were tied to the back of his chair, though he could feel something on his belt, and he smiled in relief, though stopped due to the pain.

In front of him was a doorway, though the door was lying on the floor next to him. There seemed to be a set of stairs opposite the door. A small desk was by the door, and an obese figure was in the seat, watching the TV. Matthew strained to listen and watch, and could make out Lucinda, the fat reporter his father always mocked. And, standing next to her, was Vanessa. Her flaming thing was the clearest thing he had seen, and Matthew felt more relief. It must be morning, as the _Morning Show _was live, and it seemed to be light.

"_... and Vanessa will be joining me in the SBC Battlegrounds to start her Showdown challenge!" _Lucinda was saying.

"_Are you feeling nervous at all?_"

"_Not in the slightest._" Vanessa replied, though Matthew could tell she was worried about something. But the pains in his body were fighting against him. He spat more blood onto the floor, and then allowed to pain to take over.

* * *

High above Jubilife, a large flock of Starlys and Staravias were flying towards Lake Verity, struggling to fly through the strong wind and snow that battering them. They were desperate to reach their destination, hoping to find a safe place to land, so they rest and recharge.

However, a magnificent creature appeared through the clouds, halting their process.

Articuno burst down from the heavens, its magnificent blue plumage glittering, despite the sun being entirely blocked out by the clouds. Blue snowflakes were being emitted with every flap of its long, graceful wings. The Starys and Staravias flapped their wings but didn't move, as they allowed the legendary to pass. Articuno stared at them as it passed, and smiled in acknowledgement.

All of a sudden, a giant airship materialized in front of the birds.

It was a giant mass of glass and steel, and resembled a slightly inflated oval. The windscreen was frosted over, though it seemed like there would be dozens of people onboard, as the ship was the length of six Wailords and the width of two lying sideways. The Starlys and Staravias all began to squawk loudly, and Articuno rushed in front.

"Artic!" It cried and its eyes flashed an icy blue. A ball of the same colour formed in Articuno's beak, and it fired it into the clouds, releasing a wave of the same colour. The snow began to fall more heavily, and splattering against the ship, causing into the move slightly. Articuno was able to catch a logo embedded on the roof.

A giant yellow G.

A large panel at the bottom of the ship slid aside, and a long black gun was lowered. It turned towards Articuno, and fired a small yellow and black ball. Articuno instantly recognised it: many trainers had tried to use Ultra Balls on it, but Articuno was very reluctant to be captured, and quickly fired an Ice Beam, shattering both the ball and the gun. Then, with a ferocious cry, a pure white ball formed in Articuno's beak. It fired a giant snowstorm, freezing the bottom of the ship. The Starlys and Staravias moved forwards, preparing to fight, but the airship disappeared, having turned invisible again. The Starling Pokémon all looked around, searching for Articuno, but a giant blue blur was flying back to the clouds, leaving only heavy snow and blue snowflakes behind.

* * *

The sound of the battle awoke Charles.

Unlike Matthew, he was completely paralyzed. He couldn't move his arms, he couldn't move his finger, he couldn't even open his mouth. His body felt like it was made out of lead, except for his head: the feeling was far too strong. His vision was blurred and short sighted; there was a loud ringing in his ears, and a throbbing headache to top it off. A bright light was flashing down on him, so he tried to look around. All Charles could see was a head of long black hair. He let out a grunt, and the hair swished, and Charles could tell that the dark skinned human was a woman, before she rushed off. Charles let out more grunts, trying to free his jaw, but it just made his ears hurt more. He shut his eyes, trying to fall back asleep, and put himself out of this misery. But something moved near him, and Charles couldn't resist taking a peak.

A woman's face loomed over him.

She was pale, with large brown eyes that seemed to be staring into him. Her hair was a vivid red, and was shaped so that she had a triangular fringe, and points were styled on either side of her cheeks, with another point on her head.

"What a cutie." She giggled, with a slightly high British accent. "I could do _soooo _much to you. Nothing like that, though." She added, as Charles let out strangled cries, his eyes wide. "The boss has forbidden us from falling for you, but you are just so adorable."

"Leave the boy alone, Mars." The woman, seemingly called Mars, backed off, revealing that she was wearing a dress. It was mainly white, though was black on the arms, at the top and between the breasts. A yellow G was there as well, and Charles gasped: the same symbol had been worn by the people last night. However, a man moved in, blocking Mars from view. He had deep blue hair, which seemed to match his suave voice. He had a long fringe, and his hair had been shaped so that it looked like he had devil horns.

"Cyrus will want to see the boy, but I think he'd prefer it the sedative wore off first."

"Oh, you always think you know everything Saturn." Mars snapped. Saturn rolled his eyes, and quickly tapped something out of Charles' view. Charles suddenly felt shooting pains throughout his body, and he shut his eyes, and instantly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Sinnoh Broadcasting Company HQ- Jubilife Division.

Vanessa was looking grouchily around the crowded ground floor of the SBC headquarters. There were about five dozen people, varying from six to about sixty. Some of them usually waited on the fluro yellow seats, hoping for a showdown to occur. Others had rushed down quickly after seeing the report, and were ecstatic about seeing how it would unfolded. About two thirds to the left of the reception desk was reserved for the battles, though several pot plants were had to be cleared away first. The first trainer, a different cameraman, was waiting, a PokeBall ready in his hands. Vanessa was thinking more about Matthew, and how Sahara and Xavier were doing with their search, but the loud noise was very distracting.

"So, Vanessa, how are your nerves at the moment?" The girl turned, and saw Lucinda and Harrison standing there, awaiting her reply.

"I am perfectly calm." Vanessa snapped back, and pulled out her first PokeBall.

"That is good to hear, and any comments on your opponent?"

"He looks like he thinks he is the best trainer around, but his ego will be easy to deflate." Vanessa said, and Lucinda gave a big smile.

"Thanks for your comments, and good luck." She said, and turned to the camera. "Now, we will go over the rules again quickly for you all at home. Vanessa will take part in three battles, battling one Pokémon, then two, then three. If she still has two or more Pokémon left then, Vanessa will take part in a double battle with an unknown opponent, before facing off in a one-minute battle to the finish against one of our talented reporters." The crowd all whooped and cheered, and the intensity of the lights over the field grew, while the crowd's lights dimmed.

"Let the Showdown begin!" Lucinda cried, to more cheers from the crowd. The cameraman stepped forwards.

"The name's Cam, and don't worry lil' lady, I'll go easy on you." He said, smiling widely and showing his filthy yellow teeth.

"Eww." Vanessa muttered. There was a loud bell, and the battle began.

"Zubat, come on out!"

"Chimchar, get this over with." Vanessa said enthusiastically, but she tossed the ball to make the crowd smile more. There were two flashes of red, as Cam's Zubat formed, along with Chimchar.

"Zubat, use Poison Sting." Cam cried.

"Ember." Vanessa said. Chimchar seemed to represent his trainer's annoyance, and lazily dodged the attack, before firing a small ball of fire. Zubat let out a cry as he was blasted into the sky.

"Leech Life!" Cam yelled, still sounding confident.

"Ember again." Vanessa said, and yawned. The crowd gasped as Chimchar leapt into the air, dodging the HP sucking particles and firing a second ball of fire. Zubat was engulfed in flames once more, and both Pokémon landed on the field at same time, though only one was conscious.

"I hope that was too tough on you." Vanessa beamed, as she bent down and patted Chimchar's head, while Cam stood looking astonished, as the crowd all cheered with delight.

* * *

Jubilife City

"Matthew, Matthew, MATTHEW!"

"Now really Sahara, do I have to explain the pointlessness of that again?"  
Sahara let out a loud groan, unable to contain herself any longer. After only fifteen minutes, Xavier had lectured her twice on calling for Matthew. She was dreading being stuck with him for more than five minutes, but Turtwig and Nutty were in deep conversation, and Sahara didn't want to leave until then.

"So sorry Xavier, I keep forgetting." Sahara said, through gritted teeth.

"That is quite alright." Xavier replied, and gave her a strange smile.

"Have you captured a Starly or any other flying type?" Sahara asked.

"No, do you need to borrow one?" Xavier asked, looking perplexed.

"I was just wondering as then we could use it to help search." Sahara explained, talking slowly, though that seemed to make Xavier look move confused, and Sahara gave up.

"We just have to look for the van Matthew was taken in, and he'll be nearby." Xavier said.

"I highly doubt that we will find Matthew if we find the van, they probably dumped it somewhere random." Sahara scoffed.

"The Poketch Building doesn't seem random." Xavier said, and he stopped walking. Sahara stopped, and turned. The second tallest skyscraper, after the SBC Building, was the Poketch Building, where the Poketchs were manufactured and distributed. The logo, which consisted of a Poketch with a giant red P over it, was attached above the door. A number of vans were in the carpark, and Xavier made a beeline for one.

"Twig?" Turtwig said, following after.

"Yes, I am certain it is this one." Xavier said, and approached the closest van.

"How can you be certain?" Sahara asked, rushing to keep up.

"It is the same number plate, I remembered seeing it before falling over." Xavier explained, and pointed at the plate: PKTCH8. Sahara seemed doubtful, but Nutty was open to it.

"Pachi Pachirisu." She said, and jumped onto the bonnet. She glowed yellow, and transferred a Spark attack into the engine. The lights briefly flashed, but the engine was successfully cut, and the doors were unlocked.

"Good job." Sahara said, and Xavier went into the back, and slid the rolling door up. Turtwig clambered inside, and quickly leapt about. As Sahara and Nutty joined, Turtwig leapt out, holding a small piece of fabric.

It was identical to Matthew's jacket.

* * *

The ground floor was empty, except for a stern looking receptionist behind a long orange and red desk, with a lift on either side of her. Matching seats covered the blue tiled floor, in six rows of ten. A small space was designated for press conferences, with a plain wooden podium in front of a widescreen television. The walls were cream, and they made the tropical pot plants pop out. Turtwig instinctively went towards, lighting up as he went.

"No Turtwig, stay here." Xavier said, and picked up the small turtle.

"Turt Turtwig." Turtwig grumbled, and the receptionist looked up.

"Yes?" She squawked, with a nasal voice, causing Sahara to giggle.

"Yes, we believe some clowns in your employment may have captured my friend." Xavier said calmly. Sahara sighed loudly and the woman looked like she had just swallowed a bunch of lemons.

"What did you just say?" The woman snapped, clutching the desk very tightly.

"Pardon my friend, he is a bit on the weird side." Sahara chuckled, shoving Xavier aside. "He is referring to this thing he saw on TV."

"No Sahara, Matthew was kidnapped by several clowns last night, and we found the van right outside." The woman continued to look very cross, but then they heard a slight buzzing sound, emitting out of the receptionists ear. She relaxed a bit, and then forced a strained smile.

"Pachirisu Pachi Risu Pach." Pachirisu scoffed, and Turtwig chuckled.

"I never get it when they tell jokes." Sahara huffed, as the woman stood up.

"Our chairman understands what has happened, and would like you to go upstairs." She said, and directed towards one of the lifts. There was a dinging sound, and the doors opened automatically.

"I would rather stay downstairs." Xavier said, and he moved towards a seat.

"But the chairman wants you upstairs." The receptionist said through clenched teeth. Sahara noticed her fingers moving towards a button, and she clutched onto Nutty.

"Get ready." She muttered. And sure enough, several seconds later, the other elevator opened door up. Three clowns came out, with something bulging under their arms.

"I recommend you go up to the chairman's office." The receptionist growled.

"Over my dead body!" Sahara roared, as she threw out a PokeBall and Nutty leapt into the air.

* * *

SBC HQ

For the past ten minutes, Vanessa had managed to easily beat the other two trainers. There had been a junior trainer with a Starly and a Bidoof, and Shinx had used a mixture of moves to bring them both down. Staraptor then brought down a cameraman and his army of Geodudes with a succession of Close Combats, leaving behind three large holes in the wall.

"Well Vanessa, you definitely seem to be a very able trainer." Lucinda said, as she and Harrison manouvered through the crowd for an interview. She was obviously shocked and annoyed about the easy wins, but was managing to keep a professional attitude.

"Seriously, isn't this meant to be a challenge?" Vanessa said, and several people nearby chuckled.

"I guess you are just too good." Lucinda laughed, and slightly kicked Harrison, who turned away to to get shots of the crowd. Lucinda lowered her microphone and looked furious.

"Did you have to say that?" She growled.

"What, the truth?" Vanessa said, grinning.

"You are making the station look bad." Lucinda explained. "I may dislike Clarisse, but I will get in trouble if you stuff up her ratings.

"Damn straight!" Vanessa and Lucinda turned as Clarisse marched through the crowd, wearing an elegant blue dress and blue nail polish, pushing the crowd aside. Vanessa recognised her as the host of _Chatting with Clarisse _ as it was was advertised all over Sinnoh.

"You, little lady, have been interrupting my interview with Chad Britt." She snarled.

"Sorry, little lady, but I didn't mean to cut into your precious tea party." Vanessa said, smiling wickedly.

"Oh, it is more than that you idiotic little bit-"

"Wow, it is true." Vanessa interrupted.

"What is?" Clarisse said, stopping her rant.

"It is true that you've had botox, you are showing no emotion." Vanessa said bluntly. Lucinda and Harrison exchanged looks as Clarisse fumed.

"You have to admit it darling, your face is tighter than spandex on a fat man." Harrison said. Vanessa and Lucinda cried with laughter, and Clarisse looked like she had been kicked in the gut.

"Rot it hell!" She said, and slapped him across the face.

"Ok, ow!" Harrison huffed, as Clarisse's fingernails had drawn blood.

"Suck it up!" Clarisse snapped, and looked at the stunned Lucinda.

"You'd better fix this up, or I'll ensure you'll pay." She whispered.

"What do you expect me to do?" Lucinda muttered back. "People love her!"

"Just listen to me. Battle her in the next round and let her beat you. Then I'll mop the floor with the stupid bitch and get the ratings I need." Lucinda looked shocked at this, and tried to ask Harrison for advice, but Clarisse was smiling widely, and Lucinda realised there was nothing she could do. Even though she was the heiress to the Adiem Empire, Clarisse was still senior, and if Lucinda stuffed up her ratings, she'd have to pay.

* * *

Poketch Headquarters

Aqua quickly formed on top of the reception desk. The clowns glared at Sahara and whipped machine guns out.

"Nutty use Bite, and Aqua use Water Gun!" Sahara bellowed. Xavier stood up, pulling out Lapras' PokeBall, but Turtwig tackled him to the ground, just as bullets began to smash into the seats. Nutty and Aqua successfully dodged them, and Nutty bit down onto a clown's foot, making him yell out, as Aqua's Water Gun knocked another over. Sahara went to dodge the next lot of bullets, but the receptionist clutched onto her neck.

"You aren't going anywhere!" The receptionist said viciously.

"Turtwig use Tackle!" Xavier yelled, as he searched for the PokeBall he had dropped. Turtwig dashed across the tiles, jumped up to avoid a bullet and landed on the desk.

"Turtwig!" He cried, and slammed into the woman's head. She yelled out and stumbled backwards, hitting her head on the desk as she did so.

"Cow." Sahara growled, massaging her throat. "Thanks for that guys." She added, and Turtwig smiled.

"No problem." Xavier said, as he found the PokeBall and threw it across the room. Lapras formed behind the men, momentarily distracting them.

_Oh good, a battle. Haven't had one of these for years. _Lapras thought, and her eyes flashed as she used Psychic to disarm the clowns.

"This is really unfair!" One of them grunted, as the Pokémon surrounded them.

"Just deal with it!" Sahara smiled. "Aqua use Water Gun, and then Nutty use Spark."

"Float Zel Zel!" Aqua cried, and fired a large Water Gun, splashing all the clowns with the thin jet of water.

"Pachirisu." Nutty yelled, and fired the ball of electricity. The water was the perfect conductor, and all the men yelled out and collapsed, their clothes smoking slightly. Sahara breathed a sigh of relief, but there were footsteps overhead.

"We need to move." Xavier said, standing up. "I doubt that this unorthodox battle went unnoticed, and I don't want to get shot at anymore before we have found Matthew."

"Good idea." Sahara said, as she brought Aqua back. "We'll take their lift, it might go down." Xavier nodded, and the two picked up their starters.

_Hold on a second. _Lapras thought, as a white ball formed in her mouth. Sahara and Xavier stared as Lapras fired a Blizzard across the whole foyer. The tiles turned to ice, and the lift doors were frozen shut.

"Nice Lapras you have there." Sahara chuckled, as she ran into the lift. Xavier smiled at Lapras as he brought her back, and then rushed into the lift. The doors closed, and they quickly descended.

* * *

SBC HQ

"Wailmer, use Whirlpool, and Miltank use Icy Wind."

"Shinx use Thunder Fang on Wailer, and Chimchar use Scratch on Miltank."

The crowd all gasped as the final moments of Lucinda and Vanessa's battle took place. Shinx and Chimchar quickly dodged the whirlpool and blast of wind as they initiated their final attacks. Lucinda's Wailmer and Miltank were looking defeated, and didn't care as they took on the attacks.

"Wail!" Wailmer moaned, before rolling onto her back. Miltank could muster a thing, and collapsed forwards, causing Chimchar to run out of the way.

"Chim Chim!" Chimchar smiled.

"Shi Shinx!" Shinx added, and they rushed towards Vanessa.

"Really Lucinda, I thought you'd do better than that." The red head called, as the crowd all whooped and cheered. Lucinda, who was red in the face and hoarse from yelling, looked around for Harrison, who brought water over while another cameramn took over.

"Wasn't that a great battle?" Clarisse called, and the crowd all cheered again. "Vanessa certainly will be difficult to beat. Luckily, I haven't lost a Showdown battle yet!" The crowd was stunned for a minute, but then screamed louder, while Vanessa looked like she had been slapped. Chimchar and Shinx exchanged looks, but suddenly turned into red energy as Vanessa brought them back.

"I don't want to battle you!" She huffed, rushing forwards.

"Tough luck." Clarisse spat, replacing the hand held mic for a clip on one. "I am battling you whether you like it or not." She smirked, and then moved over to where Lucinda had been standing a minute ago. "Are you ready Vanessa?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." Vanessa snapped, but put on a smile and the crowd cheered. As she moved back, Vanessa pulled her hand held device out, and tapped away at several buttons. She put it away, and then pulled Staraptor's PokeBall out.

"Staraptor and Abra, I choose you!" Vanessa yelled. There was a flash of white along with the red energy, as Abra teleported in front of Vanessa. Staraptor formed, and the two nodded their heads to acknowledge each other.

"Star Staraptor Tor Aptor Star." The giant Starling mumbled, filling Abra in.

"Abra." Abra replied, and the two turned to Clarisse, who looked a bit shocked about the entrances, but then pulled out two Great Balls.

"An Abra, I don't think Teleporting will be very helpful. Now, Marowak and Kingdra, bring her down!" She yelled. Two blue flashes later, Kingdra and Marowak had formed. Kingdra seemed to not care about the lack of water, and curled her tail to make a stand.

"Staraptor use Close Combat on Kingdra, and Abra use Ice Punch on Marowak." Vanessa cried.

"Kingdra use Ice Beam on Staraptor, and Marowak use Boomerang on Abra." Staraptor flew forwards, as Abra teleported towards Marowak.

"King Dra!" Kingdra yelled, and fired the ice blue beam. Vanessa gasped as Staraptor flapped her wings furiously, trying to stay up, and then swung a wing, driving it into Kingdra's jaw, knocking the over sized seahorse over. Meanwhile, Abra's teleporting had allowed him an easy hit at Marowak, but Marowak swung his bone around.

"Maro." He muttered, and threw it. It knocked Abra away from Staraptor, and then slammed into the back of his head.

"Going to give up?" Clarisse called, and Vanessa cackled with laughter.

"It'll take more than that to bring my down, you wretched old hag." She grinned. "Staraptor use Twister, and Abra use Zen Headbutt on Kingdra."

"Kingdra use DragonBreath, and Marowak use Earth Power, both on Abra." Clarisse growled. Staraptor soared towards the roof, spinning rapidly. Abra ran forwards, as Marowak smashed his bone onto the floor. Yellow energy burst through the tiles, blasting Abra into the sky. Staraptor to avoid, and then turned into a Twister. Abra's head became covered in blue energy, and then dived towards Kingdra, just as Staraptor got between them. Marowak and Kingdra were picked up, and the DragonBreath attack was spread out. It still struck Abra, but the Psi Pokémon managed to hit Kingrda in the stomach, causing the two to sprawl onto the floor. Staraptor stopped spinning, and Marowak landed painfully onto the damaged floor, the bone rolling away.

"Staraptor use Close Combat on Marowak, and Abra use Knock Off on Kingdra." Clarisse's eyes bulged out, and Vanessa smiled.

"I knew you Kingdra would have some boosting item." Vanessa smiled.

"No matter! Kingdra use Dragon Rage on Abra and Marowak use Bone Club on Staraptor." Staraptor flew high into the air, as Marowak ran and scrambled for his bone. Kingdra remained where she was, waiting for Abra to approach. Abra had his left hand raised, and rushed to and slapped Kingdra in the middle. An X-Attack that had been wedged underneath her scales fell off.

"Kingdra!" Kingdra cried, and fired a ball of orange fire from her mouth. Abra was blasted backwards, just as Staraptor swooped down.

"Star!" She yelled, and slammed into Marowak. Marowak groaned, but raised the bone and swung it like a club, knocking Staraptor backwards onto the ground.

"Staraptor use Aerial Ace on Kingdra, and Abra use Zen Headbutt on Marowak and get him down here." Vanessa said, trying not to look scared.

"Kingdra use Ice Beam and Marowak use Bone Club, both go for Staraptor." Clarisse said, looking happy. Vanessa looked towards the timer, and saw that they had been given more time. Obviously, this was doing well for the ratings, but Vanessa fell bad for her Pokémon as they rushed forwards. Staraptor was speeding towards Kingdra, but the two opponents attacked at the same time. Staraptor cried out as she was hit on the head with the Bone Club, and was then hit with the Ice Beam. The crowd all gasped, and muttered to each other, wondering how Vanessa would pull through. But Staraptor flapped the attacks away and slammed into Kingdra. Abra then teleported behind Marowak and slammed his head into Marowak's back, knocking him down towards Vanessa's feet.

"Staraptor use Fly on Kingdra and Abra use Ice Punch on Kingdra."

"Finish this with an Ice Beam and a Bommerang. Try and get them before they can move!" Clarisse screamed. Staraptor was looking very tired, and Abra wasn't moving. Marowak and Kingdra stood on either ends of the field, preparing to attack.

"Move NOW!" Vanessa cried. The crowd all gasped as Staraptor suddenly sped towards the roof, shaking off the pain and disappearing from view. Kingdra and Marowak then faced Abra, and each initiated their attacks. Abra looked as the ice blue beam and the bone came towards him, and then teleported. Clarisse let out a strangled scream as her Pokémon's attacks hit each other. Marowak was instantly frozen, before collapsing to the ground with a loud thud. Kingdra dodged the Boomerang, and smiled, but then Abra appeared in front.

"Abra Ra Ra." Abra said, and slammed an icy fist into Kingdra's stomach.

"NOOOOOO!" Clarisse roared, as Kingdra dropped to the ground. There was a loud ding, and the crowd erupted into a giant cheer: Vanessa had won, and become the first trainer to win without a single one of her Pokémon fainting. Staraptor flew down for the roof, and Abra teleported back over. The crowd poured onto the field, whooping and cheering. Tears streaked down Clarisse's face, causing her mascara to run, and she quickly brought her Pokémon back to stop them getting trampled. People wanted to hoist Vanessa into the air, but she slapped her hands away and pushed through.

"I believe you owe me some resources." Lucinda and Harrison were cheering with the rest, and hadn't expected Vanessa to come over.

"Of course, of course, but how about an interview first?" Lucinda asked, smiling widely. Harrison lifted his camera up, but Vanessa grabbed it and threw it across the length of the hallway.

"I need to find my friend first." She snarled. Lucinda and Harrison exchanged looks before nodding, and Vanessa sat down on a seat, and waited for what she needed.

* * *

Poketch Headquarters

The lift doors opened up, and Xavier, Sahara, Turtwig and Nutty found themselves inside a long corridor, with few doors and lots of holes in the roof.

"What sort of stuffed up place is this?" Sahara grunted, as Nutty cautiously moved over the concrete floor.

"Mother would most definitely dislike this place." Xavier said, as he sniffed and burst into a coughing fit.

"I wouldn't do that, there is probably a ton of icky mould in here." Sahara said. "You wouldn't expect this after the flashy foyer." She walked up to one of the doors and listened. "I don't think anyone is down here." But Nutty and Turtwig were walking ahead of them.

"I think they may have heard something." Xavier said.

"Turtwig Tur Twig Twig." Turtwig said, and rushed forwards.

"Wait!" Sahara gasped, but Nutty followed as well.

"Pach Pachi Risu Risu Pachirisu." Nutty called. Xavier and Sahara raced after, their feet thudding against the concrete floor. They turned a corner and quickly froze. Nutty and Turtwig were staring down a staircase, and gave their trainers serious looks to make them quiet. Sahara took her bag off and bent down and looked down as well.  
A very fat man, wearing a stained singlet and too small shorts, was sitting on a small chair, watching a small, old television. Sahara thought she could see Vanessa on it, but ignored the thought when she saw a clown suit on a hook behind him.

"It's a clown!" Sahara whispered, and Xavier bent down as well. There was also a room opposite the staircase, and a figure was inside, but they couldn't see who it was. There were footsteps, and they ducked further out of sight. A man in a suit was walking, and the fat man quickly stood up and saluted him, his gut knocking the television over onto the floor. It shattered, and the man in the suit stopped and turned to him.

"You clumsy fool!" He snarled. "Why are you guarding the child anyway?" Sahara stifled a gasp, while Xavier moved cautiously forwards, and was able to see Matthew's handmade jacket.

"The others went upstairs, there was some sort of disturbance." The fat man replied. The man in the suit pondered for a moment, and then sighed loudly.

"I knew that someone would come looking for him." He growled. "I'll go deal with him now." He marched into the room, and his back blocked him from view. They heard him slap Matthew, obviously to wake him up.

"What are we going to do?" Sahara asked.

"We have Pokémon, and they don't seem to be armed." Xavier said, and Sahara hit her head.

"Of course, sorry, this is just intense." She said. "Maybe we should call Vanessa, get her Pokémon to help."

"I believe I am as capable as her." Xavier said, and pulled Lapras' PokeBall out.

"Ok, hopefully she has finished her Showdown and will be here soon." Sahara said, and rolled a Great Ball behind her. Virus formed from the blue light, and came quietly over. Xavier seemed to be ready to send Lapras out, but Sahara put a finger to her mouth, and then pointed towards the door.

"Wake up you worthless slime, WAKE UP!" Matthew let out a groan, mainly due to an unbearable pain on his cheek. He didn't feel as numb anymore, and his vision came back to him as soon as he woke up. A main wearing a black suit and black tie was looming over him, clutching a small handgun. Matthew let out a yelp when he saw it, and the man smirked.

"Hello there Matthew." The man said. "My name is Mr Ivan, and I own the building you are being held in."

"Which is?" Matthew asked.

"The Poketch Company Building, I thought the clowns would have given it away." Mr Ivan said, grinning.

"Clowns..." Matthew muttered. "Is that why you brought me here, because I got snippy with one of them yesterday?" Mr Ivan boomed with laughter, and the fat man joined in as well.

"Son, I do not kidnap people because they snap at my clowns." He said, wiping away tears of laughter. "I kidnap people because they have angered me, or have-"

"How have I angered you, I only just met you!" Matthew cried, raising his voice, but gasped as Mr Ivan pistol whipped him, knocking Matthew and the chair over. Matthew felt the ropes around his hands loosen, and gave them a pull: they came loose.

"Don't you think I know that, idiot child!" Mr Ivan hissed, as he aimed the gun between Matthew's eyes. "I am doing this because of something that happened many years ago. Sadly, I am not in the mood to tell it."  
Xavier and Sahara could hear what he was saying clearly, and Sahara was clearly horror struck, especially as Mr Ivan had shifted his body, revealing the gun.

"I can't take this any longer." She said, and looked at Virus. "Use Shock Wave, and aim for the gun!" The Electivire nodded, and lifted up his fist. Electricity flowed to his arm, and then a bolt of lightning shot out. It skimmed through the air, past the fat man, and then slammed into the gun, knocking it out of Mr Ivan's hand.

"SHIT!" He cried, as it bent his finger backwards and broke the bone. Suddenly, Matthew lifted his arms into the air and swung them, hitting Mr Ivan in the knees. He buckled and collapsed, landing on the chair and breaking the legs. The fat man was looking around, trying to find the source of the electricity, and then spotted them.

"Come here you little brats!" He said, with the voice of a smoker.

"Virus, go and deal with the suit." Sahara said. "Nutty, use Quick Attack on Jumbo down there."

"Turtwig, assist with Tackle." Xavier said. The three Pokémon nodded and headed off. The fat man reached into the clown suit for a small handgun, but Nutty leapt down the stairs and hit him in the gut, pushing him backwards. As Virus rushed past, Turtwig tackled him in the chest, and he fell backwards, smashing the desk into splinters.

"Get off me, you... you... idiot!" Matthew moaned, failing to find an effective insult as Mr Ivan's weight crushed his legs. Mr Ivan went to lash out, but Virus appeared, and used Low Kick and aimed between the legs. Matthew laughed out loud as Mr Ivan rolled across the floor, clutching his groin.

"Matthew, are you alright?" Sahara cried, as she thundered down the stairs. Matthew weakly stood, rubbing his legs from the rope burn, and smiled weakly as Sahara hugged him.

"I'm fine, I am more concerned about Piplup." He said, and rushed over to his bag. Everything was in there, and he quickly pulled out the PokeBall and sent Piplup out.

"Piplup Pip Pip!" She cried, and hugged him.

"I missed you too!" Matthew said, and hugged the little penguin. There was a groan behind them, and they all stared as Mr Ivan rested his back against the wall.

"The rest are coming." He said.

"What is he talking about?" Matthew asked.

"The other clowns, the ice couldn't have stopped them forever." Xavier said.

"Quick, we need to leave!" Sahara yelled, and Matthew hoisted up his bag and they all rushed for the stairs. Turtwig and Nutty were waiting at the top, and they all ignored the fat man, who was gurgling on the floor. Sahara reached the corridor first, and grabbed her bag. However, she screamed and leapt back down the stairs a second later, bullets skimming over her head.

"What's going on?" Matthew cried, as Virus caught his trainer.

"It's the clowns, they must have been hiding behind the corner!" Sahara yelled.

"Don't worry, I can handle this!" Xavier said, and threw Lapras' PokeBall onto the corridor.

"Wait, isn't that your mothers?" Matthew asked, as Lapras formed, but Xavier ignored him.

"Lapras, use Psychic to clear the corridor."

_With pleasure. _Lapras said, and used her flippers to move around the corner. There was a large amount of gun fire, but Lapras didn't get hit. Her eyes flashed pink, and there was the sound of metal being bent, and cries from the men. Xavier and Turtwig rushed forwards, followed quickly by the others.

"AHHH!" Sahara yelled, as water cascaded onto her.

"What the hell happened?" Matthew asked.

"Pip Pip!" Piplup cried as they rounded the bend. All of the clowns had collapsed, having been thrown across the entire length of the corridor before smashing into the concrete walls. The Psychic had also damaged a number of pipes, and water was pouring down, and gas was leaking out. Xavier and Matthew turned, as a blue light had flashed before them.

"I think Mr Ivan sent out a Great Ball." Xavier said.

"He didn't seem to have any before." Matthew said. They both looked at Sahara, but she had collapsed onto all fours, her soaking wet hair hanging down.

"Electivire Vire Electivi." Virus said to Nutty, who nodded. Virus then picked Sahara up and hoisted her over his shoulder.

"Sahara, what's going on?" Matthew yelled, but all he got was a drunken giggle.

"Pachirisu Pachi." Nutty said, and then ran off.

"Pip Piplup Plup!" Piplup gasped.

_How very interesting, very interesting. _Lapras thought.

"Lapras, what is going on?" Xavier asked, but Lapras just looked at him and winked. Xavier and Matthew exchanged looks, but then they heard a grunt behind them. The two stared down the stairs, and saw the clown standing up, and reaching towards his clown suit. A packet of cigarettes and a lighter fell out, and Matthew gasped.

"If he tries to light a cigarette, the flame will probably blow this building up." Matthew said, shaking slightly.

"We can't yell out to him, than Mr Ivan will probably try and shoot us." Xavier said.

_Don't worry, lets just get to the elevator and I'll deal with the rest. _Lapras growled.

"Let's get up to the foyer, Lapras can use Psychic to protect us." Xavier said. Matthew seemed reluctant, but it was their only option, so he nodded. Both trainers picked up their starters and rushed towards the lift, Lapras sliding along behind them.

"Pip!" Piplup cried, and rushed forwards and used Pound on the lift button. By the time the others arrived, the doors were open and the lift was waiting.

"What about Sahara?" Matthew said, as his finger rested above the G button.

"There is no time to wait." Xavier said, and pressed the button. The doors slammed shut, and the lift quickly rose up. Matthew was feeling increasingly worried: what if the building started to explode before they could get out? But as the lift doors parted, they all saw that the foyer was still frozen.

"Grab onto Lapras." Xavier said. "Lapras, I need you to slid across the ice."

_If you insist. _She grumbled. Matthew and Piplup had barely clambed onto one of the knobs on Lapras' shell when she began to propel herself along the floor. She expertly dodged the unconscious clowns from earlier, swiped past the bullet stricken chairs and towards the front door. Matthew and Xavier could both see an Electivire standing on the other side of the road. It turned around, and Matthew and Xavier exchanged looks. But suddenly, the glass doors were right in front of them.

"Lapras, Blizzard!" Xavier yelled. As the doors parted, Lapras fired another snowstorm from her mouth, freezing the car park. Matthew let out a whoop of delight, and Turtwig and Piplup did a little jig.

"We did it, we survived the killer clowns!" Matthew yelled.

And then the building exploded.

They all heard a loud, echoing boom, before an orange fist burst through the ground, forcing them into the sky.

_Hang onto your hats. _Lapras thought, and quickly covered them in a Psychic barrier. She utilised the force of the blast to allow them to blast into the sky. Xavier looked back, and saw the top floors of the building exploded, glass and concrete getting sent into the air as the roof collapsed into a mass of orange flames, before Lapras titled, and they began to descend. They could hear people screaming and saw them rushing away, as the explosion ripped apart the street. Lapras finally landed onto a fountain, breaking the Psychic barrier, causing Matthew to land into the water. Xavier gave a demented snort of laughter, and Piplup dived into the water and splashed, while Turtwig took a big drink, and the leaves on his head straightened up.

"Matthew, Xavier!" The two boys turned, watching as Sahara and Nutty rushed forwards.

"How did you get out?" Matthew asked. They looked around, and watched as the black smoke began to clear slightly.

"Your hair, it isn't wet anymore." Xavier said.

"Oh, yeah. I always carry a towel with me." Sahara said quickly. Just then, Vanessa raced over. Sahara could see Lucinda and Harrison standing a little way away, reporting on the explosion.

"Jesus Christ, were you guys involved in that?" She asked, puffing slightly.

"You could say that." Matthew grumbled. The black smoke had cleared, revealing a giant hole in the ground, stretching for about twenty metres.

"That is one huge hole." Sahara gasped. Xavier was going to say something, but the sounds of sirens quickly filled the air, as numerous police cars came onto the scene. Vanessa swore loudly, and Matthew's eyes bulged in shock.

"Wow, would really love to stay and chat, but I have to go." She said quickly, and turned, waved one of her tasselled hands, and ran before any of them could say a thing. They watched as an Abra teleported in front of her. She grabbed his arm, and with a flash of white and one last glimpse of her fluro outfit, Vanessa was gone.

"I can't stay either, I don't want the cops to question me and call my bitch of a mother." Sahara said, and picked Nutty up. "Bye!" And she rushed off. Lapras stared at Matthew, who gulped and got out of the fountain.

"I have to go to the... er... Pokémon Centre!" Matthew spluttered, and grabbed Piplup and ran.

"I have very odd friends." Xavier said.

_You don't say. _Lapras smirked, rolling her eyes, as Xavier sat on her back, staring into the giant hole where a building had been only three minutes ago.

* * *

Charles let out another groan, and tried to keep his eyes closed, desperate to try and put off more time paralyzed. He tried to curl his fingers again, and was surprised to find that he could, though it was quite painful. Charles could hear footsteps and voice all around him, and couldn't help but open his eyes, and found the old scientist from the battle standing nearby.

"Oh good, your awake." He mumbled.

"What is going on?" Charles grunted, managing to open his jaw enough to make sound.

"There has just been an explosion below our airship." He replied matter-of-factly. Charles was shocked, but was still to numb to show it. "Don't worry, we'll be out of here soon and back at headquarters."

"Headquarters?" Charles said, his voice high pitched. The scientist grinned menacingly, and Charles shut his eyes, leaving only the noises.

"Yes, headquarters. You are going to be with us for a while, whether you like or not." The scientist whispered. Charles tried his best to stop them, but tears began to stream down his cheeks. He heard the scientist cackle with laughter as Charles realised he no longer had a choice what was going to happen to him.

From now on, he belonged to Team Galactic**  
**


	7. The Gateway to the League

**The Gateway to the League**

January 5th 2010

_The wind was howling louder than it had ever howled before. Charles was looking around desperately, as the ground beneath him began to shake. The sky was pure black, except for a single, bright, unbearable light, flashing down upon him. It was as if Hell had opened up, unleashing all of its fury onto the world. There was a loud roar, and blue electricity crackled across the sky._

"HELP, SOMEBODY HELP!" Charles yelled. He looked around, and saw a Pokemon lying at his feet, but it was glowing white, and he was unable to make of its figure. He looked back up, and leapt backwards, as _Sahara__ stared into his eyes._

"Why Charles, why did you have?" She said, her face pale and her eyes black.

"I…I…. I… I didn't do anything." Charles stuttered. Before he say anything else, _Sahara__ emitted an ear-bleeding scream, and Charles could only see green. Celebi suddenly flashed before his eyes, _and he awoke, sweating pouring down his face.

"My my, you seem to have had a nasty little dream there." Charles looked around, and saw a man sitting there, the same man who had captured him several nights ago. "Hello Charles, my name is Cyrus."

"Wh-wh-what are you doing here?" Charles said, panting. "What am I doing here?" Cyrus let out a dry laugh, giving Charles a chance to look briefly around the room. It was very small, about the length of two cupboards. It had plain brown walls and a wooden plank floor. The bed was a single, with white sheeting. There was a chair that Cyrus was sitting on, and Charles' PokeBalls, shirt and shorts were by it. Charles suddenly realised he was only wearing his boxers, and couldn't help but flush.

"My dear boy, I am here because I own this building." Cyrus said. "You are here because of the trouble you caused us the other night." Cyrus stood up, and Charles glared at him.

"I don't want to be here!" He huffed.

"Well of course you don't, no one ever wants to be here." Cyrus smirked. "But that isn't up to you in the slightest." Charles leapt out of the bed, but gasped and picked up his clothes, shielding his shame.

"Oh Charles, I have dealt with similar situations like this before." Cyrus said, rolling his eyes.

"Are you some sort of paedophile?" Charles growled, as he went to put the shirt on, but Cyrus slapped him across the face and he stumbled.

"It would be wise not to insult me." Cyrus said, but regained his calm nature. "My scientist, Charon, and Head of Training, Draco, examine the potential recruits, or 'grunts', as they are commonly called. If they are unfit, we shoot them. Thankfully, you are reasonably defined for a sixteen. You have good definition, and should be easy enough to train."

"Train for what?" Charles asked, rubbing his face. Cyrus smiled, and then turned towards the door that blended into the walls.

"You'll find that out when the time is right." The blue haired man said. "Someone will be over soon to give you your new clothing. You also must choose one main Pokemon to train, preferably unevolved. Goodbye." And Cyrus walked out of the door, closing it quietly. Charles picked up one of his PokeBall's and rolled it. After the usual red light, an Eevee formed. Unlike most female Eevee's, Elle, as she was known, was quite the tomboy, and liked to play with Charles' other Pokemon, despite them generally being larger than her.

"Eva Eve!" She said, and bounced onto Charles' chest, knocking him backwards. He smiled weakly, but Elle gave him a look, and he sighed.

"This place seems like hell, but together, we'll get through it Elle." He said, and gave her a hug.

"Eevee?" She asked, but when a tear splashed onto her brown coat, she knew not to question, and rested her head on his bare shoulder.

* * *

Oreburgh Gate

Despite the tunnel not being that long, Sahara was still highly worried about the Oreburgh Gate. The wind was whistling through, echoing in a ghostly manner and sending chills down her spine. Nutty was wrapped tightly in her coat, but was emitting a Flash, helping to guide her trainer.

"I hate going through tunnels." Sahara muttered. "I can never see where I am going."

"Pachi." Nutty said, nodding in agreement. The light was showing a clear path up ahead, and Sahara felt slightly more confident. There was a small amount of light up ahead, and all the trainers seemed to have not bothered coming through, making the trip far more enjoya-

"ARRRGHH!"

Sahara's left foot collided with a rock, and she sprawled forwards. Nutty let out of the coat, and tried to position herself to save her, but Sahara splattered onto a rock, her face narrowing missing a sharp point.

"Ow." Sahara moaned; her hands were grazed, and she was winded.

"Pachirisu?" Nutty asked, looking worried.

"I'm fine, don't worry." Sahara said, clutching her side.

"Do you need a hand?" Sahara turned around, and nearly cried out again.

Vanessa was standing over her, her left arm outstretched. But Sahara was focusing more on the fact that her dress appeared to be made out of light. Yellow light was emitting from her chest and legs, causing the rest of her body to glow. She was also wearing a black headband and black heels, both with a small light on them. Her yellow bag hung loosely from her shoulder, and something was poking out.

"Thanks." Sahara said, and clamped her less injured right hand around Vanessa's wrist, and hoisted herself up.

"I've heard of loud outfits, but I think this is ridiculous." She let out a laugh, but Vanessa scowled slightly.

"I decided to put LED's on my dress today, I've lost my torch." Vanessa explained, clambering over the rocks. She seemed to have been sitting behind two large boulders with cracks in them.

"Where did you go yesterday?" Sahara asked, as she pressed dust off her coat. Vanessa looked at her a bit shiftily, and then forced a smile.

"I had to do some work on a few inventions, and design my dress." She said quickly. Nutty leapt onto Sahara's shoulder as she stood away from the rocks.

"You invent stuff, that's pretty cool." Sahara smiled, and Vanessa nodded, and Sahara decided not to pursue. "So, are you going to battle Roark, he's the first gym leader, isn't he?"

"Well duh." Vanessa scoffed. "I am in the league, aren't I?" Sahara rolled her eyes, and went to ask anything question, but suddenly let out a scream. Vanessa was puzzled, but all thought left her as something smashed onto her head.

* * *

Oreburgh City

While the sky was grey and cloudy around the rest of Sinnoh, the sun was shining down upon Oreburgh. Most of the town seemed to be asleep, leaving the rocky ground empty and the dusty undisturbed. The buildings were all low compared to Jubilife, so they cast little shadows, and seemed microscopic when compared to the museum, which liked like any typical museum on the outside, with cold grey walls and large pillars over the steps.

Then there was the gym.

It was on a hill that had been shaped flat. There were many boulders and rocks scattering it, and a roughly carved staircase. The gym itself was brown and white, like most gyms, though there were no windows, as the walls and roof could retract, opening it up on beautiful days.

Matthew looked up at the glass doors, and then to Piplup, who was on his shoulder.

"I am ready to go in when you are." He said, his voice shaking slightly.

"Piplup Pip Pip!" Piplup said sternly, and hit him over the head.

"Your right, I just need to do this. We are prepared, we can't lose." Piplup smiled, and Matthew, feeling increasingly more confident, began to walk towards the gym. But he had barely put a foot on the first step when the doors opened, water gushing out.

"ARRGH!" Matthew yelled, as the wave rushed towards him. He tried to run, but wasn't fast enough. Several second later, he was submerged in water, trying to keep his mouth shut as he knees and shins hit the ground, and Piplup disappeared from his side. After rolling over numerous times, the water began to subside, and Matthew landed on his back, soaked to the skin.

"Piplup!" Piplup cried, and Matthew opened his eyes, blinking out the water as he heard splashes. Piplup then loomed over him, looking forward.

"I am fine." Matthew said, smiling as he brushed hair out of his eyes, but as he got up, he coughed, spluttering water down his front. Piplup use Pound on his back, and more water came out.

"That was a bit unnecessary." Matthew moaned. He managed to stand up, just as a shadow cast over him. Matthew looked up, and found Xavier in front of him, sitting on the back of Lapras.

"Sorry about that." Xavier said. "I just had a battle with Roark, and our attacks accidentally flooded the field."

"I figured." Matthew said, as he took his jacket off, and found his shirt now completely see through. "Did you win." Lapras beamed at this, and Xavier pulled out his green badge case, and flipped to reveal the Coal Badge, which looked light a misshapen brown PokeBall, with a flat bottom.

"It was quite a fun battle, I presume you are going to battle?" Xavier asked.

"Of course." Matthew nodded. "Was he easy."

"I can't compare him to anyone, he is my first major battle." Xavier replied.  
_  
I have battle much tougher opponents. _Lapras thought. Matthew looked around, wondering where the voice had come from, but Piplup was rushing up the steps.

"I better go." Matthew said. He paused for a second, waiting for a 'good luck', but Xavier just stared blankly at him. With a sigh and a roll of his eyes, Matthew rushed up the steps for his first battle.

* * *

Galactic Headquarters

Jupiter considered herself to be a strong woman. People generally mocked her due to her purple hair, which she had styled so that most of it rose into the air, shaped like an oval. She usually had luscious purple lipstick, which stood out on her pale skin. Her was like a jumpsuit, as the shirt and pants were joined together. The shirt part had black striped arms and a black upper, but it went to white after the breast. The white mingled into the right leg, stopping at two grey stripes. The left leg had a top black bit, and then a large black ring around her knee. She topped it of with knee high socks and white boots. Jupiter loved her life and herself, and made everyone else know that she was number one.

But this morning, Jupiter was highly unimpressed. She had been given the remedial task of delivering the uniform to a new grunt. 'It's a special grunt', Draco had said, when he forced it into her hand.

"What would that swine know?" Jupiter huffed, as she clunked through the grunt sleeping quarters. Several men were moving personal items out of a room, which amused Jupiter. The grunts were always getting themselves killed, they were such idiots. She reached the room, and flung the door open. Charles was lying on the bed, still only wearing his underwear, with Elle nestled against his shoulder.

"What do you want?" Charles asked, as he realised Jupiter was there.

"I am meant to deliver your uniform, but I think you'll look better without it on." Jupiter smirked, as she tossed the white and grey outfit on a stool. Elle let out a giggle, and Charles gave her a look before grabbing the clothes.

"Can't I have some privacy?"

"Oh, of course, silly me." Jupiter said, laughing fakely. She closed the door, and then walked over and sat on the bed, watching Charles intently. He sighed, and quickly pulled a white singlet on and the black pants. He was about to pull on the socks and boots when the door was flung open. Mars, the British woman from the previous day, walked in, smiling widely. Charles looked at the bottom of her outfit. The dress was up quite high and stuck out, and would have been revealing if she hadn't been wearing black pants and the usual boots.

"I was right, he is a cutie." Mars said, and gave him a little curtsey. "It is such an honour to _finally _have an available attractive man around here." And she wrapped her arms tightly around Charles' arm.

"Mars, would you live the grunts along for one minute." Jupiter scoffed.

"At least you've got someone." Mars said, leaning on Charles' shoulder and gave him puppy dog eyes. "I wouldn't come near the admin quarters if II were you, she and Saturn are always going at it every other night."

"Urm… interesting, I really didn't need to know that." Charles muttered, as he wrenched his arm free. Elle leapt off the bed and stood between him and Mars.

"Eevee Eva Vee!" She said, her fur standing up on end. Mars looked down at her, before tipping her head back and cackling.

"Look at this Jupiter, the little fox thing thinks she can fight me." She said, dancing slightly. However, Eevee's eyes suddenly flashed pink, and a heart appeared in front of her.

"I recommend you move." Charles said, smiling and backing away. Mars raised an eye, but the heart was getting bigger. Suddenly, after it had become twice the size of Eevee's head, it collapsed, turning into a pink orb.

"EEVEE!" She yelled, and a pink beam was fired. Mars was hit square in the chest, blasting her backwards. She smashed into the back wall, causing it to crack. Jupiter was shocked, but Charles happily put the jacket on and turned to her.

"Now, I believe I have to go some sort of training?" Jupiter seemed shocked, but she looked over at the stunned Mars and smirked.  
_  
Let the boy think the ball's in his court, he'll learn soon enough. _She thought, before heading towards the door.

* * *

Oreburgh Gate

"HELP, SOMEONE HELP!" Sahara screamed, as the mysterious figure approached her.

"I recommend you stop screaming." The person said, stepping over Vanessa. Sahara looked, and saw that it was a teenage boy, around their age, wearing lots of leather and with filthy long brown hair.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Sahara said, as Nutty began to glow.

"I am Emerson, and I am here to deal with this bitch." He said, glancing at Vanessa.

"What did she do to you?" Sahara asked.

"She highly embarrassed me the other day, and I vowed to myself not to let her get away with it." Emerson fumed.  
"I consider myself to be a very good trainer, and she went and ruined my reput-" Emerson froze in mid sentence, his face distorted in pain. Sahara was about to ask why, but he fell forwards, one of Vanessa's heels jammed into the back of his pants.

"I warned you about wearing leather again." Vanessa grunted, as she stood up and removed her shoe. Sahara looked stunned, but Vanessa didn't seem to fussed about it. Nutty stopped glowing and went over, and prodded Emerson in the cheek.

"Um…. what is going on here?" Sahara asked.

"Oh, I battled this guy the other day, easily creamed him." Vanessa said, wiping dust and temporarily blocking the light. "He seemed like the type to hold a grudge, but it takes more than a punch to the head to bring me down." Vanessa said, laughing. Sahara just nodded, feeling slightly nervous. This was made worse when Vanessa bent down and grabbed a rock.

"What are you doing?" Sahara asked, but was answered a second later when Vanessa smashed it into the side of Emerson's face, knocking him out cold.

"That is a bit unnecessary." Sahara muttered.

"If you say so." Vanessa sighed, and then grabbed his long hair. "Are you going to stand there and judge, or will you help me carry him?" Sahara was uncertain, but she didn't want Vanessa to do anything wrong, so she grabbed Emerson's legs as Vanessa pulled him by his hair, and the two carried him deep into the gate.

* * *

Oreburgh Gym

The Oreburgh Gym looked like a mountain landscape. There were a number of rocks rising out of the sandy ground. There were several thin bridges stretching along several of the formations, where several Hikers and a junior were sitting, along with Xavier and Turtwig. Matthew felt very nervous, as he clutched a PokeBall in his hand and tried not to think about crashing and burning. He mumbled constantly to himself about winning, hoping it would help. He didn't realise when a man walked on from a door at the opposite end.

Roark was only in his early twenties, and had a smooth face, though it was covered by his long, red-brown hair and large glasses. He was wearing a grey jacket with yellow and black striped cuffs over a black shit. His pants were grey, and were tucked into his black gumboots. A helmet was on his head, with a light at the front.

"You must be Matthew." Roark said, smiling warmly.

"Y-y-yes." Matthew stuttered, nodding.

"The rules are pretty simple. I am using three Pokemon, but you can use any amount." Roark explained, pulling a PokeBall out of his pocket. "The match ends when one of us loses all our Pokemon. If you win, you get the Coal Badge. If you lose, you can try for it again later."

"Okay." Matthew said.

"You start." Roark said, and Matthew nodded, his hand shaking.

"Pi-pip-pip-Piplup, I choose you!" He said, and threw the ball onto the field. It burst open, and the red light formed into Piplup, who stood up straight, showing much more confidence than her trainer.

"Geodude, come on out." Roark said, and threw his Pokemon onto the field. Geodude flexed his muscles menacingly, but Piplup didn't budge.

"Start off with Bubble!" Matthew ordered.

"Geodude, use Tackle!" Roark said. Piplup fired a small amount of bubbles, but they managed to cause Geodude great discomfort, before he charged and tackled Piplup backwards, causing the penguin to roll.

"Pip." She moaned. Matthew was worried, but Piplup gave him a stern look, and he knew to continue.

"Piplup, use Bubble again!" Matthew said, trying to keep his cool.

"Geodude use Rock Throw." Roark cried. As Geodude grabbed a rock from the field, Piplup fired more bubbles. Geodude was blinded, and when he threw the rock, it skimmed over Piplup and smashed into the wall.

"You are going good Piplup, use Bubble again." Matthew said with a beam.

"Tackle." Roark said bluntly. He seemed to know what would happen, and sure enough, the bubbles had weakened Geodude enough: he landed with a thud, emitting a disgruntled 'Geo' before fainting. Matthew punched the air, smiling broadly.

"Yeah!" He said.

"Piplup!" Piplup added, doing a little jig. Matthew heard a 'Turtwig Tur' from above as Turtwig edged Xavier onto cheering.

"Um… that was a strong Bubble Piplup." Xavier said at last.

"That's a compliment in his books, take it." Matthew muttered, and Piplup giggled.

"Good job, you did alright for a beginning trainer." Roark said, as he brought Geodude back. "However, you must always be prepared for what your opponent has in store next." Matthew's joy quickly left him, as Roark switched PokeBalls.

"Onix, show him what you're made of!" Matthew gasped as the PokeBall opened: it was the most light he had ever seen. Then, the giant rock snake formed, his head touching the top of the roof. There was a whirr, and the roof began to slide apart, giving it more room. The Onix opened his mouth wide, as Piplup stared at it blankly.

"Oh fu-" Matthew began, but Onix emitted such a loud roar that he and Piplup were blasted backwards, as Roark smirked with triumph. Matthew stood back up, rubbing his shoulder, but Piplup was staring at Onix, positively frightened.

"I don't think you should battle him if you feel too uncomfortable." Matthew said.

"Piplup Pip!" Piplup said, and rushed towards her trainer. Matthew smiled and pulled out the PokeBall, brining her back.

"Ok Milotic, look's like it is up to you!" Matthew said, and he threw out another PokeBall. Milotic formed, coiling herself up.

"Interesting choice." Roark said. "Let's see how she deals with my Onix's Bind!" And with another echoing roar, the battle continued.

* * *

Galactic Headquarters- Grunt Training Division

The Galactic Grunts had to be trained in a secure area, away from prying eyes. So Cyrus had brought a large field behind Veilstone City that was surrounded by trees, completely blocking out the building. There were four sleeping huts in the corners, and then there was a large, three storey building, that was a plain white, in the centre, surrounded by pathways, courtyards and training courses. The first floor of the building was the home to the uniforms and weapons, a healing centre, a kitchen, a gym and a recreational facility for both Pokemon and humans, with a pool, tennis court and games room. The second floor had a variety of different changing fields (water, mountain, cave, snow and grass) to battle on, along with more courses. The final floor had an open roof, and was a large training area, with an obstacle course around the sides, and the biggest battle field of the complex was in the centre, with a large G replacing the PokeBall symbol.

Charles and Elle were quite silent as the lift rose up, classical music playing overhead. Jupiter had showed Charles the way to go, and had then gone to deal with Mars. Charles felt awkward inside the pristine white building. He didn't belong in this world, he belong back in Johto, with Lyla. There was a bell, and the lift doors parted, and Charles looked down at Elle.

"Well, here we go." He said.

"Eevee." Elle replied, and they stepped out.

Despite his initial reactions for Team Galactic, Charles was amazed at the top floor. There was a large obstacle course that looked like an oversized playground, with large wooden walls to climb, bars to swing from, rope bridges, a variety of platforms to leap onto and more stuff Charles couldn't even see. However, in the middle of the battle field, about a dozen grunts were standing a line, each with a Pokemon by their sides. All of them were male, but on the end was a very tall, stunningly attractive black girl. She looked over at Charles and signalled for him to come over.

"You look familiar." Charles muttered, as he stood next to her.

"I was on the airship when you woke up." The girl said. Elle walked over to the Beedrill that was by the girl, and they began a conversation, which made the girl smile. "I am Roshonda, by the way. And I know your Charles." She added before he could reply.

"So, why are we all lined up?" Charles asked.

"Draco is on his way." Roshonda whispered. Charles was about to ask if Draco was who he thought he was when there was a ding. He turned and saw a man walk out of the lift.

He looked like he was in his late teens, with long, shaggy blonde hair that covered his thin, tanned face, a large, dark blue trench coat with turquoise lining, and black leather boots. A large metal contraption was on his left wrist: it looked like an enlarged computer mouse, and even had several buttons on it. A Glalie was floating above his shoulders, staring menacingly at the other Pokemon.

"Glalie, Icy Wind!" Draco snapped, his voice rough and hoarse. Charles seemed surprised, but the others trainer were prepared.

"Granbull, use Hyper Beam!"

"Skarmory use Sky Attack!"

"Omanstar use Surf!" Some Pokemon attacked, some used successful evasion moves, but the Glalie was able to dodge most of the attacks.

"Beedrill use Sludge Bomb!" Roshonda yelled. Beedrill leapt into the sky, a purple ball forming between his stingers.

"Bee Bee!" He yelled, and threw it. It hit Glalie, erupting and showering the field with purple sludge.

"Well done Roshonda." Draco said, as he whipped out a Full Heal and sprayed Glalie with it. "You have learnt well." He then looked towards Charles, and smiled. "Welcome, new recruit. My name is Draco, and you are probably aware that I am the trainer for the grunts."

"I heard something like that." Charles replied.

"Ok, in today's lesson, we will be battling inside the tunnel, and – Powder Snow!"

"Shadow Ball!" Charles roared. He had been expecting another attack, and Elle leapt forwards and fired the black-purple ball, just as Glalie fired a snow ball between his horns, and then rolled and tossed it. The two collided, causing snow to be scattered around.

"Very good, you are very sharp on your feet." Draco said, nodding. "I looked in your file, it said that you competed in the Johto League."

"I have a file?" Charles asked, but the comment was brushed aside.

"It also said that you lost out in your last battle against Lance." Draco added, smirking now. "Why was that, exactly?"

"I did my best, using my six best Pokemon at the time: Ampharos, Tauros, Typhlosion, Dragonair, Gyarados and Lugia." At the mention of Lugia, several grunts looked shocked and muttered to each other, and Roshonda's eyes widened. "But he pulled out all the moves, and I ended up losing spectacularly, only knocking out one of his Pokemon."

"You should have used an Ice type, they are very effective." Draco said.

"I'll obtain one in the near future than, if that suits you." Charles snarled back. His mild excitement about the third floor had quickly evaporated, and he was now furious with the trainer. Roshonda had noticed, and turned to him while Draco explained today's practice course.

"I wouldn't get on his bad side, he can get nasty." She muttered. Charles nodded in thanks.

"You each need two Pokemon for this course; you're normal Pokemon and a dark or ghost type." Draco was saying.  
"Your team will enter the tunnel through different entrances. The first three to reach the end will be given easier tasks on tomorrow's mission, while the losers will be on the front line. You may battle each other, and must use your Pokemon to get past certain obstacles." Everyone seemed to be getting tense, but Charles was a bit perplexed. He didn't quite get what he meant by mission, and the obstacles didn't sound too great. But there was a whirr, and holes opened up in front of them.

"Eee Veva." Elle huffed, as she moved backwards. Draco waited into the holes were fully opened, and then grinned.

"Ok, go!"

* * *

Oreburgh Gate- Basement Floor

It took ten minutes to carry Emerson down to the lower section of the tunnel. There was a Veteran meditating by candlelight, but the two groups ignored each other.

"You have a water type, don't you?" Vanessa said suddenly. Sahara stopped as well, and looked downwards. Nutty moved forwards, and her flash illuminated the large stretch of water.

"Um, why?" Sahara said, nervous.

"There is an area over there; I want to dump him there." Vanessa said, smiling deviously. Sahara gasped, and took a step backwards, accidentally dropping Emerson's legs.

"That seems rather nasty!" She gasped.

"Hey, he punched me and probably would have hit you too." Vanessa snapped, dropping Emerson's upper body. "I just want to put him there and slow down his revenge, ok?"

"He does seem like an idiot, but I think trapping him is unfair."

"I agree." A voice croaked. Sahara gasped, but Vanessa drew a PokeBall from her pocket as Emerson began to stand up.

"Gave me a right bump on the head there, you little tart!" Emerson said, and he spat onto the rocky ground, blood in with the spit.

"What goes around comes around." Vanessa replied. Emerson reached into his pockets and pulled out two Dark balls.

"I think that we need to settle our score." He said.

"Funnily enough, I had the exact same thought." Vanessa smirked, and pulled another PokeBall out.

"Magmar and Larvitar, bring the bitch down." Emerson said, and tossed the two Dark Balls. The black light blended perfectly into the dark cave, and it was only when Magmar released some fire that they were noticeable.

"Chimchar and Shinx, make this quick." Vanessa said. The red light was much brighter, and Chimchar's tail lit up the scene.

"I think we should just sit and watch." Sahara whispered to Nutty.

"Pachi." She said in agreement, and they rushed and sat down on a rock.

"Larvitar use Sandstorm, and Magmar use Barrier." Emerson said.

"Shinx use Charge and Chimchar use Ember on Magmar." Vanessa ordered, and the battle began. Shinx began to glow yellow, and Magmar waved his hands, a thin white wall forming between the two sides, and reflecting light on Emerson's Pokemon. Chimchar fired a small ball of fire, and it went through the barrier. Magmar barely registered as the fire hit him, leaving Vanessa mildly puzzled, but Larvitar suddenly fired a ball of sand into the sky. It burst, showering them all with sand. All of them, except for Larvitar, winced in pain.

"Excellent! Now use Bite and Fire Punch on Shinx and Chimchar respectively." Emerson said ecstatically.

"Shinx use Thunder Fang on Larvitar, and Chimchar use Ember on Magmar again!" Vanessa bellowed. Shinx leapt forward and clamped electric covered fangs onto Larvitar, who cried out and retaliated by biting Shinx's tail. Meanwhile, Chimchar and Magmar were firing their fiery attacks. Magmar slammed his flame engulfed first, but what he had thought was Chimchar's tail was the Ember, and it went of course.

"GAH!" Sahara said, leaping out of the way, narrowly avoiding the attack.

"Pachirisu Pachi." Nutty huffed. The sand was starting to blind them, and they were oblivious to where they were going.

"Larvitar, AncientPower, and Magmar, use Fire Spin, both go for Chimchar." Emerson growled.

"Shinx use Spark and Chimchar use Ember, both on Magmar!" Vanessa cried. Sahara and Nutty looked around, and saw yellow, orange and brown attacks forming near them.

"We're on the field!" Sahara yelled, and she ran forwards. The four attacks were fired, and rocks, a ball of electricity, a ball of flame and a line of fire all moved forwards. They collided in the middle of the field, exploding and releasing a powerful shockwave.

"Someone help ME!" Sahara screamed, as she was lifted off her feet. Nutty was crying out as well. Sahara hoped they wouldn't hit the ground too hard, but as her head left the sandstorm, she realised the water was right in front of her.

"Crap." She hissed, and she shut her eyes as she plunged into the pool.

* * *

Oreburgh Gym

"Milotic, use Whirlpool!"

"Onix use Tackle!"

The battle between Matthew and Roark raged on. The field was moist again, due to Milotic's powerful Surf, but Onix was managing to hold on. He charged forwards, about to charge into her, but the sea serpent glowed blue and began to spin rapidly around. A giant Whirlpool formed, and began to float towards Onix.

"MOVE!" Roark yelled, but Onix was too slow. He was trapped, and was being spun around rapidly.

"Watch it!" Xavier gasped, and he picked Turtwig up and moved, just as Onix's head smashed into the bridge he was sitting on.

"Sorry about that!" Matthew cried, as Onix landed with a loud thud to the ground.

"Milotic." Milotic said, in her sweet, airy voice.

"You are proving yourself a strong competitor." Roark huffed. "But let's see how you handle my toughest Pokemon!" He brought Onix back, and then threw his final PokeBall onto the field. A human sized dinosaur, by the name of Cranidos , formed, and stared wickedly at Milotic. This creature seemed to have an evil smirk about it, and Matthew felt uncomfortable. However, Milotic nodded, and Matthew decided to proceed.

"Ok Milotic, use Surf!" Matthew cried.

"Cranidos use Take Down!" Roark yelled.

"Crani!" The dinosaur growled, and then charged forwards, moving at top speed.

"Accept it." Matthew said, and Milotic didn't move, and took the attack. The recoil caused Cranidos to move backwards as well, but Milotic recovered first. She let out a wail, and water rose out of the ground, forming a giant wave that blocked out Matthew's view of the field. But Xavier, Turtwig, Roark and the crowd watched as the wave began to crash down, knocking asides what remained of the bridge, and slamming down onto Cranidos. The water went over Milotic, causing her no damage, but it swept Cranidos down the field, and the unconscious Pokemon floated up to Roark's feet. Matthew didn't realise what had happened, but he smiled in delight, and then rushed forwards, leaping up and hugging Milotic's neck.

"We won, we won!" He yelled in delight.

"Milo." Milotic said softly, and curled her body around Matthew, hugging him in return. Roark walked across the field, having return Cranidos, and smiled warmly as he pulled out another Coal Badge.

"Congratulations Matthew, you have earned this." Matthew stretched a shaking hand out and picked it up, and his smile stretched even wider. Xavier and Turtwig came over, with Turtwig looking far more excited.

"Tur Tur." He said, smiling.

"That was an excellent battle, a good choice of moves." Xavier said.

"Thanks mate." Matthew said, still grinning.

"Yes, it was a great job." Came a voice from behind them. Matthew and Xavier turned, and found Palmer standing there, the sun shining onto him spectacularly.

* * *

Galactic HQ- Grunt Training Division

Several of the grunts quickly whipped out their PokeBalls, releasing out Gastly's and Haunters, Duskulls and Houndours. Roshonda quickly pressed the button on another PokeBall, sending out a large Sharpedo.

"Sorry, but you have to go on land." She whispered, and the shark nodded. "Good luck." She added to Charles, and then leapt into the hole, followed by Beedrill and Sharpedo.

"We better get a move on." Charles muttered, as more trainers took the leap. He pulled out a Great Ball, quickly releasing his Poochyena.

"Poochy!" The black wolf barked, panting.

"Nice to see you, now jump in the hole." Charles said. Poochyena looked confused, so Charles picked both Pokemon up, gave Draco one last look, and then leapt.

He travelled down a sort of metallic chute, but it was painted black. The light from the third floor quickly disappeared, so Charles had no idea what to expect. After a twenty second drop, he suddenly hit something, and then curved up and flew through the air.

"WOAH!" He cried, as he landed onto a muddy ground. Elle and Poochyena moaned, and Charles quickly stood up. He was obviously inside some sort of makeshift tunnel. The ground was very real, but he tapped the wall, and it was hollow.

"I guess we have to get through this." Charles mumbled. There was a small yellow light up ahead, and decided to head for that. "Come on, let's go." He said. Elle and Poochyena nodded, and they moved forwards, staying close to Charles' feet. After walking a few metres, there was a crack, and a beam came their way.

"Elle, Shadow Ball!" Charles yelled. But another beam was falling. "Poochyena, use Sucker Punch!" Elle fired the purple-black ball, and Poochyena ran and used his right front paw to hit the beam. The two beams cracked, but the roof began to creak ominously.

"RUN!" Charles cried, and the two pounded down the track. Behind them, the roof continued to cave in. The light was getting closer, and Charles smiled with relief, but suddenly white arches shot towards him, and Poochyena tackled him out of the way.

"Thanks." He said, spitting mud out. "Elle use Secret Power!" Elle formed a small white ball, which sparked with electricity due them to being inside, and then fired it. The opponent dodged, and it fell into the light.

"Beedrill!" Charles gasped. Roshonda stepped into the light, slightly hunched with the weight of Sharpedo.

"Sorry, I didn't know it was you." She said.

"It is alright." Charles smiled, nodding. "Your Beedrill has some alright moves."

"Same with yours." Roshonda grinned. The two fell into an awkward silence, though their Pokemon jabbered to each other.

"Maybe we should team up; there are three good spots available." Charles said at last. The thought had been floating in his mind since before he had jumped, but hadn't had enough time to ask. Roshonda seemed taken aback, but she looked down at the bonding Pokemon, and then nodded.

"I never work with a partner." She said. "The other girls have their own little groups, it is like school. It'll be nice to do one of these courses with a friend." Now it was Charles' turn to be taken aback; he hadn't expected to find a friend in the midst of this evil organisation. However, Roshonda seemed like a nice enough person, so he gave her a warm smile, and then turned to continue the journey.

* * *

Oreburgh Gate- Basement Floor

The splash was echoing in the cavern, and Vanessa realised what it was straight away.

"We have to stop!" She yelled, and rushed to the water's edge. She couldn't make out anything in the deep, dark water, and the blinding sand wasn't helping.

"So, are you giving up?" Emerson sniggered. Vanessa wheeled around, leapt up and rammed her fist into his nose, causing blood to pour down his face. The Pokemon had stopped to stare at them, and the Sandstorm slowly subsided.

"This is far more important that a battle with low-life scum like you!" Vanessa hissed. She then rushed to the waters edge and pulled her dress up over her head, revealing a black singlet and orange boxers. Emerson went to say something, but Vanessa gave him the finger and leapt into the water. She was instantly surrounded by darkness, and Vanessa wasn't even sure how deep the pool was, and she didn't want to hit her head or run out of breath.  
However, there was a bright flash, and Vanessa shielded her eyes from the white light. Nutty was kicking and screaming, swallowing water and pointing towards Sahara's limp body. Vanessa nodded, and then kicked forwards, grabbing her friend's cold arm. She instantly felt the strain of the extra weight, and it didn't help that Nutty had clung onto her. Vanessa kicked upwards, trying to reach the surface, but her lungs were straining, her eyes were stinging, and water was creeping into her mouth. She cried out, causing bubbles to fly upwards. But the wait on her arm had disappeared: Sahara was floating around, smiling in a wicked yet goofy sort of fashion. With a devious grin, she moved upwards, leaving Vanessa behind. She was momentarily stunned, but then remembered the water pressing down on her and kicked upwards, Nutty swinging wildly. Vanessa gave one final kick, and her head burst through the water. She gasped with relief, and heard Nutty do the same. She doggie paddled towards the edge and pulled herself up, Chimchar and Shinx rushing over. Emerson was nearby, dabbing his nose and brining his Pokemon back. Sahara lay nearby, dripping wet and looking extremely goofy.

"You should have stayed out of the field." Vanessa grunted. Sahara looked out, and then she cackled stupidly.

"Sahara has never been _that _bright." Sahara said, and she giggled loudly. Vanessa looked shocked, and Chimchar and Shinx began to babble to Nutty.

"Chim… Chimchar Chim?" Chimchar asked.

"Pachi Pachi Pachirisu Risu!" Nutty replied.

"Shinx Inx Shi Shi!" Shinx added, but Nutty ignored the last comment. *

"Did Sahara just refer to Sahara as being someone else?" Emerson asked.

"Yes, because I'm not Sahara." Sahara said, standing up. She walked a few paces before toppling over, let out an overdramatic wail and then laughing loudly. "Whoopsie daisy!" Vanessa approached her, but Sahara batted her helping hand away.

"If you aren't Sahara, who are you then?" Vanessa asked, moving back towards her dress.

"I am Eden." Sahara said. "I have not been out to breathe for a while." She looked towards her bag and stumbled over, making Emerson back away. She opened it up and pulled out a large glass bottle. The label had been pulled off, but VODKA was written quite messily around it. "Eden" took the lid off and tipped her head back, pouring half the bottle down her throat. She put it back down and shook her head, smiling.

"Pachirisu!" Nutty said, rushing forwards.

"Oh goody, my AA sponsor is here." "Eden" grunted, and then giggled loudly.

"This has been really fun and all, but I think I am going to leave." Emerson said. Vanessa gave him a look that made it clear that had cheered her up, so he turned and began to walk. "Until next time bitch." He added, before breaking into a run. Meanwhile, "Eden" had stood up, and was heading after him.

"Where are you going?" Vanessa asked.

"I have seen you enough times to know you're… a … cow!" "Eden" whispered, and then cackled again. Vanessa was startled, but was even more so when Nutty charged forwards, using Quick Attack. "Eden" tried to run, but stumbled again. Nutty hit her square in the back, and she stumbled to the ground.

"Chimchar?" Chimchar said, looking at Shinx. Vanessa left to their conversation and rushed forwards. A blue flash appeared on Sahara's back, and it seemed to move. A second later, there was a groan and Sahara turned, rubbing her face. She looked up at Vanessa and smiled weakly.

"So, I guess you met Eden?"

* * *

Oreburgh City

The sun was at its peak, and Xavier and Matthew could feel the heat. Palmer noticed them sweating and took them to a sheltered café.

"So, have you guys caught any Pokemon so far?" Palmer asked, as a waitress delivered them their lemonades.

"Not yet, unfortunately." Matthew said, blushing.

"I discovered that I have Mother's Lapras." Xavier said, swirling his straw around. Palmer looked shocked.

"Really, how do you get that?" He asked.

"It rolled across the floor when you hit Mother." Xavier said bluntly. "I thought it was mine and pocketed it. Lapras has been quite helpful though." Matthew's eyes had bulged at the mention of hit, and Palmer tried to ignore the disapproving glare from the fourteen year old.

"That is very interesting. But you should give her back when you see Caro next, alright?" Xavier nodded and sipped his drink. Matthew continued to look shocked, so Palmer reached into his pockets and pulled out two boxes.

"I received these the other day, after I saw you two off." Palmer said, and slid them across. "They are Poketchs, they have all these handy features for trainers. Anyway, I don't need them, so I thought I'd pass them on. They were some of the last made, the headquarters blew up yesterday."

"We know, we were in the explosion." Xavier said calmly, opening up his box. Palmer gasped and stood up, knocking over his drink and shattering the glass.

"Are you alright? How did you get involved?" He said, looking pale.

"Oh, some clowns kidnapped Matthew. He was about to be shot but Sahara and I saved him. The building exploded as we left, but Lapras protected us." Xavier said, putting his green watch on. It blinked into life, and revealed the time.

"Why were you kidnapped?" Palmer asked, curiously.

"I don't know, the guy, Mr Ivan, said something about years ago." Matthew said quickly. Hos stony silence had been broken by the Poketch, and he quickly put his blue one on. Palmer sat back down, looking shocked. He rubbed his fingers through his hair and muttered Adrian.

"Isn't that your father's name?" Xavier said, staring at Matthew. Matthew hadn't noticed, but looked up, his face distorted. Palmer realised they had heard, and stood up.

"I have to go and make a quick call. Wait here." He said, and turned.

"But what about my father?" Matthew yelled, standing up. He watched Palmer run off, and then collapsed back into his chair, the euphoria from his win slowly evaporating. Xavier looked at him, slightly puzzled, but Matthew shot him a glare, and Xavier knew enough to know that meant bad news.

* * *

Galactic Headquarters- Grunt Training Division

"Hydro Pump and Twineedle!"

"Poison Fang and Quick Attack!"

The grunt, who had a Haunter and a Krabby, let out a gasp as a powerful jet of water, Beedrill, Elle and Poochyena charged for him his Pokemon. There was a large wave, flashes of white and purple, and then load moans as the Pokemon collapsed. Charles and Roshonda cheered with delight and gave each other a high-five. The grunt grumpily returned his Pokemon and then turned and walked towards the failure exit.

"Have we defeated everyone?" Charles asked, as they continued down the passageway.

"Sharp!" Sharpedo interrupted, as another beam cracked.

"Bee Bee." Beedrill drowned, and fluttered his wings, firing an Air Cutter to strike the beam.

"I am pretty sure, there weren't that many of us up there." Roshonda continued, nodding.

"Poochy!" Poochyena cried, and suddenly tackled a wooden human that had slid out of the wall. It smashed to bits, and Elle jumped backwards to avoid a splinter.

"Let's just run there, in case someone else shows up." Charles said. Roshonda nodded, and clasped tighter onto Sharpedo as they sped forwards. The eight pairs of feet thudded against the ground, as Beedrill fluttered quickly alongside. A small light appeared in the distance, and gradually got larger. The walls began to shake, dust trickling down.

"It must be the final test." Roshonda yelled. The floor was began to shake, and the walls were now starting to crack.

"SPRINT!" Charles screamed. Poochyena and Elle use Tackle and Quick Attack to give them extra speed, and Beedrill's wings were invisible at the speed.

"Sharpedo is weighing me down." Roshonda puffed, as another beam cracked loudly behind them.

"Keep trying, I have an idea." Charles said. The light was bright enough for them to make out each other properly, and they could see the cracks in the walls were getting serious. Elle, Poochyena and Beedrill rushed through the exit. There was a splintering crash behind them as the roof caved in, a dust cloud chasing the two as they sped.

"Throw him!" Charles said.

"WHAT!" Roshonda cried, and Sharpedo bared his teeth at him.

"Just do it!" Charles yelled. Roshonda gave her Pokemon an apologetic look, and then threw him into the air. Charles then jumped forwards, and he fell out of the exit and onto a tiled floor. He raised his hands and caught the shark, though its weight landed onto him, winding him. Roshonda leapt out as well, narrowly avoiding the roof but getting struck by dust.

"Jeez, that seemed overly realistic." She spluttered. She picked Sharpedo up and rested him against a wall. "Smart move, didn't see it coming."

"No problem." Charles smiled, standing up. There was a movement and Draco appeared, his coat swishing and Glalie bobbing above him as usual.

"Congratulations, you two performed very well." He said, though he didn't seem too pleased. "The recreation room is available for you two, and you'll be given cushier jobs at the job tomorrow. I recommend you have a good rest tonight, there is another training session tomorrow."

"What are we doing?" Charles asked. Roshonda gasped, and Charles was confused until Draco towered over him, looking fierce.

"No one gets to know what it is, you can just guess based upon the training." He turned and marched off, leaving being a tense atmosphere. Roshonda shook her head, before brining back Sharpedo and Beedrill and walking slowly off. At the door, she stopped and spun around.

"Meet me down by the pool, it is always really nice there." She said, and then opened the door and pranced off. Charles was taken aback by this, but could feel his cheeks burning and knew that Team Galactic may not be that bad in the end…

* * *

Oreburgh City (Outskirts)

Vanessa and Sahara walked in a tense silence out of Oreburgh Gate. It was exceptionally hot, so Sahara took her white coat off. Vanessa turned her dress off, leaving her with a number of small bulbs. Nutty followed alongside, looking just as awkward.

"So… going to explain this." Vanessa asked suddenly. Sahara looked at her grumpily, as if hoping she had already forgotten, but let out a sigh and froze. "Well, we can't just pretend that didn't happen. I want to know who or what  
'Eden' is."

"If you must know-"

"Yes, I must."

"- I have Multiple Personality Disorder." Vanessa froze as well, looking shocked.

"Oh… really?" She said, stunned.

"Yes, I am." Sahara nodded. "I had been suppressing them with medication for a while, but it got crushed a couple of days ago."

"Anything major happen?" Vanessa asked. Sahara pondered for a moment: she forgotten to mention Charles or his kidnapping.

"Er, no, just got crushed. I am a bit clumsy." Sahara said, laughing slightly.

"So, is it just Eden, or are there others?" Vanessa asked. Sahara pulled an awkward face.

"Well, there are two others, both female though." She said quietly.

"Names, personalities, other oddities?" Vanessa asked.

"The other two are Crystal and Jaki, but I don't want to discuss this now." Sahara said, and she began to walk.

"You can't walk out of this, you have me interested." Vanessa said, strutting forwards. "I need to know this stuff if we are going to be friends." Sahara turned and slapped Vanessa, causing her red hair to fly.

"I don't want to talk about it at the moment." She said, tears swimming in her eyes. Vanessa looked up at her, about to make a catty reply, but the sight of the distressed Sahara touched the empathy in her heart, and she nodded.

"Ok, I'll drop it, for now, that is." Vanessa added. "I want all the juicy details as soon as possible." Sahara smirked, and nodded.

"Pachi." Nutty said, and leapt onto her shoulder. She turned and used her tail to brush away the tears.

"Thanks Nutty." Sahara smiled.

"Sahara, Vanessa, over here!" The two girls turned and saw Xavier and Matthew walking towards them.

"Hello there." Xavier smiled.

"Have you guys battled Roark yet?" Matthew asked.

"Not yet, only just got out of the tunnel. You two?" Sahara asked. Matthew whipped out his blue badge case and showed them the Coal Badge.

"I easily creamed him." He said.

"Well, not that easily." Xavier said. "I thought I did much better." Matthew gave him a short scowl, giving time for Sahara and Vanessa to exchange smirks.

"Oh, and we also got some Poketchs!" Matthew said, trying to distract from Xavier's put down, and pulled his sleeve down to show off his.

"You are so lucky, I'd die for one of those!" Sahara shrieked.

"Really?" Vanessa said. "I found one at the SBC building yesterday and it wasn't that great." Sahara turned to her and smiled widely. Vanessa took a step backwards, slightly put off by this behaviour.

"If you don't want it, I'd gladly take it." She said, nodding her head with excitement. Vanessa looked slightly repulsed, but she reached into her bag and pulled out a white one. Sahara let out a squeal of delight, and clapped happily.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Sahara squealed, Nutty shaking dangerously on her shoulder.

"Anyway…" Vanessa said, as Matthew chuckled at Sahara's happiness. "Should we go to the gym? This town is far too dusty for my liking, my clothes would be ruined."

"Good idea." Xavier said. "I'll go with you, I could give you some tips."

"Wonderful." Vanessa and Sahara said sarcastically in unison. The four all began to walk towards the gym, chatting merrily and putting up with Xavier's comments, enjoying the sunshine and trying to ignore the bothers of that day.

* * *

Galactic Headquarters

Even though it was a beautiful day outside; Cyrus had decided to stay inside. He was dwelling over the mission tomorrow, and had gone inside a quiet room. It was the same size as Charles' room, though slightly bigger. The walls were a plain white, and a window was behind him, open enough to let breeze but not noise in. He sat on a cushy white armchair, but a notepad and pen on a stool beside him, in case he had ideas. Cyrus usually listened to classical music or soft pop, but today had decided to sit in peace.

That was, until, there was a loud knock at the plain oak door.

Cyrus let out an agitated groan, as he had just thought of a brilliant attack strategy. The door opened and Charon walked in, holding his laptop.

"What do you want?" Cyrus snapped.

"Oh, you know me, I just wanted to come in here and have you shout at me." The old scientist replied, and passed over the laptop. "Here are the recordings from today's grunt test. As you can see, Charles utilized the moves of both his Eevee and Poochyena to overcome all boundaries, and quickly bonded with Roshonda." Cyrus stared intently at the screen, as it cut from a shot of Charles and his Pokemon running to one of him and Roshonda battling two other grunts.

"He won, of course?" Cyrus asked.

"Obviously." Charon replied. Cyrus nodded and closed the laptop.

"I want him by my side for every minute of tomorrow's mission." Charon nodded and went to walk off, but he stopped at the door.

"I have been examining that Sahara girl since our encounter the other night." He said. "My readings indicate that Eden arose today." Cyrus looked up, exceedingly interested. "And, just for the cheery on top, she will most likely by around the Oreburgh Mines tomorrow night." Cyrus' face lit up with delight, and he quickly grabbed his notepad.

"This is excellent… excellent!" He said, and began to write furiously as he paced around the room.

"See, if was worth my ticking you off." Charon smirked, and left the room this time. Cyrus didn't even register this, he was too absorbed. Eden had appeared, Charles was finally within his grasps.

If the next few days went according to plan, the world would be his within weeks.****


	8. Rock and Roll All Fight

**Rock and Roll All Fight**

_January 6th 2010_

Oreburgh City

The sun was beginning to set in Sinnoh, and the sky was an amber colour, while the last shadows of the day were stretched out, as the light needed for their survival vanished. There was very little light left in Oreburgh City, as the whole city was surrounded by mountains and rocks. Most of the town was either heading in or preparing for their night out, but four young trainers were sitting on the sandy gardens outside the museum, taking in the last of the light.

There was Sahara on the end, her head resting on her white jumper and Nutty curled up on her chest. Next to her was Xavier, who was looking thoroughly bored about this and was flicking through a novel. His Turtwig sat to his left side, enjoying one of the lavish green plants. Matthew sat next to him, flicking through his PokeDex while Piplup yawned at his feet. Vanessa was at the end, with all her Pokemon out and a large bag of Pokemon food. Today she was wearing a purple sports bra like top, with long sleeves and gloves attached on the end. It was a rather bulky and pointy top, and looked like a large rock. For a dress, she was wearing numerous strands of rocks attached together and put around an elastic band, and she had slipped on a pair of grey high heels with rocks for heels. The four had spent most of their day at the museum, as Sahara and Vanessa won their gym battles yesterday, and there isn't much else to do in Oreburgh.

"Are we going to Floaroma soon?" Matthew said.

"I'm not travelling at night." Sahara said. "I am far too tired."

"If you're tired, go to bed." Xavier said bluntly, as always. "Complaining about it won't wake you up, but it puts everyone to sleep." Sahara sat up, and she exchanged a look with Matthew over Xavier's shoulders, and they both smirked. There was a disgruntled sigh from Vanessa as she stood up.

"I am really bored, I want to do something." She said.

"We could train our Pokemon." Matthew suggested, shrugging.

"I don't believe we have an equal spread of Pokemon." Xavier said. "You only have one, and Sahara and Vanessa both have highly trained Pokemon, and-"

"Oh shut it!" Vanessa snapped. "We might as well go back to that hotel; there is nothing else to do."

"Good idea." Sahara said, standing up and picking up Nutty and her jacket. She moved forwards and peered behind the museum to make sure the road was clear. No one cars seemed to be coming towards them, but there was a loud growling noise coming from somewhere.

"Can you all hear that?" Sahara said, looking around at the others. Xavier walked forwards and peered around as well. There was still nothing nearby, but the noise was getting louder and louder.

"It sounds like a car." Xavier said at last.

"I know that!" Sahara snapped. "But where is it coming from? I can't see any cars around."

"Staraptor, take a look." Vanessa said, as she, Matthew and the other Pokemon walked forwards. Staraptor flapped her wings and took off into the sky, and peered over the entire city. In the distance, five black cars were moving down a mud banker on the outskirts of town.

"Star!" Staraptor exclaimed, floating back down and pointing towards that area with her wing. The whole group moved out onto the road, and cautiously moved past the museum. Suddenly, headlights appeared and a Jeep Wrangler appeared behind a corner.

"Up here, quick!" Matthew yelled, and he grabbed Piplup and moved up. Sahara, Xavier and Vanessa grabbed their small Pokemon and they moved up the stone steps. They hid behind a pillar and watched as the five cars moved up towards the gates to Oreburgh Mine.

"Don't those Team Galactic people own Jeep Wranglers?" Matthew hissed.

"Yes." Sahara replied with venom. They watched as all the cars came to a stop right outside the gates. There was distant mumbling, and someone shouted. Then there were several red flashes, the clunk of something hitting metal, the creak of rusting joints, and then a loud, sneering laugh. The four exchanged confused looks just as there was a gunshot. The sound echoed across the entire city. They all looked back and saw the black cars moving down into the mine, and could see a patch of red forming.

"Should we call the police?" Xavier said, recovering first.

"The hell with them." Vanessa said, and she moved forwards and jumped onto Staraptor's back. Chimchar and Shinx followed and clung onto Staraptor's neck.

"You can't go after them!" Matthew said, looking thunderstruck.

"Just watch me." Vanessa replied. Staraptor stretched out her wings and took off again, arching into the sky and heading towards the mine.

"I don't see why she didn't just walk." Xavier said, as if that was the most pressing issue.

"Vanessa seems like the sort for dramatic exits." Sahara said, before turning to Matthew. "Shall we go and help her?" Matthew looked at her with an uncertain expression, and he shifted his feet nervously.

"I am not sure. I don't really want to get shot or anything." He said. Sahara rolled her eyes and turned away.

"I'll go and give her some back up, I am sure she'll need it." And she rushed away, with Nutty scampering after her. Matthew sighed and clutched Piplup tighter and followed. Xavier looked down at Turtwig, who was waiting for orders.

"I don't cave under peer pressure." He said. "Just because everyone else is going on this suicide mission doesn't mean I have to!"

"Tur Turtwig." Turtwig said, giving him a look. Xavier looked back at him before let out a groan.

"Fine, let's follow the murderous loonies into the dark cave." He said, as he began to walk down the steps. "I don't see how_ this_ could end badly."

* * *

_Several hours earlier_

Galactic Headquarters- Grunt Training Division, Third Floor

"Return!"

"Flamethrower!"

Charles and Elle were completing their days training against a male grunt, Zane, and his Magcargo. Elle formed the pink heart and the pink beam, and then fired it towards the fire snail before it could respond.

"Mag!" Magcargo cried, as it was blasted across the field. It landed right at Zane's feet, and he let out a growl as Draco blew a whistle, signalling the end of the match.

"Charles wins, congratulations." The long haired boy said, sounding thoroughly unenthused. There was a smattering of applause, and Charles beamed as he picked Elle up.

"Good job." He said, smiling. "We've won three battles today."

"Eva Eve Eevee." Elle replied, beaming. Charles grinned wider and he walked over towards the other grunts. Most of them moved to console Zane, but Roshonda remained seated, smiling widely. Beedrill was next to her, and he and Elle started up one of their usual conversations.

"That was some great work." Roshonda said, beaming.

"Thanks, I thought we did pretty well." Charles chuckled. "But I would like to give some of my other Pokemon some chances to level up as well though. I haven't battled with Gligar or Ampharos in ages, and I would like to give them a go."

"Well, you never know what may happen tonight." Roshonda said. "You could use them if we come across anyone."

"Have you ever been on one of these missions before?" Charles asked.

"I have been on two missions. The first one was only a week after I got here. I had to stand guard with this other girl outside a library. Then some guy from the International Police showed up. I battled him and my Lileep won, and evolved in the process. The guy went to shoot me but Saturn got him first." Charles looked rather stunned at this, but Roshonda shrugged it off. "It happens. My next mission was mid-last month. I had to go down into this cave to look for some sort of orb thing. Mars made us go underwater and we thought we saw something, but then someone electrocuted the water. I was knocked out, but Sharpedo pulled me back up to land and we fled. I got punished afterwards for being reckless and abandoning the others, though everyone survived."

"I don't see why you got punished, it seems like you did a sensible thing." Charles said.

"Sensible isn't something they like here." Roshonda said warningly. Charles went to reply, but there were footsteps behind them and he looked around. A woman was walking into the room, and she wasn't like most women you'd expect to see.

Her skin was the palest shade of white in the world, and it gave her an unhealthy look. Her fingernails were about two inches long and were a dark green. It matched the makeup she was wearing: green lipstick, green eye shadow, even green blusher. She was wearing a black leather trench coat that had a snake pattern to it, and was wearing matching knee high boots. And her hair was highly bizarre. Like the rest of her, it was green, and it was plaited, except for the end, which looked like a large bun that was swinging from a rope. Charles stared at the woman, his eyes wide in shock.

"That's Ursilla, but everyone calls her Medusa." Roshonda whispered. "She's a poacher."

"A what?" Charles muttered back.

"She steals Pokemon that other grunts use, or we use them as bargaining tools, to practice against, that sort of thing." Roshonda explained. Charles was a bit shocked, but figured that it was something Team Galactic would do. Ursilla walked past the steps, shooting Charles and Roshonda a quick glance before walking up to Draco. The trainer seemed to be staring in awe at Ursilla, while everyone else tried to avoid looking at her.

"Apparently, Draco respects her as they both make tons of weapons." Roshonda muttered, and Charles nodded.

"Draco," Ursilla said, in a highly fake sounding posh tone. "I am here to collect the grunts going on this mission." It took Draco several seconds to process what she said.

"Oh, well, most of them are here." He said, and swept his hand to indicate all the grunts there. "I'll send a message for Group C to meet you down at the garage."

"You can take them; I don't have that much room." Ursilla said, and she walked over towards the grunts. "Stand!" She boomed, and the grunts all stood up straight. She walked along and past them, glaring down at those that were shorter than her. Then, she dramatically stamped her left foot, so that it left an echoing ring. "We are going to the Oreburgh Mine. It will be a long drive, but it will be shorter if you all keep your traps shut! I don't want to be disturbed. You will each receive a mission briefing shortly before arrival, but I recommend you all bring your full teams, preferably Pokemon that suit rocky areas, emit light or can use dig. Now MOVE!" And with the scraping of stands, the group moved, with Charles, Roshonda, Elle and Beedrill forced into the lead.

"What is her-" Charles began, but Roshonda hit him.

"Don't talk, walk!" She hissed, and walked faster, so that Charles moved so quickly he was at the lift before he knew it. As he waited for it to arrive, he looked down at Elle, who was just as curious as he was.

No matter what he had initially thought, this mission seemed like it was going to be rather dodgy.

* * *

Ursilla had been correct; the ride from Veilstone to Oreburgh was long and tiring. Charles and Roshonda sat side-by-side in one of the Jeep Wranglers, which had four other grunts in it, with Saturn driving. Everyone was silent, as they were all anticipating what would come next. There other four jeeps had Mars, Charon, Jupiter, Draco, Ursilla, Cyrus and the other grunts. About ten minutes before reaching Oreburgh, Saturn pressed a button on the radio. Instead of music coming out, a large picture appeared on the windscreen. It showed a number of cross sections of a mine: it appeared to have a large staircase sort of entrance, and there was a large, reasonably flat basement floor with a large rock face in the middle.

"Oreburgh Mine is a hive of activity." Came a voice from all sides. Charles recognised it vaguely as being Cyrus' and leant back in his chair to listen. "It has been open for several decades, and serves as the main coal source in Sinnoh and in several other regions. Our mission today is to bring down the mine. It supplies will undermine the effectiveness of Operation Overcast, so we must destroy all of its production. I will work on destroying the centre structure with the admins and selected grunts. Draco will man the basement floor with the grunts who will be destroying up supports and fuel tanks. Ursilla and other grunts will mind the front. If you have a black band on your uniform, you will be allowed into the admin area." Charles and Roshonda looked at their clothes and saw that a black band had been put on the uniforms at some point. They exchanged looks, as they did not remember that happening. But their confused pause had distracted them, and they had missed the last of the message. There stomachs suddenly lurched as the Jeep went down a muddy hill.

"We are a minute away." Saturn said, and he pressed his foot down on the accelerator. The car, which had been passing through mountains and forests for the two hour drive, was now going past numerous buildings. Charles looked around, and as they passed a museum, he was certain he saw someone standing behind a pillar, peering at the passing cars. But as he turned to have a better look, the car braked and Charles lurched forwards. Massaging his neck, there were the clunks as the doors were opened. Roshonda opened the boot door and the two climbed out, as Mars' car pulled up behind them. Charles and Roshonda stood to one side as the other Jeeps stopped, and Saturn and Mars had a brief discussion. The other grunts began to gather together, and then Jupiter, Draco and Ursilla swept past them. Draco had his right hand clasping the machine on his left arm, and Ursilla had two thin mechanisms attached to her back. One was a lot wider than the other, and the other had a large sort of metal pouch at the opposite end. The three went and stood over with Saturn and Mars, as Charon walked past, tapping away at his laptop. There was some sort of bird's eye view of the city, and a blue dot was signifying something behind them.

"She is nearby." Charon said.

"EXCELLENT!" Cyrus said, a little too enthusiastically. His face looked very alive with delight, and he was practically prancing forwards. He stopped in front of the gate and smiled. He pulled out a PokeBall and pressed the button. A large Crobat appeared, and it fluttered around above his head.

"Crobat is very useful in caves, especially with all those darn Zubats in there." Cyrus said adoringly, and then looked over at Saturn. "Would you?"

"Of course sir." Saturn said, and pulled out his own PokeBall. There was a flash, and then a tall Toxicroak formed. It stared menacingly around at the grunts, who backed away. Cyrus chuckled as Toxicroak moved forwards to the locked gate. He swung his right arm, and the large spike protruding from his knuckle smashed the lock. It fell to the ground, and the gates began to creak open.

"Go to your positions!" Cyrus said. "I want this to be quick." A majority of the grunts moved forwards, with Draco and Ursilla flanking them, leaving Charles, Roshonda and two grunts behind. Cyrus looked over the three grunts before walking in. He nodded at Charles, Roshonda and another grunt called William, who was looking overly proud about being allowed into the special room. But the other grunt was shaking frantically, staring apprehensively towards the mine as the grunts split up, half going into the mine and the others spreading out with Ursilla.

"You aren't meant to be here." Cyrus snarled.

"I-I-I-I don't want to g-g-go." The grunt said. Mars cackled with laughter at this.

"Look at the little baby squirm." She said, clapping her hands with delight.

"Quiet!" Cyrus hissed. He looked back at the grunt and smiled. "It's alright; you won't have to go in." And he whipped out a hand gun and shot the grunt between the eyes. The gunshot echoed around the city, and Roshonda looked horrified as the body collapsed to the ground. But none of the admins seemed to mind, nor did William.

"Get into a car; we need to get in there, quick." Cyrus said, and he marched back towards a Jeep. Jupiter ushered Charles and Roshonda, and the two climbed back into their Jeep with Saturn and Toxicroak. He started the engine up, and the car shot forwards, and several seconds later, it plunged into semi darkness.

* * *

Sahara and Nutty ran across the dirty ground as the last Jeep Wrangler disappeared out of sight. She tried to ignore the corpse at the entrance to the mine and she quickly entered, with Matthew and Xavier close behind.

It was obvious just how important the mine was, as the conveyor belt that carried coal in from the mine was still whirring high above her. In between the red metal supports were a number of orange trucks with caterpillar wheels. To the right there was a large mound of coal and dirt, and on the left were a small staffroom and a large white building that the conveyor belts led into. There were white fences dividing up the area, but otherwise, it was just dirt.

"How disgusting." Xavier said behind her as he passed the corpse. Matthew was retching slightly, but Sahara had seen dead people before, it didn't bother her that much.

"I don't know where Vanessa went, but I imagine she would have tried to follow them." Sahara said, walking cautiously forwards.

"So, are you saying we need to follow her in?" Matthew stuttered, looking horrified.

"Pip Pip Pip!" Piplup said sternly, and nudged Matthew's leg. He groaned and followed after the others.

"I think we are being watched." Xavier said, looking around curiously. Even though the mine seemed silent, the air was thick with the presence of others.

"It is probably just workers." Sahara said.

"But we just saw Team Galactic enter. It seems more logical that it could be them." Xavier said.

"Too right you are, boy!" Matthew let out an over dramatic scream as a hideous woman stepped in front of them. There were dozens of red flashes as the grunts released Zubats up in the sky, and more as they sent out a number of Aron to block both ways.

"Who are you?" Sahara snapped. The woman cackled at this and began to walk forwards, unhooking one of the pipe-like weapons from behind her. This one looked like a handle had just been attached to a pipe, though the front seemed a bit separate from the rest of the mechanism.

"My name is Ursilla, and I work for Team Galactic." She said. "Usually I am on the road, stealing Pokemon from stupid trainers like you. But I decided to come along to this mission. I thought it would be fun." Ursilla than aimed the gun at her. "Now hand over all of your PokeBalls and no one gets hurt. Well, maybe." She added with a giggle.

"I will never pass my Pokemon over to you!" Matthew roared, though the Aron began to step forwards, and the grunts all looked ready to fight, and several were clutching more PokeBalls.

"Turtwig, you don't want to go with the ugly woman, do you?" Xavier said. Turtwig shook his head, but Ursilla's eyes bulged.

"What did you just call me?" She roared, and marched forwards, prodding Xavier with the gun.

"I believe I called you ugly." Xavier said politely. "I was merely stating my opinion." Ursilla let out a horrific scream and went to press the trigger of her gun. However, a ball of fire came flying down out of the sky. Ursilla leapt out of the way as she pulled the trigger. A wave of some sort of orange energy shot past Xavier, causing him to fall over. The energy hit a grunt instead, and he was picked up and tossed into the sky. Sahara watched him go and saw a Staraptor up there, managing to avoid all the Zubats due to Ember and Spark attacks coming from its back.

"Thanks Vanessa!" Sahara yelled. A distant 'No problem' came in reply, and then the Staraptor swooped down, heading towards the mine.

"I'll make sure you pay for this!" Ursilla snarled. But she had barely moved before something else fell from the sky, this time it was large, pink, and spinning rapidly. Ursilla was knocked even further back, and several of the Aron were struck.

"What the hell was that?" Matthew said, looking shocked.

"I think you'd find that was me!" Everyone looked up and saw a man standing on top of the coal pile, looking very smug.

"Isn't that the strange man from Lake Verity?" Xavier said to Matthew.

"My name is Looker." Looker replied, rolling his eyes. Behind them, Lickilicky halted Rollout and stood up straight. She extended out her tongue and wrapped it around Ursilla, who screamed and squirmed.

"Now, I think it is time we wrapped this up." Looker said. He walked forwards, but overstepped and skidded down the mound. Sahara let out a gasp as Looker lay sprawled on the ground.

"Fight!" Ursilla yelled. The grunts all went to throw PokeBalls, but the three trainers had been anticipating this, and whipped their own out.

"Lapras, Waterfall!"

"Milotic, Surf!"

"Aqua, Aqua Tail!" Three flashes of red later and the three water types were there, forming a triangle around their trainers. For a moment, there was a tense silence, and then the three Pokemon attacked. Milotic blasted a wave down towards Ursilla. Lickilicky spat her out and leapt out of the way. Aqua swished his tails and knocked aside the Aron on the right, scattering them and causing them to hit numerous grunts. Lapras blasted herself forwards on a Waterfall, smashing into one of the orange machines. It cartwheeled a few metres before bursting into flame.

"I'll go down into the mine, you guys stay here." Sahara said, and climbed onto Aqua's back.

"You can't leave, you have experienced Pokemon!" Matthew whimpered.

"Wake Looker up, you'll be fine." Sahara said. "Can you take me into the mine."

"Float Zel Zel." Aqua said, and he dived into what remained of the water and sped through, spinning his tails and inflating his sac as Sahara and Nutty clung on.

* * *

Onix was not very happy tonight.

The rock snake usually didn't mind the miners working nearly twenty four hours a day. He usually coiled up in a particular corner and slept, or went through a stroll underground, eating large boulders and sometimes the gems he found deep under Sinnoh. However, tonight, there was a lot of noise. Several cars had come in, bringing in lots of trainers in strange clothing. They had started to smash up the place, destroying boxes of supplies and barrels of fuel. Some people had entered into the main digging area, and Onix was tempted to go in after them and fight them. But lots of Pokemon were being captured by a boy with long hair. He had a strange object on his arm and was firing out beams. Onix watched as a Geodude was zapped and the rock snake growled before diving into the Earth.

Meanwhile, up on the crafted rock staircase, a wave of water cascaded down the steps. Aqua leapt up, making sure that Sahara didn't fall into the water.

"Cheers." Sahara said, stepping carefully onto a dry patch of Earth.

"Pachirisu Risu Pachi." Nutty said, pointing down the chamber. Sahara could see flaming red hair a little down the way, and she smiled and moved downwards, with Nutty and Aqua following close behind.

"Psst… Vanessa!" Sahara whispered. Vanessa turned rapidly and pointed an umbrella into Sahara's chest. Sahara raised a confused eyebrow and Vanessa lowered it.

"Sorry, I thought you might have been an enemy." Vanessa replied, and she leant the umbrella against the cave wall. Aqua stood next to them, while Nutty went over to Chimchar and Shinx, all of them whispering to each other.

"Why were you threatening me with an umbrella?" Sahara whispered.

"I told you the other day I invent stuff." Vanessa replied.

"You invented the umbrella?"

"No, I just added some, well, extra attachments." Vanessa said quickly. "We need to be keeping watch; I want to find the right time to strike." Sahara peered around the corner as well, and she gasped at the destruction. The grunts were torturing miners, shooting them in the knees and shoulders and stealing their Pokemon. They were destroying smashing boxes, tipping over barrels off fuel and capturing Pokemon. A teen with long blonde was shouting orders.

"This is disgusting." Sahara said.

"I know, and we have to stop it." Vanessa said.

"How exactly?" Sahara asked, taking a step back into the darkness.

"We simply cause a distraction and get all the grunts attention in one place. While that is happening, our Pokemon place the fuel barrels inside the Jeep Wranglers. We blow them up and this mine will start to fall down." Vanessa explained, smiling.

"Oh cool, what is the distraction?" Sahara asked. Her chirpiness disappeared as Vanessa gave Sahara a bemused smile. "What- me? I can't be the distraction!"

"I don't want you to be the distraction; Eden is a much better option." Sahara looked positively shocked by this.

"I don't want to bring her out!"

"But she is loud and out there, she is the perfect distraction!" Vanessa insisted. Sahara went to walk away, but Nutty grabbed her leg.

"Pachi Pachi." She said, looking up at her trainer with a sad expression. Sahara bent down and patted her head.

"If you want to help save the day, then I'll bring her out." She said. She pulled out a Great Ball and pressed the button, releasing Virus. "You help Vanessa out with whatever she needs."

"Electi!" Virus replied.

"Aqua, you come with me." Sahara said. Aqua nodded and waved a hand in farewell to the others. Vanessa gave Sahara the thumbs up, as she took a deep breath and walked onto the battlefield.

* * *

In the middle of the mine was the giant mound. The coal was mined from the outskirts, and was then taken up by Pokemon. It was placed onto one of two conveyor belts and taken into the building. There were usually three miners on patrol, with a number a Machamp helping each of them. But that had changed.

All three miners were laying dead, large gashes on their heads and necks. Cyrus' Crobat had knocked all of three Machamps out with Air Slash attacks, and Saturn's Toxicroak had dragged them out of the way. All four admins now stood there, with Cyrus, Charles, Roshonda, William and their respective Pokemon. Elle, Beedrill and William's Omastar stood poised at the entrance, while Charles, Roshonda and William held machine guns. Roshonda looked a bit apprehensive about it, while William looked very nervous. Charon was tapping into a machine, while his shiny Magnezone floated about them, providing a Thunder Wave to power the machine.

"The bomb is nearly in place." Charon said.

"Why is it only nearly in place?" Mars pouted.

"These things take time." Charon snapped. "Why don't you go and sleep with another grunt whilst you wait?"

"Oh, I have already slept with enough for one day." Mars said with a giggle, and winked over at William, who looked down.

"Putting asides Mars' weird love life," Jupiter said, holding her head up high to show more dignity. "Shouldn't we be paying attention to down below? If that girl is in the area, she and those other brats might try and disrupt us." Cyrus nodded briefly for a second and turned towards Charles.

"Boy, don't you have a Gligar?"

"Um, yes sir." Charles said, nodding.

"Send it out to spy for us." Cyrus replied. Charles nodded and pulled out a PokeBall. He pressed a button and there was a flash as Gligar formed.

"Gligar Gligar!" Gligar said happily, waving at Elle and hugging Charles' leg. But then he noticed all the other people and looked frightened. "Gli?"

"They are… friendly enough." Charles said. "We need you to go down below and make sure that there isn't anyone bad down there." Gligar stared over at the others, but nodded and leapt upwards and dived back into the ground.

"Good good." Cyrus said, and looked back over at Charon.

"I can't seem to get enough power to override the system." The scientist said, and looked grumpily up at Magnezone.

"Magne Magnez Zone!" Magnezone replied grumpily.

"Out of Thunder Waves." Saturn said, scanning the Pokemon on a PokeDex-like device. Cyrus growled and stared over at Charles again.

"Your Ampharos, NOW!" Cyrus cried. Charles dropped his gun as he fumbled for the PokeBall, and quickly sent out his Ampharos. She stood up straight and looked over at the Galactic admins.

"Ampha Ampharos." She said, looking over at Charles.

"Eevee Eva Eevee Eve." Elle quickly explained, and Ampharos smiled, but didn't lessen her smile.

"Ampharos, could you use Thunder on that machine please?" Charles asked, bending down to pick up the machine gun. Ampharos knocked it into his hands with her tail, and then glowed yellow and sent out a powerful thunderbolt. The machine let out a loud whirr and began to glow. Charon and Cyrus smiled, and the conveyor belt stopped briefly.

"All the electricity is under our control now." Charon said.

"Excellent, now send the bomb out." Charon nodded, and placed a small device that resembled a PokeBall onto the conveyor belt. It began to move, and was swallowed by darkness in seconds.

"Perfect." Cyrus said, beaming. "Now let's destroy the rest of this mine."

* * *

_Will you get out of my way!  
_

A furious Lapras blasted out a Psychic attack to clear away the last of the Arons, who had been gathering around her. They flew into the air and landed, unconscious, at the feet of several retreating grunts. Ursilla was struggling once again against Lickilicky, who was using all the water to fire Muddy Water attacks. Another machine had exploded due to the excessive water damage, while others had been moved around the field.

"I think we should go and wake Looker." Matthew said, as more Zubats dive-bombed them.

"Pip!" Piplup growled, and pounded another one, who skidded to the ground.

"Good idea, he needs to command his Lickilicky." Xavier said, and he rushed forwards. The two leapt over a fence, with Turtwig in front using Tackle to get rid of a Geodude. But two grunts jumped in front of them, holding up handguns.

"MILOTIC!" Matthew screamed, his voice going pitchy.

"Milo!" Milotic said, and fired a Whirlpool. The spinning top of water formed, sucking up several grunts, including the two holding the guns, and numerous Zubats and other Pokemon.

"Thank you." Matthew called. Milotic nodded, and then fired a combined a Surf to double up Lapras' Waterfall, causing a giant tower of water that struck half the Zubats. Matthew smiled and he and Xavier rushed over to Looker, ducking under the Whirlpool as it hung in mid air. Looker was let out soft groans as they approached.

"Turtwig, Tackle!" Xavier commanded.

"Why Tackle?" Matthew said, looking shocked.

"I thought you woke people up using force." Xavier said. Matthew sighed and put his foot, stopping Turtwig but causing him to topple over. He landed on Looker, who opened his eyes straight away.

"Well, this is interesting." He said, pushing Matthew off. "Your faces look familiar, but I just can't place them…"

"We were at Lake Verity when Team Galactic was there." Matthew said.

"Ah, I see, your parents were there as well." Looker said, nodding. There heard the crash of a wave as a Surf and Muddy Water collided, sending out more waves which hit the Whirlpool, causing it to crash.

"We require the use of your Pokemon." Xavier said quickly. Looker grabbed his PokeBalls as he stood up, but he then ducked again as a Zubat flew towards him.

"Jolteon, Gallade, assist!" Looker boomed, and threw out his two PokeBalls. They flashed as they opened, and a Jolteon and a Gallade stood there, looking ready to battle.

"Pin Needle and Psycho Cut!" Looker commanded. Jolteon skin stood up on end, and thin green beams shot out of his white mane, striking down a number of Zubat. Gallade turned towards a grunt rushing towards them and slashed his right arm, which was glowing blue. Despite being several metres apart, the grunt collapsed, and his clothes had been ripped diagonally.

"You need to leave, get your Pokemon and scram!" Looker said, pulling out a handgun.

"Our friends are in that mine, and we can't just leave them th- Piplup, just use Bubble!" Matthew shouted. Looker looked behind as Piplup fired some bubbles, striking down one of the Zubats.

"If you aren't going to leave, than stick with your Pokemon, don't let Ursilla injure them!" Looker commanded.

"What about you're Lickilicky?" Xavier said, and pointed towards the fence. Lickilicky was lying unconscious, and Ursilla had her other gun out. A strange red bubble was growing out of it, heading towards Lickilicky.

"Turtwig, Absorb!" Xavier yelled. Turtwig fired the small green ball, which struck Ursilla in the chest. Instead of draining energy like it did with Pokemon, the ball burst and blasted her backwards. Looker quickly brought Lickilicky back and rushed forwards, with Matthew and Xavier following. A grunt tried to halt them, pointing a machine gun towards Matthew's chest. Looker raised his arm, and a second later the grunt lay on the ground, a bullet wound in his throat. The three jumped over the fence, and when Jolteon and Gallade joined them, each of the men had two Pokemon with them.

"Looks like I'm outnumbered." Ursilla hissed as she struggled to stand up. Looker raised the gun and his finger was steady on the trigger.

"Come quietly Ursilla, I don't want to have to shoot." He said, and Ursilla gave a deep, manly laugh.

"Oh Looker, we've battled each other, what, nearly thirty times, I think I know what you are like." Ursilla said, taking very careful steps. Looker was looking a bit nervous, and Matthew looked over at Xavier, who was not sure about these new emotions. Suddenly, Ursilla lifted the gun up and swung it, knocking aside the handgun. But before she could fire her own though, Lapras sent out a Psychic, causing Ursilla to fly backwards and the gun to set off again, and it released a wave of energy. It struck one of the machines, blowing it up. Milotic and Lapras were hit with the full of the blast, and they were sent flying, smashing into Matthew, Looker and Piplup. They all got caught into a big pile, but Turtwig had tackled Xavier out of harm's way, and Gallade and Jolteon had moved. Ursilla threw out a PokeBall. It burst open and an Arbok formed.

"Ar-bok-bok." She said, rising up onto her tail, giving her considerable height.

"Jolte!" Jolteon cried, and fired a Thunderbolt, but Arbok dived down onto the ground and dodged.

"Hyper Beam!" Ursilla bellowed. Arbok sucked in orange energy, and then quickly released a powerful beam. Gallade tried to use his arms to protect them, but both he and Jolteon were blasted back, landing on top of the pile-up.

"That seemed unnecessary." Xavier said, staring over at them. He looked back to Ursilla and found her right in front of him. She wrapped her left hand tightly around his throat and lifted him upwards.

"Tur!" Turtwig said, and went to tackle her, but Arbok slid over and chomped down hard using Fire Fang. Turtwig cried with pain as Arbok held him there, blasting him with fire.

"Put… him… down!" Xavier said, gasping for breath. Ursilla let out a loud cackle, and began to stroke her hair with her right hand.

"Right after I have done this." She hissed, and brought down her right hand. Xavier watched as he hair began to rise into the air. It wasn't hair at all, not even a hair piece. It was metallic and green, and the plaited part of the hair was moving, and it seemed to resemble scales now. The bun part of it was now high in the sky, and two slits suddenly opened, while a wider one opened near the bottom.

"S-s-snake." Xavier whispered. And sure enough, Ursilla's green hair was now hissing, moving and staring at him with red eyes. The eyes were very hypnotic, and Xavier found himself getting lost in them. They were just so beautiful and entrancing, and he wanted to reach out and touch them…

"NOW!" Ursilla bellowed. The snake opened its mouth and a cold, silver forked tongue shot out. Ursilla had pushed Xavier's head down so his chin touched his neck, and the tongue struck his spine. Instantly Xavier's body went limp, unresponsive. Ursilla smiled and began to walk towards the conveyor belt.

"It is a simple paralysis." She explained, as she approached a dip in the structure. "It'll wear off, but by that time, you'll be dead." Ursilla cackled and placed Xavier's body onto the conveyor belt. He blinked at her, but he couldn't even open his mouth to complain. Xavier just lay there, his body unwillingly frozen, and was carried up the belt. Ursilla watched him go and turned, thinking of how to deal with the rest.

* * *

Sahara and Aqua were moving quickly, ducking behind boxes and sliding into the shadows. None of the grunts were paying much attention; a group of Pokemon had banded together, and were beating up the more weak grunts.

"I think we should act now, before that guy comes over." Sahara said, signalling over at Draco, who was scolding a grunt for nearly shooting him. "He looks like he is in charge." She turned back at Aqua and looked very serious. "If Eden starts getting to out of hand, or they look ready to fight, just use your attacks to get them out of the way and bring me back, ok?"

"Floa Float." Aqua said, nodding. Sahara nodded and turned around, breathing deeply and preparing to slip away.  
Meanwhile, back at the top of the basement, Vanessa and Virus were carrying a barrel of fuel towards one of the Jeep Wranglers. They had successfully placed one, and Nutty and Shinx were helping to spray the fuel around the car.

"One-two-three!" Vanessa said, and she and Virus lifted the second barrel into the second car.

"Elec." Virus said, and smashed open the lid and lifted the barrel up, and did a much better job of emptying the contents. Nutty and Shinx huffed, but they rushed back and knocked over a barrel and rolled it back.

"Cute." Vanessa said, and picked up the next one and passed it to Virus, who strained to hold it by himself, but carried it back towards the third one, as Nutty and Shinx got theirs next to the fourth, but the barrel clanged into the edge of a tyre, letting out a soft bang, but it could still be heard in the echoing cave.  
A grunt looked up, staring up towards the source of the noise. The Machop he had been about to catch rushed away, disappearing in the dim light.

"What is the meaning of this slackness?" Draco snapped, marching forwards.

"I heard something up there, something metallic." The grunt replied. Draco looked curious, and peered around and stared up the tunnel. There was some sort of flickering fire up there. He was about to raise his gun and move towards it, but a beam of blue light struck his gun, and it was pulled away.

"Naughty naughty, you shouldn't be playing with guns." Said a sing-song voice, and it was followed with a drunken laugh. Draco turned, and saw that the others grunts had lifted their guns, and were pointing it towards a girl, wearing a long white coat and had her hands raised, one clamped around Draco's machine gun.

"Well, well, well, you must be Eden." Draco said, smirking and giving a slight bow. Eden giggled at this and threw the gun aside.

"I haven't heard of you, but you don't look that interesting anyway." She said in a mocking voice, and then laughed again before reaching down towards Sahara's bag. She rummaged inside and pulled out the label less vodka bottle.

"I don't think Sahara is at the age limit." Draco said, walking slowly forwards.

"What makes you think that I care about what that tart thinks?" Eden said, her voice suddenly changing and becoming deep. Draco looked shocked, but continued to walk forwards. Eden opened up the bottle and began to drink it.

"If you aren't of age, why do you drink it then?" Draco asked, reaching towards the machine on his left arm. Eden stopped drinking and smiled.

"It's my spinach."

"Your spinach?"

"Yes, because it makes me stronger." Eden said, and waved her hand. Draco was suddenly wrenched backwards; a blue beam had connected his machine to one of the fuel barrels, and, like a magnet, it was pulled towards it, dragging Draco with it. The grunts all raised their machine guns, and pulled the trigger.  
Vanessa and Virus had just finished emptying the last fuel barrel when they heard the gunfire.

"Pachi Pachi Pachirisu!" Nutty wailed, looking shocked. Chimchar, who had been keeping watch and trying to avoid his tail touching fuel, rushed over, gibbering away.

"Let's just start moving these out!" Vanessa commanded. She and Virus began to push the one they had just drenched. It rolled smoothly, though they had difficulty moving it around the bend. Once the bonnet was facing towards the fight, Virus gave it a hearty Low Kick, and it began to move forwards.

"Ember!" Vanessa commanded.

"Chimmm-CHAR!" Chimchar cried, and fired the ball of fire. It lit up the tunnel, and revealed the car about to smash into a grunt before the fire and the car collided. The windscreen shattered, the upholstery instantly caught alit, and than the car exploded, lighting the entire mine up and blasting numerous grunts aside.

The explosion caused lots of dust to trickle down inside the cavern.

"What the hell is going on down there?" Cyrus roared, as he heard shouts from down below. Charon pulled out his laptop and tapped away at it.

"Eden has come out." He said, and Cyrus stopped his rage. Just then, Gligar burst through the ground, looking very horrified.

"Gligar Gar Glig!" He wailed, punching his purple pincers into the ground.

"It is alright, we heard the explosion." Charles said, patting him.

"I need you three downstairs, right now!" Cyrus said, signalling for the three grunts to move down. Crobat, who had been hiding up in the shadows, fluttered down, looking ready to fight.

"Are we taking our Pokemon?" Roshonda said stupidly, her voice nervous.

"Of course you take your Pokemon!" Jupiter growled, and Roshonda looked nervous. Cyrus picked up a machine gun and led the way. Ampharos followed behind, and joined Elle and Gligar behind Charles, and the three grunts and their Pokemon quickly moved out.

"How long until the bomb goes off?" Mars said impatiently.

"Soon enough my darling." Charon sighed, and Mars went and sat down on a rock, looking grouchy. Saturn and Jupiter exchanged looks and simultaneously rolled their eyes, and plopped down on either side of her.

Half the grunts were on the ground, some bleeding, others with their guns lying beside them. The others were either checking on Draco, who was slumped over many broken boxes, or they were standing up, staring in awe towards Eden. Her hands were outstretched in front of her, and about a hundred blue bolts of electricity were coming out of them, each one connected to a bullet.

"If you people had actually heard of me, you would have known that you can't hurt me with metal." Eden said, giggling with delight. She moved her hands around, and the bullets moved around with them. "I haven't been able to exert my powers for a while." Eden moved her right hand and positioned it in front of three grunts. More bolts suddenly shot out and attached themselves to the grunts. She flicked her index and middle fingers, and the bolts from her hand disappeared, and the bullets zoomed out and smashed into the grunts. With a burst of blood, the three were sent flying across the mine, and they landed and rolled towards the flaming wreckage of the car. Suddenly, three of the boxes against a wall moved, revealing a stone staircase, and Cyrus, Charles, Roshonda, William and their Pokemon came out.

"Sahara!" Charles gasped. Eden looked over and smiled, as she transferred half the bullets to her right hand.

"You're that boy she likes, aren't you." She cackled, and clapped her hands, causing the bullets to collide.

"What is wrong with her?" Charles asked.

"Do you know her?" Roshonda said, surprised.

"He doesn't know me, he knows my body." Eden said, and she laughed even louder as Roshonda looked surprised.

"This is Eden, one of Sahara's alternate personalities." Cyrus explained. "I have waited a long time to meet you." Eden stopped laughing and looked surprised.

"What are you, some kind of paedo?" She said.

"No no no, I have just heard about you." Cyrus said, walking forwards.

"GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU PERVERT!" Eden screamed, and she clicked her fingers.

The world around them exploded.

All the bullets shot towards Cyrus, who leapt out of the way, but one hit his shoulder, making him scream. Ampharos, Elle and Beedrill fired attacks, but Eden dodged them. The remaining bullets nearly hit the grunts, but Charles pulled Roshonda to the ground. Crobat made several clicking sounds, and hundreds of Zubats and Golbats flew down from the ceiling, and Crobat led them in Supersonic attacks. Vanessa heard the commotion, and tried to see what was happening, but it was too dark.

"Let's send the next one down!" She ordered.

"Elec." Virus said, and he pushed the Jeep, and Shinx used Tackle to get it to move. Virus gave it a kick, and Vanessa narrowly avoided getting hit. Chimchar moved and fired the Ember.  
Eden looked up just in time to see the Jeep exploding, and an orange fist of flame sent her flying, and she crashed into the back of the tunnel. There was a muffled roar from beneath them, and a creature suddenly smashed through the ground, and it collided with the ceiling, and rocks began to fall.

* * *

Matthew groaned and tried to stand up, but found that a gun was in front of him.

"So, are you going to be a good little boy and hand over your Pokemon?" Ursilla said.

"What happened to Xavier?" Matthew asked, as he gently shoved Jolteon off his legs.

"He is taking a little trip to find some coal." Ursilla said, smiling evilly. "Now hand over that Milotic, or I'll feed your Piplup to my Arbok." And Arbok slid onto the scene. She hissed loudly, and Matthew leapt up in fright. He looked around and saw that Milotic was being crushed by Lapras, who was too weak to move. Piplup had gone to console Turtwig and hadn't noticed, and Jolteon and Gallade were using their last strength to check on Looker.

"No." Matthew whispered, and he felt the gun getting jabbed into his stomach.

"No?" Ursilla repeated.

"No!" Matthew said, more determinedly. Ursilla stared into him, and was tempted to release the snake onto him, but decided to do something slightly different.

"Wrap!" Before Matthew could blink, Arbok had wrapped her entire body around his torso, and was quickly crushing his ribs. Ursilla smirked and walked over towards Looker, replacing her energy gun for the capture one.

"Time to get down to business." She smirked, and she pointed the gun. But before she could move, there was a blast of electricity and Ursilla was thrown backwards. Matthew looked up in time for a Dragonite to swoop down, and slash at Arbok with a Dragon Claw. Arbok released Matthew and went to fight with the dragon, but it blasted her with a powerful Hyper Beam, and Arbok was tossed backwards, along with Ursilla. The beam also struck one of the supports for the conveyor belt, causing the metal to twist and creak. As Matthew gasped for air, he looked around and saw Palmer, who was spraying all the Pokemon with Full Restores and was waking Looker up.

"Where is Xavier?" Palmer asked.

"I dunno, I think he is on the conveyor belt, Ursilla wasn't clear." Matthew said.

"Piplup Pip?" Piplup said, looking concerned for her owner's safety.

"I'm fine, we have to worry about Xavier." Matthew said.

"I'll get him." Palmer said, and he turned to his Dragonite. "Are you recharged?" Dragonite nodded, and Palmer clambered onto his back. Before he could take off though, there was a shout and several grunts appeared, and Zubats began to descend from the skies.

"I thought those belonged to the mine." Palmer cursed.

"I think the grunts backed off so Ursilla could have her way." Looker said, as he stood up. Jolteon fired a Thunderbolt, knocking down a Zubat, but they seemed to all be regrouping.

"You lot bring them down, I'll get Xavier." Palmer said, and Dragonite lifted off. Matthew was momentarily stunned, until Piplup knocked him away from a Zubat, and he was brought back to his senses.  
Xavier could feel the gears working underneath him, the metal whirring and moving. He was being lifted upwards, and could hear the coal falling into some sort of container inside the white building. If he fell in, there was a chance he would become buried with coal. He could suffocate, and probably die. It wouldn't be that bad though, Xavier thought. It is better than a slow and painful death. And if he could have done anything, that would have made it slightly worse. As he couldn't do anything, then he didn't really mind it that much…

_Get ready. _Lapras' voice echoed inside his head, and Xavier tried to look around for it, but, of course, his neck was frozen. Suddenly, a large orange hand grabbed his jacket, and Xavier could make out that it was a Dragonite that was saving him, and the messy blonde hair of the rider must be his father's. Well, at least he wouldn't die yet, Xavier pondered, as he was lifted up into the sky.

"Hello there son." Palmer boomed, as he gave Dragonite a little tap, and he turned and dived back towards the ground. Looker was firing his gun left, right and centre, though only several of the bullets struck. Jolteon and Lapras were combining their attacks to exploit the Zubats weaknesses, and they were dropping like flies. Matthew was locked in combat with several grunts, and Piplup and Milotic were using powerful water attacks, while Gallade got rid of the actual trainers.

"Where has Ursilla gone?" Palmer boomed, as Dragonite gently landed, swiping at a grunt with Dragon Claw as he did so. Looker looked over and realised that Ursilla and Arbok had disappeared, leaving a semi crater behind.

"Must have buggered off when I wasn't looking." The agent replied. A grunt leapt and him and he pistol whipped him. "Fool."

"What are going to do about these grunts?" Matthew cried, Milotic blasted them away with Surf. Looker pondered for a minute, and then smiled.

"Lapras, will you use Psychic around my Jolteon's attack?" He said.

_Is it fine with you?_ Lapras thought, staring over at Xavier. _  
_

_Of course. _Xavier replied. Lapras looked at Looker and nodded.

"Good good. Now Jolteon, use Last Resort!" Looker said. A small white ball began to form in Jolteon's mouth. Lapras' eyes flashed pink and the ball stopped growing and began to spread out. Palmer grabbed Xavier, who was still frozen, and rushed behind Jolteon and Lapras, and the others and the Pokemon did the same. The grunts, the Zubats and their Pokemon all charged for them, hoping to easily attack while they were all collectively together. But Jolteon and Lapras both relinquished their attacks. A wall of white energy was blasted forwards, destroying the fence and one of the orange machines, and sending all of the Team Galactic team flying. Several smashed into the conveyor belt, another skidded along the ground, and all the Zubats began to fall to the ground. The flash of light cleared after half a minute, and the group parted, staring around at the limp bodies.

"Good job." Matthew said, and Lapras smiled.

"Let's hope that is the last of them." Looker said. "Now, we should move inside the mine, and then we could-" But what they could do was cut off. Only seconds before, the small bomb Charon had put on the conveyor belt had finally completed its journey. Along with several pieces of coal, it fell off the moving metal and landed amongst the mass of coal. The force of the land triggered a small device, and it exploded.

They all turned and watched as the white building was completely annihilated. The cloud of orange tore the two conveyor belts apart, forcing the metal away from it. The small staff room was crushed, and what remained of the orange machines was blown up. Palmer tried to get them to move, but the force hit them. Lapras and Gallade fired up psychic barriers, managing to protect Xavier, Matthew and the Pokemon, but Looker and Palmer were sent flying. Lapras struggled to hold on and there were engulfed with flame.

_Oh frick. _She cursed, and collapsed. The wall went down, and Lapras, Xavier, Turtwig and half of Milotic were covered. Gallade tried to hold on, but he too collapsed. Matthew clung onto Piplup and screamed, shutting his eyes and letting himself be picked up and get thrown across the ground.

* * *

As the dust cleared, Aqua rushed out, jumping over bits of the fallen roof. He could see Sahara's body lying over her bag, covered in black dust.

"Floatzel!" Aqua said, shaking her. Sahara groaned and opened her eyes.

"My throat is killing me." She moaned. She looked around and saw all of the broken rock and grunts. "Jesus, what did she do?"

"Flo Zel!" Aqua said, and pointing upwards. Sahara turned and gasped. A huge Onix was right in front of her, staring down at her. It was the one that had been disturbed earlier, and had finally cracked after all the gunfire and explosions, and he burst out. He hadn't intended to destroy the ceiling, but it gave an added effect of fright.

"That thing is tall!" Sahara whispered.

"ONNNNN-IXXXXXX!" Onix cried, and more rocks and dust trickled down. He lunged forwards, and Sahara squealed and raised her bag to cover herself. Aqua rushed forwards and Onix halted. He looked down at Sahara's frightened look and moved backwards.

"On." He said apologetically, and went to move off. Sahara stood up and suddenly had a brain wave.

"Wait!" She called, and Onix turned. Sahara pulled a PokeBall out of her bag and lifted it up. "Would you like to come on my journey with me?" Onix looked a bit stunned, but then broke into a rough smile and nodded. Sahara grinned and turned to Aqua.

"Water Gun please." She said. Aqua grinned and fired the jet of water. Onix doubled over and Sahara threw the PokeBall. The rock snake turned into red light and went inside the ball, which closed and flashed. Sahara and Aqua watched as it flashed red, shrunk, and flew into her hand.

"Yeah, I just caught Onix!" Sahara said, smiling. "I think I'll call him…. Smash. I think the ceiling would agree that." There was a groan, and Sahara turned and saw one grunt, William, stirring. "Run!" Sahara whispered, and she and Aqua rushed off.

"OI!" William yelled, and he and his Omanstar followed after. There were muffled cries from behind the slide, as it had caved in, trapping in Charon and the admins.

Vanessa hadn't bothered to check on the added noise, as she presumed it was from the Jeep. Instead, she was preparing to send the next one out.

"Ok Virus, on my mark!" Vanessa said, as Nutty and Shinx moved well back. "One…. Two…."

"VANESSA!" The red head turned, and Nutty looked up happily as Sahara and Aqua rushed forwards. "Vanessa, we need to leave, now!"

"Why, what happened? Did Eden do something?" Vanessa said, sounding worried. Her question was answered as Aqua let out a groan, large orbs of energy being sucked out from him. William and Omanstar were standing right behind.

"You nearly killed me!" He hissed, marching forwards with his machine gun swinging from its strap. "Now I'll kill you!"

"Oh bugger off!" Vanessa snapped, marching forwards. She clicked her fingers and Shinx followed her.

"You won't fight me?" William smirked.

"Of course." Vanessa said, and she grabbed her umbrella. "THREE!" Virus kicked the car and Chimchar fired the Ember. William was distracted, giving Vanessa the chance to run. She held the umbrella handle in one hand, and wrapped the other around the fabric and twisted. The tip of the umbrella parted and a long sword came out. Vanessa swiped down and sliced the strap of the machine gun. Shinx rushed forwards and fired a Spark at the Omanstar. It cried out and rolled backwards, and Shinx then initiated a Thunder Fang, just as they heard the car explode. Sahara rushed forwards, planning to hold Vanessa back, but she had to dodge a near miss from the sword and let her continue.

"I'll still kill you, you ugly bitch!" William snarled. Vanessa let out an angry growl and ran forwards.

"Rot in hell!" She said, and twirled. The sword came flying and swiped diagonally down William's chest. He didn't even have time to register the blood pouring and turning his uniform red before he collapsed. Sahara gasped.

"That seemed unnecessary."

"He would have killed us if I hadn't." Vanessa said.

"SHINX!" Shinx cried, and fired a final Spark. Omanstar was sent flying and smashed into the opposite wall. It fell to the floor and fainted.

"Good job." Vanessa said, smiling.

"Shinx Shinx." Shinx replied, and suddenly burst into white. Sahara gasped as Shinx began to grow, his tail and body growing. The white light dimmed, leaving behind a Luxio, Shinx's evolved form. He had more black fur, giving him a mane and a spiky bit on top. He also looked a bit more serious than Shinx and was marginally taller, but still looked very playful.

"Luxio Lux Lux!" Luxio said, smiling.

"Oh cool a new evolution!" Sahara said, and pulled out her white and blue PokeDex.

"Congrats." Vanessa said, patting Luxio, who smiled.

"Chim." Chimchar said, coming over to congratulate.

"Let's just get out of here." Vanessa said.

"Agreed, I think it is caving in." Sahara said. Sure enough, the ceiling was cracking, and dust was beginning to pour down. Vanessa, Sahara, Virus, Aqua, Nutty, Chimchar and Luxio began to run, and managed to avoid a falling rock. As they disappeared up the tunnel, footsteps sounded and Saturn and Jupiter ran up, looking around.

"They've gone." Saturn whispered, and stared down at William's body. Jupiter let out a screech and fired her machine gun into the roof. The bullets smashed in, and Saturn gave Jupiter a look before turning and leaving her to fume.

* * *

Vanessa, Sahara and their Pokemon rushed out onto open land, and found it completely devastated. There were huge crates everywhere, the white building was now a flaming pile of rubble, half of the conveyor belts had been destroyed and the mound of coal was on fire. Sirens were sounding in the distance.

"We have to leave before the firemen get here." Vanessa said.

"But what if Matthew and Xavier are still here?" Sahara said, and she ran forwards, looking for them.

"They have probably left." Vanessa said, sounding increasingly nervous. But there was a muffled grunt, and the two turned and saw Xavier lying, completely stiff, near the flaming wreckage of a machine. Piplup was with him, firing out a Bubble attack to stop the fire. Xavier's jaw seemed to be stiff, as he was letting out cries through clenched teeth. Sahara rushed over, while Aqua put the fire out, and the other Pokemon searched for the others. They found Matthew lying unconscious, with blood dripping out of his mouth, near the entrance. Lapras was lying near the fiery pile and Turtwig was trying to stir her, and Milotic was looking a bit sleepy but otherwise fine.

"What the hell happened up here?" Sahara said, as she ensured Xavier was fine.

"There was a blast." Matthew groaned, as Vanessa gave him a hand.

"Tell us later, let's just run!" Vanessa cried, and she and Sahara quickly brought back all the Pokemon, and then helped one of the boys each and ran. Matthew looked around as they went, hoping to see the corner or a brown or green trench coat, but no luck.  
Looker and Palmer had fled and left them.

* * *

_January 7th 2010_

Oreburgh City Pokemon Centre

It was three in the morning. All of the Pokemon were being treated by the nurse, who was making sure they were at full health. Matthew, Sahara and a fully recovered Xavier sat around some seats, waiting to receive their Pokemon back. Vanessa had disappeared as soon as they had gotten back, and they were too tired to question where she was.

"Excuse me, I have your Pokemon for you." The three turned as the nurse walked over, and passed around the PokeBalls and one Great Ball.

"Why do you only have one?" Sahara asked Matthew.

"I sent Milotic back, I thought she'd need the water." Matthew said. "Why do you have four?"

"Oh, I caught an Onix."

"Oh cool!" Matthew said.

"Where is Miss Vanessa?" The nurse said, holding out three PokeBalls.

"I am right here." Vanessa walked towards them, and looked like she had tied a piece of rainbow silk around her body, making it look like a multicoloured snake was trying to crush her. Vanessa grabbed the PokeBalls and nodded in thanks, and the nurse left.

"I'm off now." She said brightly, and turned to the door.

"It's three in the morning, won't it be rather dark?" Xavier said.

"Meh, I don't care for the dark." Vanessa replied, and waved a hand and trotted off.

"Well, I might as well go to sleep." Sahara said, standing up. "See you two later." And she walked off towards her room.

"If everyone else is." Matthew said, and he stood up, with Xavier following.

"Excuse me, Mr Pearl, I have a note for you." Matthew looked over and saw the nurse rushing over, holding a bit of paper.

"I'll see you in our room." Xavier said, and he walked off. Matthew opened the bit of paper and read it.

_Dear Matthew_

I am sorry for leaving you and Xavier at the mine, but my Dragonite was very injured and I hastened to cure him. You had both left when I went back, so I sent this note to the Pokemon Centre.  
You may recall my sudden disappearance yesterday when we were at the café. But what you had told me reminded me of something, and I couldn't let it slip out. But I also can't keep something like this quiet. All I can say is this; next time you see your father, mention the kidnapping and maybe mention the Johto trip, 1993. 

_Enjoy the rest of your trip,  
Palmer Diamond._

Matthew read the note twice, not sure of what to make of it. He considered throwing it away, but that wouldn't be very productive. Instead, he slipped the piece of paper inside his pocket and walked off towards his room, desperate for sleep.

But as he left, another two people entered. A large woman and a tall man holding a camera came in and sat down, keeping their voices low.

"I can't believe what we witnessed!" Lucinda whispered.

"I know, you don't see an explosion like that every day." Harrison replied excitedly.

"Wasn't that red head we saw leaving that Vanessa girl from the other day?" Lucinda asked.

"I am certain it was." Harrison said, nodding. "But who could believe some simple story about a museum piece could lead to this?"

"Whatever this footage means, I am pretty sure we could get a promotion for it." Lucinda said, and the two giggled happily before rushing off to their room.

* * *

Galactic Headquarters

Charles and Roshonda held out tightly as Gyarados swooped down and landed on the courtyard. The moon was making his red scales shine, and Charles had been pleased to have given him a good run.

"Thanks Gyarados!" He said, as he and Roshonda jumped off.

"Gyara." Gyarados said smiling, and Charles brought him back. Around them, a number of Zubats and Golbats were coming in too land, dropping of what remained of the grunts. Cyrus and the admins had landed several minutes earlier, and Charles could think of nothing else than to go to sleep.

"Did you know that Eden girl?" Roshonda said. Charles looked at her and sighed. He hadn't wanted to discuss this yet.

"I know her as Sahara. I don't know what that was about."

"She seemed really freaky, especially how she fired those bullets at you." Roshonda said. Charles nodded, and his face filled with glum. "Oh sorry, did I upset you?"

"Oh no, of course not. I just thought she was a friend." Charles said, and sighed again.

"I don't think friends fire bullets at each other." Roshonda said, and Charles nodded. "Looks like I'm your only friend in Sinnoh then. Night!" And she walked off, her hair dancing. Charles stood still, alone and depressed, for a minute before finally heading off towards his room. Roshonda turned around and watched him disappear. She felt a bit guilty and went to walk off, but found Cyrus in her way.

"Excellent, very nice." He said. "You did a fine job."

"Can I please go to bed now?" Roshonda huffed.

"Of course my darling." Cyrus said, grinning. "But ensure that he feels alienated but the others, and I'll make sure you are rewarded in the end." Roshonda nodded, and she quickly walked off. Cyrus continued to grin as he walked back towards his house. If things went to plan, by the time they struck the Windworks in a few days, Charles would hate Sahara, and with any extra luck, Jaki would come out. And then the end of the world could begin.**  
**


	9. Flight, Fight and Plight

******Flight, Fight and Plight  
**  
_January 8th 2010_

Route 204 (South)

It was early morning in Sinnoh. The sun had barely risen into the sky, and was casting a golden glow over Route 204. The snow that had fallen overnight was shining yellow in the sunlight, and the peace and quiet had not yet been disturbed. Most of the Pokemon were still enjoying their rest, but two Wurmple, a male and a female, were amongst the few who were awake. The two were sliding along the branch of an oak tree, nudging each other and grinning. They wanted to spend all their time together, and wouldn't let anything get in the way.

"Bubble!" The two Wurmples heard the cry, but only had a few seconds to dodge, avoiding a variety of bubbles.

"Wurm!" The male Wurmple huffed. The two looked down, and saw a boy and his Piplup standing under the tree.

"Come on Piplup, get up there and use Pound!" Matthew instructed.

"Pip." Piplup nodded, and ran forwards and jumped, trying to get close enough, but was half a metre away from the tree. The two Wurmples bent low over the branch and fired a String Shot each. One hit Piplup square in the face, and the other wrapped around Matthew's legs. With a shared smirk, the two Wurmple turned and scurried along the tree.

"I told you not to do it." Matthew looked behind and saw Xavier and Turtwig.

"There were just Wurmples, I didn't expect this." Matthew snapped, pulling away the string and helping Piplup get hers off.

"I don't believe in catching Pokemon just to capture them." Xavier said, heading back towards their tent. "I think that if you catch a Pokemon, you should keep it on your team."

"Yes yes, whatever." Matthew grunted, irritated at being defeated. Xavier had already packed up the tent, and the two boys picked up their bags.

"I'll catch the next Pokemon!" Matthew said, slinging his bag over his shoulder. Xavier gave his demented laugh, earning him a scowl from Matthew. As the two turned to head towards the Ravaged Path up ahead, they saw someone sitting on the white fence in front of them.

"Morning there fellas." Vanessa said, putting on a Southern belle accent.

"Hello Vanessa, what are you doing here?" Xavier asked.

"Why, I am just a poor, sweet, innocent little girl, why would you be suspecting me?" Vanessa said, continuing with the voice. Today she was wearing a fluro yellow breast plate, with matching wrist guards. She had a flowing orange dress to match her accent, and bright pink high heels. As she walked towards them, Vanessa opened up her umbrella and slung it over her shoulder.

"I imagined that you'd be in FloaromaTown by now." Matthew said.

"I let that bitch sleep get the better of me." Vanessa explained, twirling around them. "I fell asleep for a little bit, than did a spot of training. None of these trainers are any good, so either of you two up for a battle?"

"Matthew still only has one Pokemon, he wouldn't be very good in battle." Xavier said bluntly, making Matthew growl and blush at once. Vanessa smirked and then sighed.

"Fine, I suppose I'd be on my way, know where Sahara might be?" Before Matthew could answer, there were two exclamations from Turtwig and Piplup. They bowled their Pokemon over, smacking into Vanessa as well. Suddenly, a burst of orange energy flew through the air and smashed into the roots of a tree a few metres behind them. They were blasted apart, causing the tree to topple, landing on the ground very close to where they had just been.

"It's Ursilla!" Matthew gasped, standing up and grabbing Piplup.

"She's Galactic's hunter, isn't she?" Vanessa huffed, helping Xavier up. There was another explosion, and they turned as the lane in front of the was struck, leaving a deep crater.

"Jubilife is our safest option, let's go." Matthew whispered. Xavier and Vanessa nodded. Matthew went to run, but Vanessa grabbed the scruff of his shirt and pulled him back. She pulled out her handheld device and pressed the screen. Several seconds later, an Abra appeared in front of them, fast asleep.

"Teleport, Jubilife." Vanessa whispered. Matthew and Xavier clutched onto Turtwig and Piplup, and the three trainers grabbed Abra. There was a white flash and they all disappeared, just as another blast of orange narrowly missed them.

Behind a low bush, Ursilla stood up and cursed.

"Bastard children!" She hissed. She put her energy gun back into its sling and turned towards Jubilife. "They must have doubled back. Idiots, I'll have their Pokemon by the end of the day." And Ursilla began to walk briskly towards the city, continuing to mutter and stepping calmly over the flaming tree as she did so.

* * *

Ravaged Path

Sahara had been moving quickly since she had left the OreburghCity. She hadn't bothered to linger around anywhere, mainly due to her past experiences in Jubilife and the Oreburgh Gate. However, upon entering the Ravaged Path, Sahara and Nutty, who was using Flash to provide extra light, found that a number of rocks blocked their way.

"Nutty, can you use Spark?" Sahara asked.

"Pa-chi." Nutty replied, shaking her head. Sahara sighed and stared at the rocks blocking her way. Then, she had a brainwave.

"Smash, help me out!" She exclaimed and threw a PokeBall along the ground. It burst open and a mass of red energy came out, forming into Onix.

"Ok Smash, I found this Hidden Machine when I went back through the Ravaged Path." Sahara said, and pulled out a small disc. "I think it teaches Rock Smash, and hopefully, you are able to learn it." Smash nodded, and Nutty backed away as Sahara went to attach it. But suddenly there was an explosion from outside.

"What was that?" Sahara gasped, and she and her Pokemon rushed towards the cave entrance. As the entered back onto Route 204, they saw a giant crater up ahead, and there was a distinctive white flash, though Sahara could make out a head of red hair before it disappeared.

"I think I saw Vanessa." Sahara said.

"On!" Smash exclaimed, and indicated towards a bush. Sahara turned and saw someone walking towards Jubilife.

"That's that Ursilla woman!" Sahara gasped. "Come on, lets follow her."

"Pach?" Nutty asked, looking apprehensive.

"The other three might be over there, I don't want them to get hurt." Sahara said, and she climbed onto Smash. Nutty sighed and climbed on as well. Smash lowered down his neck and began to slid over the ground, swishing his rock tail and gathering speed, heading, like the others, for JubilifeCity.

* * *

Galactic Headquarters- Grunt Training Division

Even though the sun had barely risen, there was lots of activity for the grunts. Draco had made all the grunts go for a two kilometre run to raise fitness. They had started at their huts and run around the perimeter of the training facility. Charles, who went for runs regularly, wouldn't have found this difficult, but he was sore from hand-to-hand combat yesterday, and was lagging behind a bit. As two Pokemon had to do the training, Tauros had joined Elle, and with each step, the ground cracked and Elle had nearly been stood on several times.

"Just- a little- bit- further." Charles puffed.

"Eva." Elle panted. But Tauros was still full of energy.

"TAUROOOO!" He mooed, and charged ahead, head down low.

"Wait up!" Charles puffed, and he rushed forwards, with Elle scampering alongside. Tauros was continuing to moo, and was getting close to knocking the people ahead out of the way. Charles was pushing himself to the limit, and Tauros was getting closer.

Suddenly, a blast of blue white beams struck the ground in front, freezing it over. Tauros' front left hoof touched the ice, and the bull instantly began to slip. Elle managed to come to a halt, but Charles didn't notice and smashed into Tauros, causing him to topple over.

"You need to learn better control." Charles looked up and saw Draco, glaring down at him. A Froslass was floating above him, looking a bit dreamy and bored.

"Where's your Glalie?" Charles mumbled.

"I don't always have to use the same Pokemon, do I? And don't change the subject!" Draco snapped. "You shouldn't have chosen such a large and dangerous Pokemon for this challenge."

"Tauro Tauro!" Tauros growled, and orange energy began to form. Draco raised his arm, his finger ready on his wrist contraption, but Charles put his arm out.

"No need to fight." He said. "We'll finish running the course."

"Don't bother, just go back to your room." Draco snapped. Charles sighed and stood up. He had his back turned, and he didn't realise Elle had been forming a Return. As Charles moved out of the way, Elle fired the pink beam. Draco leapt out of the way, and Froslass moved into position.

"Fros." She said in a deep, wicked voice. She raised one of her hands and swung forwards, preparing a Wake-Up Slap. Tauros leapt up and a blue ball formed in his mouth. He mooed, firing out rings of water. Froslass was blasted backwards, smacking Draco in the face.

"Elle, Tauros!" Charles said, gasping. Froslass floated back up, looking shocked. But when Draco stood up, he looked furious. He pressed a button on his invention, and a red laser shot out. Draco swiped, and the laser slashed Charles' shirt.

"There is a training exercise this afternoon." Draco hissed. "You have to be there, but if I see your hideous face, I will do something a lot worse than cut your shirt. Now get to your room, NOW!" Charles stood up and scampered away, with Elle and Tauros wandering behind. Roshonda, who had been running with her Beedrill and Nidoqueen, looked shocked by this. Draco saw her and let out a furious roar. Roshonda, horrified, continued running. Draco stared at her for a minute, before storming off, Froslass floating dreamily behind him.

* * *

Jubilife City

As usual, the streets and pavements were packed in Jubilife. Lots of trainers were heading towards the school or Pokemon Centre, while adults were rushing to get to work. Amongst all of this madness, there was a flash of white, and the crowd parted as Vanessa, Xavier, Matthew and their Pokemon all formed.

"Cheers Abra." Vanessa said.

"Abra Ab." Abra said sleepily, and teleported away again. Vanessa stared at the spot where Abra had teleported from, before turning and heading off in the opposite direction.

"Vanessa!" Matthew yelled, running after her. Vanessa sighed and turned around.

"What?"

"If psycho snake lady is after us, shouldn't we stick together?" Matthew said, as Xavier followed up behind.

"I think it will be easier if we split up, head onto the skyscrapers. I'll have Staraptor keep lookout from the top of the SBC building." Vanessa explained. "You take Global Trade Station Matthew, and Xavier, there is a hotel over there, you take that."

"The Poketch would have been a good building to use." Xavier said, examining his own one and there staring towards the large, gaping hole on the other side of town. It had been fenced off, though there was a small crowd staring down into it.

"Ah, I love our lives." Vanessa said, chortling. "Well, see ya!"

"Wa-" Matthew began, but Vanessa was skipping off, obviously to Matthew's cries. He sighed and stared down at Piplup. "Let's go to the Global Trading Station then."

"Pip Piplup!" Piplup said, and the two walked off, not bothering to farewell Xavier.

"Let's go towards that hotel than Turtwig." Xavier said.

"Tur." Turtwig said, agreeing, and the two headed off towards the Jubilife Condominiums. The crowd was thinning slightly now, and the snow was dying down a bit, making the trip much easier. Turtwig feet were getting cold, but he thought it better not to bother Xavier, and they travelled in silence. But as they neared the ugly building near Route 203, Turtwig gasped and rushed into shadows.

"Turtwig, what is wrong?" Xavier said, sounding thoroughly unconcerned. But out of the corner of his eye, Xavier saw someone being shoved aside. He turned, briefly catching a glimpse of Ursilla, her face contorted with rage, before a hand appeared over his mouth and he was dragged backwards. Xavier went to question the situation, but the mysterious person hushed him.

"If you want to live and keep your Pokemon, be quiet." The person, a man, hissed, and he dragged Xavier backwards through the door, with Turtwig following after. As the door closed, Ursilla turned around, looking for the source of the noise. She could see nothing, except for the curious looks of people around her.

"What are you looking at?" She snarled, and rushed away towards the fountain. Ursilla reached inside her trench coat and pulled out three PokeBalls and threw them into the air. As they burst, two beams of red energy formed at her feet, while one formed in the pool. Seconds later, her Arbok stood there, towering above her, while a Linoone stood next to her, scratching at the ground, and a Huntail splashed and slithered around the fountain.

"Go and look for the children. I trust you to know which ones!" Ursilla said. Arbok turned and jabbered to the others.

"Li." Linoone said, and turned and rushed off. Arbok dived into the grass and slid away, and Huntail prowled around, looking curiously around. Ursilla nodded, satisfied, and began to head off in the opposite direction.  
From the side of the SBC building, Vanessa watched as Ursilla and her Pokemon disappeared. She smirked and walked out onto the pavement, with snow instantly striking her. Vanessa cursed under her breath and didn't realise where she was going, and didn't hear the glass doors sliding open as she passed. Vanessa looked up at the sound of voices, but was suddenly hit by something, causing her to stumble.

"Vanessa!" A familiar voice said, and Vanessa looked up and saw Lucinda Large, today wearing a blue dress suit, and Harrison standing nearby, wearing jeans and a neat grey shirt.

"Oh, hi." Vanessa said, smiling ever so fakely.

"Fancy seeing you here, I'd thought you'd be far ahead by now!" Lucinda said.

"Yes, so I've heard." Vanessa replied.

"Let's get you inside, you look freezing!" Harrison said.

"No really, I'm fine." Vanessa said, but Lucinda and Harrison grasped an arm each, and dragged her inside the building, and seconds later, Arbok skidded along the icy ground, searching for the red hair she had just missed.

* * *

Galactic HQ- Air Hanger

Charles had passed by the hanger before. It looked like practically any other: a huge curved roof, corrugated iron, and painted. The Galactic one was white with turquoise lining, and had big green doors, painted turquoise, which were currently open. However, Charles had to enter through the back door, just like all the grunts. He noticed Roshonda standing on her own and went up next to her.

"Hey." She said, smiling. "I saw Draco being nasty to you earlier, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, I sent the uniform away to be fixed." Charles aid.

"I don't care about your uniform, are you fine, you know, emotionally, physically?" Roshonda said.

"I am doing fine!" Charles said, a little too loudly, and many heads turned. Roshonda looked shocked, and Charles felt guilty. "Ok, I am not really enjoying it that much here, but I can't do anything about it, can I? It doesn't really seem you can just hand in your resignation."

"I know it is tough, but at least nothing seriously bad has happened to you yet." Roshonda said, and Charles scoffed.

"Yeah, I don't think the cave-in or nearly being shot quite count as 'serious.'" Charles said. Roshonda went to reply, but another door open and Cyrus walked in, Charon at his heels as usual. Everyone quickly stood to attention, and Cyrus stopped in the middle of the room.

"Today, we are flying our airship once more, to continue our tests before we begin construction on our other models." Cyrus explained. "You will be split up in to groups: Control, Armament, Admin or Maintenance. When you enter the ship, Draco and Minerva will split you up. Now, move quickly, we must be back before nightfall and we have a long journey." The grunt at the end of the line began to walk forwards, and the others began to follow.

"What do you do in these groups?" Charles whispered.

"Control is at the front of the ship, helping to direct it and navigate. Armament is for the top battlers and people who can control machine guns. Admin is doing small jobs and helping out the admins, and Maintenance is keeping the ship fuelled and making sure it is running smoothly behind the scenes." Roshonda explained. Charles had more questions, but they walked through the door and into the main part of the hanger. Charles gasped at the sight of the airship. It was massive and looked like something out of a storybook, and Charles was stunned to think he had actually been onboard it. To the left of the airship, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars were standing by a large steel staircase, watching as the grunts went onboard. More grunts were in front of them, having come from different briefings. As they walked past, Charles noticed that Mars was winking and waving to numerous male grunts, who all looked away, apparently ashamed. Roshonda smirked at this, and Charles smiled at her. The two climbed up the staircase in a single line, and soon entered a plain, steel hallway. The shoes of grunts clanged as they walked along. Charles saw Draco standing to the right, and quickly moved towards the woman Cyrus had mentioned, Minerva. He had heard several grunts mention her before, but had never seen her. The woman looked up, and she had long, bright blonde hair, dark brown eyes the same shade as his, and a healthy tanned complexion. Her outfit was a simple white dress, which looked elegant compared to all the plain outfits of the surrounding grunts. Her eyes were wide as if in shock, but she forced a smile.

"Hello there deary, you must be Charles." Minerva said, in a nice, soft voice.

"How did you know?" Charles asked, a bit stunned.

"Oh, I am Cyrus' personal assistant, I know all the new grunts." Minerva said, smiling. Her expression looked a bit forced, but her eyes softened this strained look. "Now, let me see where you are working…. You are in the Armament section. Keep walking down the hallway and turn right, there will be a sign." Minerva said.

"Thank you." Charles said, and he walked off. He could feel Minerva's eyes on him, but when he turned, Roshonda was blocking her from sight.

"I'm on Armament as well." She said.

"Great." Charles said. The two turned right at the right spot, and behind them they heard a whirring sound. Charles poked his head around the corner and saw the steel staircase, slowly rising up. The admins were talking to each other, ignoring the staircase as it closed, and the steps whirred and became flat, making it invisible. Charles continued walking, and caught up with Roshonda. They went down a flight of steps and across another hallway, entering a small room, in the middle of the ship. About two dozen grunts were in there, and a number of machine guns were attached to poles, pointing out of the glass windows, and a number of other weapons were on the walls.

"What a fun place." Charles mumbled. Above their heads, there was a whirr as a loudspeaker was turned on.

"GAL001, Bulba, will be taking off in ten seconds. Prepare yourselves." The voice of Charon said. Charles was going to ask how they would leave, but the ship began to rise up, and more sunlight was beginning to pour in. As the airship rose upwards, Charles realised the roof of the hanger had retracted, and now they were floating above the ground: one metre… two metres… four metres… ten metres… Charles wanted to continue staring out over the fields, but Roshonda nudged him and pointed towards a machine gun, and he unwillingly went and stood besides it. And ten seconds later, the airship let out a bang and began to move rapidly forwards, and the outside quickly turned invisible.

* * *

Jubilife City

The streets and pavements began to clear, only for ice and snow to take their place. At the bottom of a flight of stairs, leading towards Route 204, Smash came slid up, coming to a perfect halt.

"Thanks for the lift." Sahara said. As she got off, she stumbled a bit, as she was rather dizzy after the ride. Nutty jumped off and Onix arched up to full height. Sahara noticed lots of cracks in the ground, and let out a soft sigh.

"Hopefully they'll think a wild one did it." She said, and pulled Smash's PokeBall out. "Time to get you out of the cold."

"On!" Smash said, smiling, and turned into red energy. Nutty scampered ahead, looking around.

"Pachirisu Pach Pachi Risu Risu." Nutty said, having checked the coast was clear.

"I think we should head for the Pokemon Centre first, see if they are there." Sahara said, starting to walk forwards, hoping her white coat would help her blend in.

"Pachi Pachi!" Nutty said, rebutting the idea. Sahara looked down at her, smirking.

"Fine then, what would you suggest?" She asked. But Nutty had stopped, and was staring into a nearby flower bed. Sahara walked over and peered in, and a Linoone walked out, whimpering slightly from the cold.

"Awwww!" Sahara said. "What a cute little thing, and he's freezing, I should give him my coat." But the Linoone suddenly leapt forwards, knocking Sahara over.

"Ooon!" He said, and raised his right front claw, which glowed white and extended, preparing for Fury Swipes.

"Pachi!" Nutty said, and fired a Spark, blasting Linoone aside.

"Lino!" Linoone growled, and quickly rushed off.

"It could be Ursilla's, we need to move!" Sahara said, and she scooped Nutty up and ran at full speed, not caring where she went, as long as was away from that spot.

* * *

Jubilife Condominiums

Xavier was sitting on a small wooden chair, Turtwig sitting in his lap. The two had been forced into a dark room and made to sit down by the strange man, and were now waiting for something to happen.

"Are you going to tie us up?" Xavier asked.

"What do you mean, tie you up?" The man said from the shadows.

"Don't kidnappers generally tie up their captives, I have seen it happen on numerous television shows." Xavier explained. Suddenly, the light turned on, casting murky yellow light across the room, which appeared to be some sort of closet: there were a number of shelves, filled up cleaning products, and a mop and broom were to one corner. Turtwig looked around, searching for the man, but he stepped in front of them, blocking out everything else.

The man had long brown hair tied back in a ponytail, and his features made him look very handsome, even his slightly crooked nose. A large scar stretched from his forehead, curving down around his right eye and coming close to his lips, resembling a crescent moon. His eyes were a bright shade of blue, standing out against his slightly bronzed skin. He was less than six foot, but had the air of a very intimidating man. Under his black and red vest, his muscles were bulging and made him more frightening. His pants were long and black, and covered his legs down to his black sandals.

"I did not kidnap you, I attempted to save you." The man said. "I know of Ursilla and what she is capable of. She captures Pokemon using one of her guns, and it causes them a great deal of pain, a pain that they would never feel in a battle. Her other gun can shatter all of your bones at once. I would rather take being kidnapped to that pain."

"Having your bones shattered does sound painful, but I do not feel pain that much." Xavier said.

"You'd be killed straight away, you wouldn't have time to feel pain." The man said.

"Your outfit, it is similar to the environmental rangers I have seen on television." Xavier pointed out, staring at the man's clothes. He stopped pacing and stared down at Xavier.

"Yes, I am an environmental ranger, my name is Niles." He said.

"Niles is a strange name." Xavier said airily, and Turtwig chuckled. Niles scowled and stared down at him.

"Niles isn't my really name, of course, it is a code name." He explained. "I recommend you keep your mouth shut, I am going to go out and check if the coast is clear. Get your Turtwig to stand guard." And with that, Niles walked over to the door and opened it, leaving Xavier and Turtwig behind.

"What a very odd man." Xavier said.

"Tur Twig." Turtwig agreed.

* * *

Sinnoh Broadcasting Company Headquarters

A cameraman and a junior trainer were having a battle at the same place that Vanessa had had her showdown, but the junior was being creamed, his Doduo being attacked repeatedly by the Magnemite.

"We haven't had anyone come in here that's up to your standards." Lucinda said.

"That's obvious." Vanessa said, and Lucinda and Harrison laughed loudly, though it was too obvious that it was false.

"You're too clever." Harrison said.

"I know that, I don't need you two to tell me that." Vanessa replied. Lucinda and Harrison stopped laughing, a bit affronted, and didn't realise that Vanessa was now walking towards the staircase.

"Wait!" Lucinda said, and she scurried after as fast as her legs would carry. But Vanessa had started walking up the yellow carpeted floor. By the time Lucinda and Harrison had caught up, Vanessa had entered the first floor, and was staring around at the number of reporters, television hosts, technicians and cameramen moving around. She stared into one room and saw that the talk show, _The Morning Show with Allie and Stan, _was being filmed, and the crowd was chuckling at a joke Stan had just made.

"You shouldn't be up here; it is for authorised personnel only." Lucinda said, panting slightly.

"I have never really been one to follow the rules." Vanessa said, closing the studio doors, and walking towards the other ones.

"Vanessa, we need to ask you about something." Lucinda said. Vanessa stopped walking and turned around. Harrison walked over and lowered down his camera.

"We took some footage over at Oreburgh Mine the other night." He said, as he got the tape to the right moment. Vanessa watched the tiny screen as Harrison pressed play. They had managed to record footage of her, Sahara, Matthew and Xavier fleeing the mine. Thankfully, they hadn't gotten close enough to catch their faces, but it was clearly them.

"I wasn't sure if it was you or not, as you always change your outfits, but that red hair is pretty distinctive." Lucinda said, pursing her lips knowingly.

"There are lots of gingers out there, I am not the only one." Vanessa said, and she pressed stop.

"Someone's got their knickers in a knot." Harrison laughed.

"So anyway, we wanted to talk to you and convince you to talk my father, Mr Adiem." Lucinda said. Vanessa raised an eyebrow at this: everyone knew that Arnold Adiem was probably the richest man in Sinnoh, and owned numerous companies, though was most famous for owning the SBC and his messy divorce. Lucinda smiled at Vanessa's expression.

"Yes, he is my father." She giggled. "He usually does what I want, but he won't play this footage for some reason. We have more shots of an explosion, and some people fleeing the scene. I think he thinks we faked it, so I was thinking that if someone could convince him it really happened, he'll show it on the news." Lucinda explained. Vanessa looked surprised at this.

"He won't show it, why?"

"I just explained!" Lucinda said huffily. Vanessa rolled her eyes and began walking again, this time heading towards the other staircase.

"I knew she'd agree." Harrison said happily.

"Oh, I am seeing him on my own, I don't need help from you two." Vanessa replied. Lucinda and Harrison stopped following her, and looked shocked.

"You can't, he won't let you in!" Lucinda said. Vanessa ignored her, and Lucinda marched forwards and threw a Luxury Ball. It burst open, releasing silky purple energy, and a Miltank formed. "Stop moving, or I'll have to attack!" Behind her, Harrison opened up a Heal Ball that was inside a Seal, and it released pink energy with large bubbles. They all burst, and the pink energy formed into a Vaporeon. Vanessa looked down and smirked. Suddenly, she threw her three PokeBalls out. Staraptor and Luxio formed near Miltank, while Chimchar formed upstairs.

"Close Combat and Spark!" Vanessa called. "And Chimchar, make sure the coast is clear." Chimchar nodded and scampered off, and Staraptor and Luxio initiated their attacks.

"Vaporeon, Aurora Beam!" Harrison said.

"Miltank use Stomp!" Lucinda ordered. Miltank jumped into the air, ready to stand on Staraptor, but the starling punched her in the stomach with a wing, sending her flying backwards and smashing through the studio door. Vaporeon had a bit more success: the multi coloured, mashed up rings struck Luxio, who cried out.

"Luxi!" He said grumpily, and fired a Spark attack.

"Vapor." Vaporeon whimpered as she rolled towards Harrison, who bent down to nurse her. Luxio leapt onto Staraptor's back, and she flew off up the staircase. Vanessa stared down at the scene and smiled. She pulled her umbrella out of her bag and opened it. Than, she twisted it, but instead of a sword blade coming out, a tongue of blue flames was fired onto the staircase, causing the carpet to erupt.

"Have fun putting that out!" Vanessa yelled, and quickly ran up the stairs to join her Pokemon.

* * *

Above Hearthome City

Charles was growing increasingly bored. He had been standing by a machine gun for nearly an hour, as the airship moved slowly above Sinnoh. They were required to have three Pokemon out, so Elle, Poochyena and Ampharos were standing on either side of him. Roshonda was a metre away, with her Beedrill, Nidoqueen and Cradily around her. Charles stared around at the other Pokemon: the person next to him has a Pinsir, Graveller and Haunter surrounding him, and he could see lots of others around. Saturn was in charge of this section, and was marching up and down behind them, making sure they were behaving. At the doorway, his Toxicroak stood guard, staring menacingly at them all.

"Poochy." Poochyena said, staring huffily over at Saturn.

"I am sorry, but I can't play at the moment." Charles said apologetically.

"Poochy Poochy Ena." Poochyena groaned, and slumped onto the floor, staring down onto the large city below them. Ampharos and Nidoqueen moved towards each other, and began jabbering away happily.

"Ampha Ros Ros Ampharos Pharos."

"Nid Nido Queen Queen Nidoqueen!"

"Would you two mind keeping your Pokemon under control?" Saturn growled, as he walked past.

"Sorry, aren't they allowed to talk?" Charles said, as Ampharos' tail crackled with electricity.

"Your Pokemon are here to work, not for a social gathering!" Saturn said, and he tried to stand over Charles, but he was only have a head shorter than him, making it useless.

"Come on Nidoqueen, you girls can talk later." Roshonda said, and Nidoqueen waved a thick hand in farewell and walked back over. Saturn, satisfied, walked away, going to tell the boy next to Charles off for sleeping.

"Eva Eevee Eve Eva?" Elle said to Ampharos, turning towards Saturn and forming a Shadow Ball.

"Ampharos Pharos." Ampharos said, chuckling, and Elle stopped the attack. Charles smiled and went back to staring out the window, and was bored again within seconds.

Meanwhile, up at the front of the ship was the control room. Dozens of computers were placed in an arch, right below the giant windscreen. At the back of the room, Cyrus sat on inside a raised area, with a touch screen in front of him. Charon was at a special computer in front of him, and Minerva in a small booth, drawing a picture, while her Leafeon sat by her feet.

"Are either of the creatures in the airways Charon?" Cyrus said, as he pressed a random button on his screen, causing a hail of bullets to be fired into the air.

"There might be a chance." Charon said, tapping at his screen as well.

"Are any of them out there or not?" Cyrus said angrily.

"No, not at the moment." Charon replied coolly.

"So this trip was a waste of time then." Cyrus sighed. Minerva rolled her eyes and gave Cyrus a look, and he stared at her briefly before growling and punching his touch screen.

"Turn this ship around!" He bellowed. But Charon ignored him, and was instead excitedly pressing a button on his screen. "CHARON!"

"Calm down, sir!" Charon said, and pressed another button. The windscreen was replaced with grainy video footage. Charon pressed a button, and the image zoomed in. There, in the distance, was a large yellow bird, gliding through the skies. Cyrus' rage evaporated quickly as he stared at the image, smiling widely.

"Don't turn around, use full power and head north east." Cyrus bellowed. "I want to catch Zapdos and make this trip worthwhile."

* * *

Global Trading Station

Matthew had been a bit grumpy about being forced to go to the skyscraper, made out of blue tinted glass and steel, but as soon as he stepped in, he lost all his grumpiness. The foyer was amazing: glowing blue tiles, an amazing model of the globe, showing everything from the Sevii Islands of Kanto to the corner of the Resort Area, and hundreds of trainers seemed to be inside, as they scrambled around the sapphire blue reception desk, all trying to get into the room that would allow them to trade with any trainer around the world. Matthew and Piplup, however, were trying to push past them all, desperate to find a staircase and reach the top floor.

"Excuse me…. Coming through…. Would you mind….. Oh for goodness sake!" Matthew huffed, as he stood on the outskirts. There were no visible ways, as people were even surrounding the globe.

"Piplup Pip!" Piplup cried, and fired a Bubble attack. Several people turned around, agitated, but otherwise there was no change.

"Let's just give up Piplup, I am sure there is another skyscraper around here." Matthew said, and he went for the door. But as they slid apart to let him in, he recognised a familiar white coat over in the corner.

"Sahara, hey!" Matthew said, and he went over. Sahara looked up, shocked, but her expression relaxed as he approached.

"Hey. What brings you here?" She asked.

"Oh, you know, the usual." Matthew said, and explained about Ursilla's appearance.

"I saw Vanessa on Route 204, I thought you and Xavier might have been with her." Sahara said, nodding. Piplup and Nutty sat on a seat nearby, talking animatedly to each other. "Ursilla seems a bit nasty, I think her Linoone got me." Sahara said, and quickly recounted her own attack. "I came here to hide, I thought it would be difficult to spot me amongst all these people."

"Good idea, but if she knows you are in Jubilife, she might follow you, and this would be one of the top places to check after the Pokemon Centre." Matthew said. Sahara stood up, looking shocked.

"Your right, we could be putting these people's lives in danger!" She said, and picked Nutty up. "We need to leave, come on!" Matthew nodded and picked up Piplup, and the two ran for the door.

On the other side of the street, Ursilla stood impatiently against the wall of dingy motel. Her energy blaster was pointed towards the glass doors, waiting for any of the brats to appear. She watched with delight as Sahara ran into view, along with Matthew.

"Bingo." She hissed, and pulled the trigger.

Sahara stood by the sensor, and watched as the doors slid open, and quickly voiced a plan to Matthew.

"There is a gatehouse to the west of the city, we should-"

"WATCH OUT!" Matthew roared, and pulled Sahara out of the way. He had noticed the orange energy shooting towards them, and began to run in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, his roar was inaudible over the collective talking from the crowd, and no one noticed as the orange energy shot through the open doors, slamming into the globe. The globe exploded, sending out a force wave that smashed into the glass, sent people flying, causing blue and green metal to fly across the room. The force struck both Matthew and Sahara, and they were picked up and tossed across the room. Matthew hit the wall and slumped to the ground, his bag lying next to him. Nutty and Piplup landed under the seats, while Sahara landed on top of them, and she too slipped away into sleep.

* * *

SBC HQ- Top Floor

Four guards, each with a Bagon, ran out from behind two polished desks. The men raised their machine guns, and the Bagons prepared to fire Dragon Rage attacks. They had received call about a red headed girl heading for Mr Adiem's office. She was on the floor below but had been overpowered, so they were ready to bring her down.  
Suddenly, a large blue tornado shot up the stairs, and it sucked in the machine guns.

"What's going on?" One of the guards cried. Then, two balls, one of fire and one of electricity, shot up and struck a Bagon each. A Chimchar and Luxio then ran up, and began to fire more attacks, while the Bagons fired numerous Dragon Rages and Headbutt attacks. Than, the red headed girl walked up, holding an umbrella in her right hand, and had her left closed to hide something else.

"We don't want to have to fight you!" Another guard said, and Vanessa halted.

"That's a pity, because I want to." She said, and smashed one of her fluro yellow wrist guards into the mans head, knocking him out. The Twister stopped, allowing the other three to charge for her. Vanessa quickly kicked one between the legs, and narrowly dodged a punch to the head.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to fight a lady?" Vanessa said, putting on her Southern accent again as she twisted her closed umbrella, causing the sword to come out. She swished it, cutting one man across the shoulder. The fourth guard got his hands around her neck, but Staraptor came in and used a Close Combat, smashing a wing into his chest and cracking a rib.

"Cheers." Vanessa said, and she ran forwards. "Come on, leave them!" Chimchar and Luxio knocked out the last Bagon and ran forwards. Vanessa opened up tall wooden doors at the end of the corridor, and her three Pokemon rushed in. She then retracted the sword and bent down in the middle of the corridor. She opened up her left hand, revealing a green ballpoint pen. The guard with the cut shoulder looked up. Vanessa noticed him and smiled.

"I haven't had the chance to try this out yet." She said. "Hope it goes well." And she pressed the pen to the carpet and pressed down on top. Green ink began to come out of the pen, but it didn't stain the carpet: it ate it. Vanessa smirked and skipped over towards the door. The injured man tried to move, but the ink quickly spread, making an increasingly large hole. The guard moved out of harms way, and turned to see it had stopped just before the desk, and that a large hole now revealed the pipes and electrical wires underneath.

Vanessa closed the door and turned around to examine the room she was in. It was very spacious, taking up three quarters of the floor. The carpet was a rich cream colour, while the walls were dark red. Numerous paintings covered the walls, ranging from detailed pictures of legendary Pokemon to unrecognisable blotches and boxes. One wall was just glass, revealing Jubilife in all its glory. There was a long cabinet, full with sculptures, vases, pictures, newspaper clippings and awards. A single door to the right lead to another room. Vanessa nodded as is improving, and turned to the last wall, where an aging man was standing, looking thoroughly relaxed about the proceedings.

He had black hair streaked with silver, and was wearing a striped grey suit, white shirt and red tie, and looked highly stereotypical. He was leaning on a polished walking stick, right next to a large drinks cabinet. Chimchar sat in a hardback chair, while Staraptor perched on the immaculate tidy desk, and Luxio stood out of the way.

"Would you care for a drink?" The man said at last. "I have beer, wine, gin, vodka, or some cold water, if destroying my building has tired you out."

"I am not thirsty, though if you whip up a Cosmopolitan, I won't say no to it later." Vanessa said, and the man smiled.

"I presume you know who I am?"

"Mr Adiem, owner of this building and network." Vanessa said. "I don't need to ask if you know who I am." Mr Adiem smiled at this as he poured himself a glass of brandy.

"You are Vanessa B-" He began, but Staraptor growled and Vanessa held her umbrella menacingly. "Sorry, I forgot you prefer not to speak of your heritage." Mr Adiem said, bowing in apology. "But you are Vanessa, and have lived on your own for four years, are nearing your 15th birthday, like to modify objects to turn them into weaponry, and make your own outfits." He paused here, and stared at her mumbled up outfit.

"How do you know so much about me?" Vanessa growled.

"I know a lot of things." Mr Adiem said, and he walked back over to his seat, and shoved Chimchar out.

"Chim Chim!" The little monkey growled, and fired to fire Ember, but Mr Adiem pressed a button on his cane. A small section of the wall opposite Vanessa slid aside, and an Absol trotted in, looking grumpy.

"I would control your Pokemon, Vanessa, unless you want them to lose spectacularly." Mr Adiem said. "I did watch your battle against my daughter and Clarisse, quite the fight, one of the best in years." Vanessa didn't reply, and instead stared at the man opposite, very stone faced. Mr Adiem smirked at this and patted Absol on the head. "I presume you now have a lot of questions for me. I will answer them shortly, but first, I must test you. Please stand by the window at the end of my room, and select one of your Pokemon." Mr Adiem said. "I will explain as much as I can if you defeat me in battle."

* * *

Route 208

"Ok, try not to shoot Zapdos, we just need to distress it. Certain Pokemon will be told to attack at certain points to weaken it. Listen up for further instructions and the call to attack." Saturn explained, facing all the grunts. He had just received a message that they were approaching Zapdos, and everyone was to be ready for a big fight. He ended his speech, and the trainers all turned back and stared. They could all see the yellow bird now, flying peacefully towards Mt Coronet.

"I don't feel right about harming a legendary." Charles whispered to Roshonda.

"Didn't you capture Lugia?" Roshonda said, raising her eyebrows.

"Yes, but I go in guns blazing." Charles said, staring down at the machine gun in front of him.

"I am sure Zapdos will be fine." Roshonda said.

In the front of the ship, Zapdos was so close now that Cyrus could make out the black under its wings.

"In ten seconds, I want the front guns to fire." He said, and Charon nodded. The people in the arch quickly tapped away at their screens, and below them, guns began to slide out of the bottom of the ship, pointed directly towards Zapdos. Charon then pressed another button, and a countdown began to play on the speakers.

"Ten… nine… eight… seven…"

Charles looked up, as the monotone voice sounded. Elle and Poochyena exchanged looks, and Ampharos stared out the window to where Zapdos was flying.

"four… three… two… ONE."

In the main room, the grunts all pressed a button on their touch screens which said 'Fire.' The machine guns began to fire bullets, the tiny pieces of metal flying towards Zapdos.

"Zap." Zapdos cried, and dived to avoid being shot.

"Fire again!" Cyrus cried. More bullets were fired, and Zapdos flying vertically downwards to avoid them. Charles and Roshonda watched as Zapdos spun and flew, narrowly being shot on numerous occasions.

"It is putting up a fight." Saturn said, sounding unimpressed. "That will not save it in the end." As more bullets rained down upon it, Zapdos flew up so that it faced the windscreen.

"Zap-DOS!" It cried, and released a powerful Discharge. The bolts of electricity engulfed the airship. Minerva and numerous grunts yelled out as the windscreen shattered, sending glass flying. Down below, the bolts caused glass all over to shatter. Ampharos used her body to protect Elle and Poochyena, and Charles ran and tackled Roshonda out of the way. She screamed as a piece of glass sliced her arm, made more painful as she landed on it.

"Are you alright?" Charles said, and then saw the cut. "I'll get you a bandage."

"It is fine, it isn't too deep." Roshonda said, but her outfit was becoming stained with red. Charles gave her a look and rushed over to the medical cabinet, being careful to avoid the fallen glass.  
Cyrus looked up from his enclosed area, and saw Zapdos staring into the room. Lots of the grunts were lying on the floor, either unconscious or dead, Cyrus didn't care. He looked down and saw that Minerva had received a cheek, and Charon had bruised his forehead, but were otherwise fine. Cyrus stood up to full height and smiled at Zapdos.

"Zapdos, my name is Cyrus, and my organization would be honoured if you allowed me to capture you." Zapdos stared at Cyrus for a few seconds, making the boss look excited. But then Zapdos fired another blast of electricity. The bolts smashed into the computer screens, causing the doors at the far end to fly away.

"Leafeon use Razor Leaf!" Minerva yelled.

"Leafe!" Leafeon cried and swished her tail, sending out a number of leaves, but Zapdos merely twirled to dodge them. Behind it, dust suddenly rose up, forming large rocks covered in a purple glow.

"It's AncientPower, watch it!" Charon yelled. Zapdos swished its wings, firing the rocks. They flew off in all directions, with two flying into the control room. Cyrus leapt out of the way just in time, and watched as one of the rocks smashed his seat. Angrily, he went to pull out three of his PokeBalls, but Zapdos fired another Discharge, and Cyrus rushed for cover instead.

Down in the battle area, Charles was finishing tying up the bandage.

"Thank you." Roshonda said, standing up. All six Pokemon had gathered around, and were watching intently.

"Get back to your posts now, we may need to fire at any moment." Saturn was yelling, as many other grunts had abandoned their guns, taking care of injured friends or Pokemon.

"I don't think we should go back." Roshonda said, and pointed. Charles and Saturn looked and gasped. Three of the AncientPower rocks were heading for them, and as this bit jutted out of the airship slightly, there was the risk that it could be entirely destroyed.

"MOVE!" Saturn yelled, but none of them had time to run before the first one hit, smashing straight in the side where the windows had just been. The machine guns were destroyed, though one went off and fired bullets around the room.

"Cradily!" Roshonda's Cradily cried, and used her rock hard body to protect them. Several grunts were hit, causing them to double over. The second rock hit the front, smashing up the floor. Three grunts and their Pokemon were pushed aside, falling seconds later as the floor disappeared.

"Come on, we have to go!" Charles yelled. He, Roshonda, Saturn, their Pokemon and the remaining grunts all ran for it, just as the last rock struck. It tore apart what remained of the area, and more trainers and their Pokemon fell. Charles made sure that Roshonda got away first, but the rock smashed the floor behind him.

"AMPHA!" Ampharos cried, as she toppled backwards.

"NOOO!" Charles yelled, and he instinctively grabbed her arm, trying to grab her ball. But her weight was too much, and he slipped off as well. There were cries of 'Eevee' and 'Poochy', and Charles turned as Elle and Poochyena leapt down.

"You shouldn't have." He said, but smiled all the same. He quickly pulled out a PokeBall and sent out Gyarados, and the four of them landed safely on his back.

"I think we should go back and save Roshonda." Charles said.

"Gyarados Gyara." Gyarados said, and moved his red body to help him fly. But suddenly, Zapdos flew over their heads, crackling with electricity.

"Use Return, Signal Beam and Poison Fang!" Charles instructed. Elle fired a pink beam, Ampharos sent out a multicoloured beam of light from her tail, and Poochyena clamped his mouth shut and a long distance Poison Fang was released. None of them reached as Zapdos had turned, now facing the turbines of the ship. It fired one last Discharge, and the turbines exploded in a ball of flame. The airship froze for a moment, as if in shock about this attack, and then suddenly began to fall downwards, having received too much damage to keep up.

"Gyarados, down, quick!" Charles screamed. Gyarados dove down, and Charles clung onto Elle and Poochyena, and Ampharos wrapped her arms around him. They drew up with it, and Roshonda saw them and smiled, her hair flying upwards. She had returned her Pokemon except Beedrill, who she had planned to fly away on, but the two jumped, landing just behind Ampharos. Golbats, Skarmorys and a mixture of birds all flew out. A Scyther dove off with Saturn clinging to its stomach. Gyarados remained in the air, and they watched as the airship crashed down, half on the side of Mt Coronet, half submerged water. As the last Pokemon flew off, including a Gyarados, Honchkrow and Crobat that Charles knew belonged to Cyrus, another countdown sounded from the ship. It was inaudible, but seconds later the ship exploded, the force wave destroying a small wooden bridge, making cracks form in the mountainside and causing Gyarados to be forced further upwards. They all cried out as Gyarados fainted from the pain, and they fell down towards the river.

* * *

Jubilife Condominiums

Xavier had just been about to doze off when the door slammed open, nearly hitting Turtwig. Niles was back, and was looking very anxious.

"We have to go, now!"

"Why, what has happened?" Xavier asked.

"There has been an explosion, and I am pretty sure Ursilla did it." Niles said.

"How inconvenient." Xavier said, standing up and grabbing Turtwig. Niles rolled his eyes and led the way out of the building.

* * *

Global Trading Station

As the smoke began to clear; Ursilla decided it would be safe to walk in. She stared around at the destruction she had caused: bits of the globe lay scattered around the room, some crushing people. The base of the globe had remained relatively intact, and lots of wires were still sparking. There were a number of injured bodies around the room, though Ursilla didn't care if they lived or died. She stared around for the two she wanted, and saw Matthew's blue bag by a wall. Ursilla grinned and marched forwards, and found Matthew and Sahara, with Nutty and Piplup cowering under a seat.

"Pathetic." Ursilla hissed, and she clicked her fingers. There was a hiss and Arbok slid into the building, smiling with delight.

"Pachi!"

"Pip!" The two Pokemon said, and went to attack, but Arbok swung an Iron Tail, sending the two flying across the room.

"Now, I need to collect my trophies." Ursilla hissed, and she bent down and picked Sahara up by her hair and pushed her over to Arbok, who pushed her down to join Nutty and Piplup. As Ursilla picked up Matthew, Sahara rolled and landed against the base where the globe had been.

"What's going on?" Sahara moaned, rubbing her head.

"Your coming with me." Ursilla said, marching over and dragging Matthew, who was still unconscious. Arbok hissed at them, and Piplup and Nutty cowered. "You were foolish to battle my Linoone, we were able to track you after that.

"Thanks for the tip, I'll remember that next time." Sahara said determinedly, forcing herself to stand up. Ursilla laughed and punched the teen in the face. Sahara cried out and fell backwards, landing amongst the wires.

"Pick her up and bring her out, we need to leave before the cops get here." Ursilla said, and stared down at Sahara, who was twitching slightly. She smirked and began to walk off, kicking Nutty and Piplup to get them to move. Arbok went to dive into grab Sahara, but something strange was happening. Sahara's eyes were half closed, revealing only a tiny bit of them. But the white was now a pink colour, and Sahara seemed to be rapidly recovering from her injuries. Suddenly, Arbok was picked up and tossed out through the smashed window, smashing into a streetlight. Ursilla turned around, pushing Matthew aside and whipping out her energy gun. Sahara stood up, looking very happy with herself. She took her jacket off and tossed it aside, and then hitched her skirt up and undid some buttons on her blouse.

"Sahara is such a square." She said, and began to walk forwards.

"Freeze!" Ursilla said. Sahara looked up and smiled. "Are you Eden?" The smile disappeared as quickly as it had came.

"I don't take kindly to be referred to as the others." She said.

"Who are you then?"

"Why, I am Crystal, of course. I am the better looking of the four." She replied, and walked forwards again. Ursilla pulled the trigger on the gun, but Crystal swished her hand and the energy blasted away, smashing into a bench on the other side of the street.

"Hello squirrel." Crystal said to Nutty, who was jabbering away to Piplup. Crystal looked down at Matthew and smiled. "I love it when they are like that, so vulnerable." There were footsteps behind. Crystal sighed and clicked her fingers, causing Ursilla to fly back into Global Trading Station.

"Bitch." Ursilla hissed.

"Why thank you." Crystal said, giggling. She walked over to a fire hydrant and put her hand out. Though she could not control the metal, the water inside began to pound against the sides, desperate to get out. Nutty, Piplup, Ursilla and Arbok watched as the water burst out, and rose into the air, not uncontrolled, but as calm as a soft flowing creek.

"I could so easily telekinetically kill you, but this is so much more fun." Crystal said, and she waved her hands. The water expanded and turned, changing into a giant Kyorge of water. Than, with a click of her fingers, Crystal sent the creature heading straight for Ursilla, as sirens began to sound in the distance.

* * *

SBC HQ- Mr Adiem's Office

Vanessa stood with her back to the calamity behind her, and didn't even blink as a Tropius flew past, with Xavier and Turtwig clinging onto the back. Her attention was on Staraptor, who floated in front of her, and the Absol that stood in front of the desk. Mr Adiem had sat down and was surveying the scene. Chimchar and Luxio stood behind Vanessa, waiting for something to happen. Finally, after ten minutes of standing completely still and silent, Mr Adiem spoke.

"You go first." He said politely.

"Close Combat!" Vanessa bellowed, cutting through the silence like a knife.

"Absol, please use Night Slash." Mr Adiem said calmly. Staraptor flew forwards, preparing the attack, but Absol shot off faster, and spun in the air. Vanessa gasped as Staraptor was slashed by the scythe-like attachment on Absols head.

"Staraptor, try and use Aerial Ace." Vanessa said.

"Superpower." Mr Adiem said. Absol sucked in air, and a ball of white energy appeared, with flames enclosing it. Absol fired it before Staraptor had even gotten off the ground.

"Star!" She cried weakly, and landed at Vanessa's feet, looking very weak.

"Staraptor, are you alright?" Vanessa said, looking concerned.

"Will you forfeit the battle?" Mr Adiem said. Vanessa looked up, sadness and anger showing on her face. "I know how sick your Staraptor is, I think it would be wise if you gave up." Vanessa went to ask how, but Staraptor was groaning slightly. With a deep sigh, Vanessa inclined her head downwards in a nod. Mr Adiem smiled and pressed a button under his desk. The drinks cabinet suddenly sunk into the ground, and the back wall began to rise into the air. Vanessa was giving Staraptor a Full Restore, and didn't notice the wall until it came stopped with a thud. She looked up, and out of the shadows came a large, long, wrinkly Salamance.

"Unfortunately darling, you have lost the battle, and must face the consequences." Mr Adiem explained, as the Salamance stepped further forwards, looking weaker with each movement.

"What are you going to do?" Vanessa said, standing up quickly. Chimchar and Luxio rushed forwards, but Mr Adiem merely smirked, and pressed another button, this time causing the glass to slide down.

"I merely am going to dismiss you." He said, and the Salamance opened her mouth wide and fired the most powerful Roar Vanessa had ever experienced. She was blasted backwards, and her Pokemon all turned to energy and followed after, going inside their PokeBalls. Vanessa cursed and whipped out her umbrella. She turned it around three times, and then opened it up. She stopped moving as quickly, and instead floated in the air. Lots of fire engines and police cars were heading towards one particular area. With nothing else better to do, Vanessa swung her umbrella around and floated over to the scene of destruction.

* * *

Jubilife City (Global Trading Station area)

The water Kyorge exploded, sending water everywhere. A wave pushed Matthew, Piplup and Nutty further down the road, and Matthew coughed violently and woke up.

"What happened, is everyone alright?" He said. "Where's Sahara?"

"Piplup Pip Pip!" Piplup said, and hugged her trainer.

"Pachi Pachirisu Pach Pach." Nutty said, and pointed towards Crystal, who had begun to twirl around a streetlamp. Matthew stood up and approached her, ignoring Arbok, was trying to stir Ursilla.

"Is now really a good time to be pole dancing?" Matthew said. Crystal stopped and looked at him, grinning.

"There is never a bad time to pole dance." She said, hopping down.

"I see…" Matthew said, and began to stare around at the destruction. "Jesus, that gun of hers really is powerful. Where did all this water come from?" Crystal just laughed loudly and approached Matthew, wrapping her arms around him.

"Who really cares about all that? Why waste your brain power on such insignificant matters, when we could be doing something far more exciting." Matthew gulped nervously, and was glad when three fire engines and five police cars showed up on the street. Police men in black and blue uniforms swarmed the scene, each with either a Growlithe or a Hoothoot. As the firemen, in red and yellow uniforms, pulled out hoses, and three Blastoise ran after them, Nutty and Piplup rushed over.

"Pachi!" Nutty said, and used Quick Attack and slammed into Crystal's back.

"You cow!" She hissed, before collapsing to the ground. Matthew gasped and bent down, wandering what he could do, when her eyes flashed with pink electricity and they began to turn to the left. Nutty gave Matthew a look to be patient, and moments later, there was a deep intake of breath and Sahara sat up, looking pale and slightly sick.

"Who was it?" She whispered, and looked over towards the Global Trading Station, where police men were trying to lead Ursilla away. "Was it Jaki?"

"What are you going on about?" Matthew said, sounding worried. Sahara looked up, registering him and Piplup for the first time.

"Oh, it is really nothing, over active imagination, that sort- LINOONE!" Sahara leapt up and pointed past the police cars. Matthew turned and saw a Linoone rushed onto the scene. There was a crashing sound, and seconds later a wave appeared, a Huntail on top. Everyone froze, staring at the new arrivals, and Ursilla used the chance to rub her snake hair. It came alive, and quickly bit the two men restraining Ursilla. They collapsed, and Ursilla whipped out her energy gun and fired it. One of the fire trucks exploded, causing a police car to overturn. She fired it again at the ground, and this time three police cars were sent flying.

"Nutty use Spark!"

"Piplup use Bubble!" Ursilla turned as the attacks flew towards her. She dived to the ground and pulled out her PokeBalls, bringing back her team. Than, she dived into one of the craters she had caused earlier. Sahara and Matthew rushed towards it, but the sky was darkening, and all they could make out where a number of pipes.

"She's escaped, again." Matthew huffed. They turned back towards the scene, and were surprised to see a Tropius land. Xavier and Turtwig slid off, and Sahara and Matthew rushed over to meet him.

"Hello there, were you two involved in the explosion?" Xavier said calmly. "A lot of buildings seem to blow up around us, have you noticed?" Sahara and Matthew exchanged looks and laughed, and then turned towards the ranger that owned the Tropius.

"Hello, my name is Niles." He said, staring over towards the police officers, who were giving him weird looks. "I'd love to chat, but I am in a rush. We will meet again soon though, I expect." And with that, his Tropius took off into the air.

"He is a very odd man." Xavier said.

"We can figure that." Sahara said, and she picked up Nutty. "Shall we go and bunk up for the night?"

"Good god yes, my neck is killing me!" Matthew said, and he picked up Piplup. And leaving the chaos of the trading station behind, the three friends began to walk towards the Pokemon Centre, doing their best to avoid the police officers. Up above them, Vanessa stared down and smiled, knowing her friends were safe, and decided to fly off and meet up with them in the morning.

* * *

_Water was wrapping itself around Charles, strangling the life out of him. He struggled to move, struggled to breathe. A creature was roaring with pain above him, and he tried to swim back up to the surface, to help the legendary he had come to save, but a cold, pale hand was dragging himself down, pulling him towards the bottom of the WhirlIslands__. Charles let out a scream, and watched as purple beam was fired above his head, and the creature let out another roar…_

"Charles… Charles… CHARLES!"

Charles awoke with a start, and felt like he had run a mile. He looked around and saw Roshonda standing over him, tears streaming down her face.

"You were screaming, I thought something was wrong."

"I was dreaming… well, not dreaming." Charles replied, rubbing his head. "I was remembering something that happened in Johto." He looked around, and saw he was in a white room with about fifty single beds, nearly all of which were full. There was a turquoise lining, and he knew he was in a Galactic hospital.

"You swallowed tons of water when we fell, you nearly died." Roshonda explained, sitting back down.

"What happened to my Pokemon?"

"They are safe, I put them back in their balls." Roshonda explained. "Your Ampharos shocked us a bit, but we are all fine."

"What happened when the airship crashed?" Charles asked, adjusting himself in the bed to get more comfortable.

"Nearly everyone survived, but lots of people got struck by the blast like us, and that caused most the injuries. All these helicopters were brought in, though there is a rumour Zapdos got rid of some of them." Roshonda replied. Charles nodded, and looked at some of the other injures. Lots of people had bandaged heads or limbs, and some people's faces were cut and bruised, and it seemed that swallowing too much water was getting off lightly.

"I have to go back to my room now, I really need some sleep." Roshonda said.

"Ok, thanks for staying by my side." Charles said.

"Happy to do it. We all need a good friend by our sides, don't we?" Roshonda said. Charles smiled and watched her leave, and then slid back in his bed. He would need a good friend during this, and as he hadn't seen Sahara since she had tried to kill him, it looked like Roshonda would have to be his new best friend, until he got back to Johto.  
Cyrus stood at the end of the ward, watching Charles from the shadows.

"He is a good boy, isn't he?" Cyrus turned around and saw Minerva, smiling in an airy fashion.

"Yes, I think he'll make a great grunt." Cyrus replied, and Minerva rolled her eyes.

"That's not what I mean."

"I know." Minerva sighed and went to walk off.

"Oh, sorry about not getting Zapdos." Cyrus' face twitched at this, but he managed to control his anger.

"It is fine, the birds are not the major part of it. There are a dozen other Pokemon out there we can use as bait." He said.

"Yes, but the birds are the best." Minerva said. "Goodnight." And she walked off. Cyrus watched her leave, similar to how Charles had watched Roshonda, but he was feeling more hatred than love, as Minerva's brutal honesty and love for torturing him had gotten the better of Cyrus once more.

* * *

January 9th 2010

Route 204

The two Wurmples in love had slept in that morning, so when they awoke, the sun was bright and cheerful, though a light shower of snow was falling.

"Wurm Wurmple Wurm?" The male Wurmple said.

"Wurmple Ple Wurm Wurm." The female replied, very happy. The two smiled at each other, and they moved off, planning to climb an undamaged tree to get food. Suddenly, there was a cry. They turned as a Spark struck the male, knocking him to the ground.

"Wurmple Wurm!" The female cried. A Net Ball flew out and hit the male, and he turned into turquoise energy and went inside the ball. It shook for several seconds, but then flew into the hands of a red headed girl standing several metres away.

"You have to be more sly with your attacks." The girl said. She was wearing an outfit of shaggy white fur, and a hat made out of black leather in the shade of a scythe head. The boy was wearing mostly blue, and nodded at the girl's words.

"Piplup, use Pound!" The female Wurmple hadn't noticed the Piplup standing behind her until the penguin lashed out, knocking her over.

"Bubble!" Next, a collection of small bubbles were fired.

"Wurm!" Wurmple moaned. Another Net Ball flew through the air, and Wurmple was sucked in.

"Yes, my first capture!" Matthew said excitedly, catching the ball as it went back to him.

"Pip!" Piplup said, equally as happy.

"Reasonable work." Vanessa said, pocketing her latest capture. "I recommend you train both of them up a bit more for your gym battles."

"I am not too fussed about gyms at the moment." Matthew replied, picking Piplup up. "I'd much rather focus on the contest in a few days at FloaromaTown."

"I pegged you for a coordinator." Vanessa said, as she began to walk towards a white fence. Behind them, Sahara was showing Xavier a proper way to clean Lapras, who's shell had been getting dirty. "I don't really care what I am doing in a few days, as long as someone isn't trying to kill me." Matthew laughed, and he and Vanessa sat down on the fence and watched their friends. They had already forgotten most of the previous day, storing the bad memories away with the rest of them. All any of them cared about at the moment was reaching their next destination in one piece.


	10. Family Values

January 11th 2010

Floaroma Town

As the sun rose over the small town, dozens of Combee fluttered from flower to flower, transfer pollen around. The flowers formed fields large that most buildings, and a rainbow of colours seemed to be sprouting out of the earth. And a very big flower seemed to be moving through them. Vanessa was prancing through them, wearing green skinny jeans, brown leather shoes, and a shirt that was made of two giant plastic flowers, with smaller ones running down the side.  
"Isn't this just lovely?" Vanessa said to her Wurmple, cutting flowers by swiping them with the sword part of her umbrella.  
"Wurmple Wurm." Wurmple agreed, and sniffed a daisy that Vanessa held up. Behind them, there was a cry.  
"Oi Vanessa, get back, he's about to test out!" Sahara yelled. Vanessa groaned and put the daisy's in her pocket. Then, she pranced back over towards the others. Xavier and Sahara sat on a picnic blanket with Turtwig, Nutty and Matthew's Wurmple. Matthew was standing a few metres away, with Piplup in between them. Vanessa grouchily sat down amongst the bags, her Wurmple hopping down to join Matthew's, and Matthew smiled.  
"Ok Piplup, use Water Sport." He said.  
"Piplup!" Piplup said, and fired out a spray of water above her head. It fell down, and Piplup spun gracefully, allowing the water to fall on her.  
"Now use Bubble." Piplup opened her mouth again, but this time released bubbles. She leapt up, and the bubbles clung to her. She then stood in the direct sunlight, and the bubbles reflected the light, and the addition of the Water Sport made Piplup's head shimmer as well. The bubbles popped, and Matthew and Piplup took a bow. Sahara, Vanessa and Xavier gave a little round of applause, and the Pokemon went off and jabbered to Piplup.  
"Who are you going to battle with?" Sahara asked.  
"I am not sure yet." Matthew said, a bit sheepishly.  
"The contest starts in an hour, this isn't very good behaviour." Xavier said, and Matthew ignored him.  
"Just call your parents and ask for one of your spares." Vanessa said, juggling her PokeBalls and Net Ball in her hands.  
"What a good idea." Everyone turned at the source of the voice. Four people were walking towards them: two women, a man and a young boy, carrying a Mime Jr.  
"Mum, dad, Peter!" Matthew said excitedly, and rushed forwards, Piplup and his Wurmple following behind. The Pearl family were all wearing blue T-shirts that said "MATTHEW FOR CHAMPION", though Adrian had a black jacket over his.  
"Hello Mother." Xavier said, glancing over briefly. Lady Carolina, who had looking very unimpressed about all the flowers grazing her purple dress, looked up and smiled.  
"Hello there darling, how are you doing?" She said, prancing over slightly, and gave him a quick hug. "And these must be your friends. Hello, I'm Lady Carolina, Xavier's mother."  
"I'm Sahara." Sahara said, and shook hands.  
"Vanessa." Vanessa said bluntly, but ignored the handshake. Carolina looked a bit affronted, but quickly recovered.  
"So darling, have you caught any Pokemon?" She said to Xavier.  
"No, though I have your Lapras." Xavier said. Lady Carolina looked shocked, but before she could answer, Matthew came back, followed by his family.  
"You should have told me you were coming up!" Matthew was saying, evidently ecstatic.  
"Well, I had to come up to host the first contest." Adrian replied. "And your mum thought it would be a good idea for us all to see you."  
"And, we brought your Chimecho up for you to use as well." Leah said, smiling. Matthew grinned and grabbed the PokeBall as she pulled it out. He caught Sahara and Vanessa exchanging strained looks, and he stepped aside.  
"Sahara, Vanessa, this is my dad, Adrian, my mum, Leah, and my brother, Peter." Matthew said. There was a chorus of hellos, and for the next five minutes, Matthew and Xavier caught their parents up on their tales as they got to know the girls. Matthew was halfway through describing Ursilla, to a very horrified Leah and Carolina, when Adrian exclaimed loudly.  
"Bugger, look at the time! We have to get the contest hall now." He said, and looked over towards a circular orange and yellow building in the distance, with a large domed ceiling.  
"Oh no, I have to get dressed and prep Chimecho!" Matthew said, and picked up Piplup and Wurmple, who looked mournfully at  
"We'll take the car, come on!" Adrian cried, and he rushed over, half pulling Peter with him.  
"Xavier dear, are you coming?" Lady Carolina said, as she turned to leave.  
"We're going later, we are going to the flower store first." Xavier said firmly. Lady Carolina looked a bit hurt, but Leah called out for her to hurry, so the socialite waved goodbye and hurried towards the silver Santa Fe. Sahara packed up the picnic blanket, and Xavier and Vanessa picked up their Pokemon.  
"Tur Twig Twig!" Turtwig exclaimed, and signalled towards the entrance to the town. A black Jeep Wrangler was moving slowly in.  
"Get down!" Vanessa hissed, and she pushed Xavier to the ground. Sahara gasped and ducked down as well. They watched from between the flowers as the Jeep moved around the outskirts, heading in the direction of the Valley Windworks, but it revealed another one, which moved very quickly near them. Thankfully, it stayed close to the trees, and rushed past them, disappearing off through a clearing behind them.  
"Team Galactic, definitely." Vanessa said, standing up.  
"What should we do?" Sahara said.  
"I think we should split up, than we can cover both areas." Vanessa said. "Sahara, your slow, you go to Valley Windworks. Us two will make sure that person isn't too dodgy, then defeat him, and we'll catch up." Sahara give Vanessa an agitated look, but nodded.  
"Come on Turtwig." Xavier said casually, and walked towards the trees, Vanessa walking alongside.  
"We'd better go as well Nutty." Sahara said. "At least we know the way.  
"Pachi." Nutty replied, and the two headed off towards Windworks, leaving their old town behind."

Galactic HQ- Grunt Training Division

"Ampharos, Discharge, let's go!"  
"Purugly use Shadow Claw on Dusknoir."  
"Dusknoir use Shadow Punch on Ampharos!"  
"Skuntank use Crunch on Ampharos."  
Nearly everyone who worked for Team Galactic had come to watch the tag battle. It was initially meant to be Mars, Saturn, Jupiter and Draco, but Saturn was still bedridden after the airship crash. Cyrus had decided that a grunt would take part in the battle, fighting alongside Mars.  
He decided to go with Charles.  
Charles was now watching as Ampharos ran forwards, dodging Draco's Dusknoir and Jupiter's Skuntank, and then glowed yellow and released a field of electricity.  
"Jump Purugly!" Mars squealed. The giant cat leapt upwards, avoiding being hurt by the attack, and dived downwards, slashing as Dusknoir with a glowing purple claw.  
"Dusk!" The ghost Pokemon exclaimed, falling backwards.  
"Now Ampharos, use Thunderbolt on Dusknoir!" Charles exclaimed.  
"Skuntank, get in there with a Headbutt and stop his Ampharos." Jupiter said. Skuntank charged forwards, head down and aiming straight for Ampharos.  
"Purugly use Slash!" Mars said, smiling deviously. Ampharos fired the electric attack, blasting Dusknoir even further backwards. Draco seethed with fury, and looked delighted as Skuntank went to strike Ampharos, but Purugly leapt up, slashing across Skuntank's stomach.  
"Skun Tank Skun!" The skunk fumed, and rolled over.  
"Thanks." Charles said to Mars.  
"You can thank me properly later." She replied, winking at him. A shiver went down his spine, but he watched as Dusknoir got back up.  
"Destiny Bond!" Draco roared. Dusknoir lifted up his dark hands and held them apart, a small glowing white ball forming.  
"Dusk-NOIR!" Dusknoir cried, and released it. Ampharos ducked out of the way, and the ball struck Purugly. Mars let out a gasp of shock, and glared angrily at Draco, who smiled slightly.  
"Purugly, Aerial Ace on that freak of a ghost!" The red head growled, and Purugly leapt into the air. Her tail uncoiled, and it glowed, seemingly turning into a wing.  
"Ampharos use Discharge again!" Charles commanded.  
"Dusknoir use Shadow Punch on Ampharos." Draco said.  
"Skuntank, use Double Edge on Ampharos!" Jupiter yelled. The four Pokemon all seemed to be moving closer together. Dusknoir punched Ampharos with a ghostly fist. Ampharos released a burst of electricity, which Purugly fell into. Skuntank rushed into it as well in order to attack Ampharos. They was a sudden explosion, and bolts of electricity blasted across the room, several smashing lights and knocking grunts backwards. Charles looked around, trying to see what had happened, and found all four Pokemon lying around each other.  
"What happened, how is this possible?" Draco fumed, as he brought Dusknoir back.  
"I guess that Ampharos' Discharge would have knocked out Dusknoir. Due to Destiny Bond, Purugly fainted as well. Skuntank then used Double Edge, causing Ampharos to faint, and the recoil knocked her out as well." Mars suggested. Charles and Jupiter exchanged looks of shock, while Draco turned and stormed off.  
"Plausible enough." Jupiter said, and brought back Skuntank and walked off. Charles did the same, leaving before Mars could do anything creepier.  
At the back of the room, behind a one way window, Cyrus and Minerva stood there, watching as everyone left.  
"He is an excellent battler." Cyrus said. "It is a surprise he didn't manage to defeat Lance."  
"I don't think he owns an Ice type." Minerva said.  
"That's not the point." Cyrus said, and he turned away. "I need to fully test him." He continued, and he began to pace the room. "And I know just how to do it. Minerva, make sure he is back up here in half an hour."  
"May I ask why?" Minerva said, though she already knew the answer. Cyrus smirked at her as he opened up the only door in the cramped room.  
"I'm going to battle him of course."

Floaroma Contest Hall

The anticipation in the hall was building. Nearly every seat was filled, and they were in a ring, facing down towards the arena. Lights were flashing, loud pop music blared out of the speakers, and the four jumbo television screens showed clips from previous contests, and different areas of Floaroma. The judges sat on a covered, raised platform, giving them all a perfect view of the stadium. Matthew stared up at the table as Adrian pushed him forwards, and could make out a woman and two men.  
"Dad, who are the judges?" Matthew asked. He had learnt several years ago that the Pokemon Contest Board consisted of his father as the head, and then the six judges, who all did different contests.  
"They announce all that later, just go in and get changed, it is about to begin!" Adrian replied, and opened up the changing room door and pushed his son in. "Good luck!" And he slammed it. Matthew rolled his eyes as he put his bag down. He opened it up and pulled out his contest outfit: a deep ocean blue jacket, a black T-shirt, a red tie and black pants. As he went into one of the stalls to get changed, he heard other voices.  
"I am telling you Harrison, you'll do fine! You are a great coordinator." A woman was saying, and the voice sounded vaguely familiar.  
"I know I am, but did you see those people out there? That guy's Slowking won the Smart Rankings last year, and that ace trainer won four ribbons last year!" A slightly hysterical man was saying.  
"Your Vaporeon and Skiploom will do fine, trust me!" The female said. Matthew put the jacket on and stepped out the changing room. He registered the two people in the room: there was a stout woman wearing a pink jacket and skirt, and a man, wearing an extremely loud orange and red striped suit, with matching pants.  
"Your Lucinda Large." Matthew said, and remembered seeing her doing a report a couple of days before he started his journey.  
"It's always nice to be recognised." Lucinda chuckled, and shook his hand. "This is my cameraman, Harrison. I am guessing your entering the contest?"  
"Yes, my first one." Matthew replied.  
"The Floaroma Contest three years ago was my first." Harrison said. "I remember that this was this one person who-" But he was cut off by a loudspeaker, which let out a loud beep before the voice said 'Contest is beginning in one minute. Will Harrison Maude, Jenna Smith and Michelle Ryder please come to the front gate.' Harrison let out a gasp and rushed forwards without saying goodbye.  
"We can watch the opening on the television." Lucinda said, and she pressed a button on the wall. The wall length mirror turned blue, and then crackled slightly before an image appeared. Matthew sat down next to Lucinda, and they watched as the lights dimmed. A PokeBall rolled onto the field. It burst opened, and as the red light formed, a number of orange-pink and purple flower petals rained upon the ground. A spotlight shone down, revealing a Sunflora.  
"Sun!" She cried, and released a swallowed a Power Herb. She shut her eyes, and everyone stared in anticipation. A powerful Solarbeam was released, signalling for the lights to come back on, and the music played again. The crowd whooped and cheered, and a girl with shoulder length brown hair, wearing a purple dress walked onto the arena, waving with her Sunflora.  
"Hello everyone! My name is Felicity, and welcome to the Floaroma Contest!" The girl cried into her microphone.  
"Felicity hosts all the Sinnoh contests, and she hosts the SBC lotto as well." Lucinda explained. Matthew nodded, but was barely listening, all his attention focused on the screen.  
"Before we continue, let me introduce today's judges!" Felicity said, and the spotlight pointed towards the judges table, were a woman and two men were sitting. "Firstly, Madam Florence, champion of the Sinnoh Grand Festival from 1996-2001!" Madam Florence had golden blonde hair, and was wearing large tinted glasses, covering most of her face. She was wearing a pale white poncho, and didn't acknowledge the crowd's cheers, merely looking a bit bored. "Secondly, Mr Holmes, Chairman of the Sinnoh Pokemon Fan Club!" Mr Holmes was wearing a brown suit and red tie with a brown hat, and waved cheerfully to the crowd, though he was getting a bit less applause then Madam Florence. "And finally, we have Dr Orson, acclaimed scientist working at the Oreburgh City Museum." Dr Orson was bald, and his head was shining in the light. He was wearing glasses, and had a grey suit with blue stripes, and a matching tie. He nodded to the crowd, and the spotlight left them, going back to Felicity and her Sunflora.  
"Ok everyone, let's get the ball rolling with Harrison Maude, a cameraman for the Sinnoh Broadcasting Company and resident of Jubilife City. Let's give him a big round of applause!" And Felicity ran out of the arena. As Harrison walked in, there was a quick shot of everyone applauding while workers placed a large rock in the centre of the field.  
"Vaporeon, go!" Harrison exclaimed, keeping his cool. He threw out a Heal Ball. A variety of pink and blue bubbles popped open, and Vaporeon formed. There was a smattering of applause, and Vaporeon went and stood on the rock, facing the judges.  
"Surf!" Harrison commanded.  
"Vapor." Vaporeon said, and a giant wave burst out from the arena floor. It descended, but it began to crash against the edges of the arena, and the people in the front row looked a bit shocked. The lights had dimmed and the music had stopped, so all anyone could hear was the waves. Harrison ordered two more Surfs, and the arena was soon practically flooded, except for the rock.  
"Now use Aurora Beam on the water." Harrison said, smiling as the crowd watched in awe. Vaporeon fired the multi coloured beam into the water. Instead of freezing, the water began to glow, making a rainbow of colours. The crowd began to applaud, but Harrison wasn't done yet.  
"Jump into the water." He commanded, and Vaporeon leapt off the rock, diving in. The water suddenly began to move in towards Vaporeon thanks to Water Absorb. Vaporeon leapt out of the water after thirty seconds, and was now glowing a rainbow colour like the water. Harrison then raised his arms to show the end. Everyone clapped and cheered, and Vaporeon released the water through an Aqua Tail. Felicity ran back on, but what she was saying was barely audible over the crowd's cheers.  
"That was great, wasn't it?" Lucinda said, clapping enthusiastically. She looked towards Matthew, but he had turned white and was looking thoroughly depressed.  
He didn't have a shot of winning now.

Floaroma Meadow

The Jeep Wrangler came to a halt outside a quaint cottage. The doors opened up and Roshonda stepped out, along with four other grunts, though all of them were male. Roshonda stared around at the field of flowers nearby.  
"Hideous." She hissed, and walked over to the cottage. As she walked, she released her Beedrill, who fluttered beside her. The other grunts released their Pokemon, and soon a Stunky, Ekans, Geodude and Haunter were out, along with the usual amount of Zubats. Roshonda smiled, and stood up to the front door and knocked. No one answered her, but she heard someone gasp inside.  
"Tut tut, how very rude." Roshonda smirked. "I'll give them one more chance, they when go in. Space yourselves out in case they run for it." She said to the grunts. They all nodded, and moved around the tiny area. Roshonda rapped her fist on the door again, but still, no one answered.  
"Ok then Beedrill, use-" Roshonda began, but there was a crash, and the front door was knocked down. A giant pink ball smashed into Roshonda's face, knocking her backwards.  
"What's going on?" She wailed, and turned around as the pink ball stopped spinning, and a Lickilicky stood up.  
"Nice work." A voice said. They turned as Looker walked out, bouncing two PokeBalls in his hand.  
"I've heard of you, your that clumsy agent from the International Police!" Roshonda said, and several grunts sniggered. Looker glared at her and pulled out a gun.  
"I am a perfectly capable agent, thank you very much." He said, and walked over towards Lickilicky. "I heard from a source that you may be in the Valley Windworks area. I thought I would provide some security to the head caretaker here." And he signalled towards the door, where a middle aged man was peering around, looking a bit frightened.  
"We are not leaving until we have the all access key!" Roshonda said firmly. "And I am prepared to fight you to the death." Looker and his Lickilicky laughed at this.  
"You are forgetting I am the one with the gun." The agent reminded her. "It seems that Cyrus doesn't trust you all enough with one." Roshonda was practically fuming at this point, and Looker grinned as he lifted up his arm, his finger ready on the trigger.  
"AAAHHH!" They all turned as the grunt nearest the entrance was sent flying by an invisible force. His Ekans turned around, hissing, and was blasted by an Ember. Xavier and Vanessa ran in, followed by Turtwig, Chimchar, Lapras and Wurmple.  
"'Ello, 'Ello, 'Ello, what have we here?" Vanessa said, pulling her umbrella out of her bag. Looker stared at them, and Roshonda used the time to kick him in the stomach. Looker doubled over, coughing and spluttering, and the gun fell to the ground.  
"KILL THEM!" Roshonda hissed, as she picked up the gun and pointed it at Looker.  
"Wurmple, String Shot!" Vanessa yelled.  
"Wurmple!" Wurmple said, and fired the attack at Roshonda. The string wrapped around her eyes, forming a blindfold. She screamed and dropped the gun as she tried to pull it off. The other grunts rushed forwards, and the battle began.

Valley Windworks

Sahara and Nutty were wondering down Route 205, staring at the nine giant wind turbines positioned around the are, which were spinning rapidly, the three points merely blurs.  
"I know people think they are ugly, but I think that they are quite nice looking." Sahara said, as she paused, staring mesmerised by them.  
"Pachi Pachi Pachi!" Nutty gasped, and pointed towards a building. Sahara turned around, staring at the two storey structure that was the power plant. It was painted grey, and had simple sign with bold black writing read its name.  
"I remember visiting here!" Sahara said.  
"Pachirisu Pachi!" Nutty said irritably, and pointed near the entrance. The Jeep Wrangler was there, along with a man in a white coat and three grunts, which were standing guard with Zubats, Geodudes, Machops and an Onix captured from Oreburgh Mine. Sahara rushed and ducked behind the long grass.  
"I kind of recognise the guy in the lad coat from when Charles was captured." Sahara whispered. Nutty nodded, and the two looked up over the grass. Two of the grunts were using the Pokemon to capture a number of Pokemon in the fields: several Bidoofs tried to flee, while a group of Electrike were trying to fight back, but the Geodudes were too strong. The scientist turned around and sighed.  
"Where is that blasted girl with the key?" He growled. "Cyrus specifically said not to leave traces of us being here before Mars gets her."  
"I cannot see her anywhere in the distance Charon." A grunt said, as he tossed back a range of PokeBalls into a bag, and went after the Good Rods. Another grunt went off towards the nearby Honey Tree, which was shaking slightly.  
"These people are monsters!" Sahara hissed. The remaining grunt was having the Onix towering over three tiny Pachirisus, who were whimpering.  
"Pachi!" Nutty said angrily, and leapt up and fired a Spark before Sahara could stop her. It hit the grunt and blasted him backwards, smashing into the one doing the fishing. The toppled back into the water. Charon turned around and threw out an Ultra Ball, which burst open in yellow light and twinkling stars, and his shiny Magnezone rose up into the air, along with the Onix.  
"Show yourself!" Charon cried. Sahara sighed and stood up. Charon's look of anger turned into shock, and then he smiled. "Ah Sahara, how lovely it is to meet you."  
"What?" Sahara said, sounding appalled, and she took a step backwards.  
"Try and run and I'll kill you." Charon said, taking a step forwards, Magnezone following him. "As I was saying, it is lovely to meet you. I heard of what your darling friends Eden and Crystal did at Oreburgh Mine and the Global Trading Station, and-"  
"Eden and Crystal are not my friends." Sahara hissed, and she slowly reached inside her pocket. Charon was staring at her face and didn't notice this.  
"So sorry my dear, I merely presumed." He said, bowing in apology. "But I would love to meet them, if you would just come a bit closer."  
"Rot in hell, creep!" Sahara snarled, and whipped out two PokeBalls and a Great. They burst open, and Aqua, Virus and Smash all formed.  
"Spark, Aqua Jet, Charge Beam and Tackle, let's go!" Sahara screamed, and her Pokemon rushed forwards. Smash and the Galactic Onix charged for each other, but Smash hit this one straight in the middle, and it toppled backwards, falling into the stream nearby. Several dots of electricity spun around Virus' mouth. Electricity then formed in the middle, and Virus roared, releasing a beam which smashed into Magnezone. Nutty fired constant Sparks at the Zubats, who began to drop like flies. Aqua rushed forwards and struck the Geodudes, causing them all to scamper.  
"Magnezone use Magnet Bomb!" Charon boomed.  
"Magnezone Magnezone." Magnezone said, and a fired a ball of steel from between its magnets. Sahara screeched and tried to run. Suddenly, a fist of electricity smashed into the attack, causing it to explode in mid air. Sahara looked around for her saviour, and saw Mason rushing towards her, his Nidoking and Golduck racing behind.  
"What are you doing here?" Sahara gasped.  
"Nice to see you too." Mason smiled. "Professor Rowan and I are doing some research. I was across the stream looking for some berries and I saw you, so I figured I could help."  
"Cheers, I don't think I can really combat Steel moves." Sahara said. There were several flashes behind her, and Sahara turned as Nutty, Aqua, Smash and Virus rushed back to her, as Charon and the grunts released all their captured Pokemon. Around two dozen Electrikes, Mareeps, Bidoofs and Buizels joined the Geodudes and Machops. Charon stepped forwards, grinning.  
"Quite a few familiar Pokemon around here, wouldn't you say?" He said, smiling. "It must be so nice to be back in your home town, right?" Sahara's eyes bulged, and Mason looked at her curiously. "Ah, you haven't told anyone you used to live here, have you? Of course, you wouldn't want anyone to possibly track down your past, would you, give them a chance to find out about your charming father."  
"Shut up, just SHUT UP!" Sahara roared, and Mason looked shocked. Charon grinned deviously, and nodded at the grunts. They all barked out orders, and the Pokemon around began to release their moves. Sahara was too furious to move, and stood there, her face frozen in a twisted rage.  
"Virus, use your ability!" Mason said. "Nidoking use Sludge Bomb and Golduck use Psybeam." Sahara looked around as Virus raced forwards. He dived in front of all the electric attacks, allowing himself to be hit.  
"You idiot, your letting my Pokemon get hurt!" Sahara hissed, while Nidoking fired a giant purple ball of slime and Golduck fired an attack of multicoloured rings  
"Electivires all have Motor Drive as their ability." Mason explained. "Electric attacks cause their speed to rise, look!" Virus was now racing around, a mere yellow blur.  
"Wow!" Sahara said, and she suddenly had an idea. "Bring your Pokemon back except Golduck and send out your Lunatone and Solrock, quickly!" Mason nodded and brought back Nidoking, while sending out Solrock and Lunatone. Sahara meanwhile whipped out her PokeBalls, and Nutty, Aqua and Smash all turned into red energy and went inside their metal containers. Lunatone and Solrock formed, looking around the new area.  
"Have Golduck use Surf and those two use Psychic on it." Sahara said, as Virus rushed over.  
"You heard the girl." Mason said.  
"Gol Gold Duck!" Golduck said, and lifted a webbed hand. A giant wave rose out of the stream, and it moved over towards Charon and the grunts.  
"Psychic!" Mason said.  
"Luna!"  
"Sol!" The wave froze as Lunatone and Solrock's eyes glowed pink. The wave turned into a giant barrier, protecting them from attacks for the time being.  
"Grab Virus and run!" Sahara said, and wrapped her arms around the Electivire. Mason did the same, and Lunatone and Solrock followed after, keeping the water in form.

Galactic HQ- Grunt Training Division

Charles had been anxious when the nurse told him Cyrus wanted to see him back on the top floor. So unwillingly, he left Ampharos behind to continue treatment, and went up in the elevator. As it opened up, the third floor was very quiet, and all the grunts were sitting in the stands, perfectly still, though several eyes flickered towards him. Cyrus was standing at one end of the battlefield. Minerva was nearest to him, and she gestured towards the other spot. Charles took his place, feeling rather anxious.  
"What is going on?" He said, and Mars, who was in the front row, cackled, while Draco smirked. Jupiter and Minerva didn't react, but merely looked bored. Cyrus smiled, and pulled out a PokeBall.  
"We are going to have a battle. Five rounds, a different Pokemon in each round." Cyrus explained. "I will choose my Pokemon first in this round. Whoever wins a round chooses their Pokemon first."  
"Why are we doing this?" Charles said, a little apprehensive.  
"It is a mere test." Cyrus said. "I want to test your abilities in a proper battle. Now we begin!" And he threw out his first PokeBall, and Charles was a bit surprised by the sudden start. He watched as Houndoom formed, breathing flames out of its mouth. Charles pondered, and grinned as he threw out his first choice. Tauros burst open with a loud moo, and pounded the ground.  
"Interesting choice, let's see if it works out for you." Cyrus smirked. "Flamethrower!"  
"Hyper Beam!" Tauros released a burst of orange energy, blasting aside the tongue of fire and Houndoom was sent flying.  
"Get up and use Dark Pulse!" Cyrus snarled.  
"Good job." Charles said, as Tauros recovered.  
"Tau." The bull replied, and withstood the dark energy Houndoom fired from his mouth.  
"Now get in there with a Will-O-Wisp!" Cyrus said.  
"Water Pulse, but wait for the attack." Charles said.  
"Hound!" Houndoom cried, and fired out a ball of blue flame. Tauros formed a ball of water in his mouth, and then mooed loudly. The rings blasted the Will-O-Wisp aside, and struck Houndoom, bringing him to his knees.  
"Get up and use Thunder Fang!" Cyrus roared. He was not enjoying this crushing defeat. Houndoom stood up, though was obviously very weak. He began to run forwards, thunder in his mouth. Charles was staring at the dog, waiting for the right moment…  
"Earthquake!" He boomed. Cyrus' eyes bulged, and all the grunts and admins looked equally as surprised. Tauros lifted his front legs into the air, just as Houndoom came close enough to see into his eyes.  
"TAU-ROOOOSSS!" Tauros boomed, and smashed his legs back onto the floor. The whole building began to shake, and Houndoom was hit with the brunt of it. After all the hits, Houndoom couldn't take anymore and collapsed onto the ground. Charles gave Tauros a pat before brining him back. Cyrus let out an angry sigh before brining back Houndoom.  
"Good job, I didn't expect you to be able to combat him so easily." Cyrus said.  
"I'm full of surprises." Charles smiled. "Now Gligar, I choose you!" And he threw out a PokeBall. Gligar formed and stared around curiously.  
"Gli?" He said. Cyrus smiled and pulled out his next Ultra Ball.  
"Crobat, destroy him." He said, and released out his four winged bat. The two purple Pokemon stared at each other, and Gligar sprung into the air, so that they were both flying.  
"Gligar use Metal Claw!" Charles exclaimed.  
"Crobat use Confuse Ray." Cyrus said. Charles cursed as Crobat fired a small glowing ball. Gligar froze in mid air as the ball circled around him.  
"Liga Liga!" Gligar said, and dove straight into the ground.  
"Come on Gligar, you can shake it off!" Charles said. "Try another Metal Claw."  
"Sludge Bomb!" Cyrus boomed. Gligar weakly tried to get back up, but Crobat fired a ball of purple slime. It exploded, coating the field with the purple sludge. Gligar didn't notice, as he was now hitting himself on the head with a glowing right claw. It stopped when Gligar's whole body turned purple.  
"Looks like you flying scorpion friend has been poisoned, what a pity." Cyrus said. Charles ignored the jibe, but he was not enjoying this.  
"Wing Attack, come on!"  
"Cross Poison." Gligar was seeming to gain control, and jumped into the air.  
"Cro Crobat!" Crobat said, and raced forwards and slashed Gligar with both wings.  
"Gar." Gligar said weakly, and smashed one of his wings into Crobat, knocking the bat down. But Gligar glowed purple a second time, and suddenly began to fall backwards. Charles raced forwards and caught him in the nick of time. He stared down and saw Gligar had fainted.  
"Tough luck." Cyrus snarled, and he brought back his Crobat.  
"Nice work." Charles said, trying to sound nice, but it came out sounding very vicious. He went back to his spot, brining back Gligar, and prepared for the next round.

Floaroma Contest Hall

Matthew watched in awe as a Slowking used Psychic to send heavy iron balls flying around the room, a Dewgong formed a giant ice sculpture of her trainer and a Parasect used Stun Spore and Sleep Powder to make beautiful spores. As one of the last trainers had their Electrode explode, there was a call for his name.  
"Good luck!" Lucinda said.  
"Thanks." Matthew said, and he rushed down a brick corridor, pass a girl crying about her stuffed up performance. Matthew rushed up to end of the corridor, and peered around as a boy stormed off, carrying a depressed Bulbasaur.  
"And now for our final contestant of the day!" Felicity announced. "Making his contest debut, give a round of applause for Matthew Pearl, aged 14 and a budding Pokemon trainer, who recently obtained the Coal Badge." There was a lot of applause, and as Matthew walked out towards the stage, he noticed Dr Orson muttering something to Mr Holmes, who nodded.  
"Good luck, I am sure you'll do fine." Felicity said. Matthew nodded, but his mouth was dry and he was shaking a bit. As he stepped into the spot, the applause stopped, and the spotlight focused on him.  
_You can do this, you can do this, just throw the PokeBall and say a couple of words. _He thought, and picked up his PokeBall.  
"Piplup, I choose you!" He exclaimed. He suddenly realised as he threw it that he had no seals, and felt a bit ashamed as Piplup formed.  
"Use Water Sport." Matthew commanded. Piplup lifted her head and released the sprinkling of water, which coated her body.  
"Now use Bubble, and spread them out!" Matthew said.  
"Piplup Pip Pip Pip!" Piplup said, and released as many bubbles as possible. They floated around the room, and the spotlights began to hit them, reflecting off others until they struck Piplup, causing her body to twinkle and flash. There was some polite applause, and Matthew was going to bow, but he didn't feel that it was enough.  
"Now form one giant Bubble!" Matthew said. Piplup looked a bit surprised and turned around, but Matthew gave her a look and she nodded. She concentrated, and a giant Bubble began to grow out of her mouth, rising up above them. It was glowing brighter than any of the others as it was directly under the spotlight, and Piplup shone bright than ever as well. Satisfied, Matthew bowed, and the crowd clapped. Matthew smiled, and stared around, and saw his parents cheering, and feeling extremely relived, he and Piplup walked off stage as Felicity came back on.  
"Great job Piplup, thanks a lot!" Matthew said.  
"Pip Pip." Piplup replied, and the two rushed back to the dressing room. Lucinda and Harrison was watching the screen eagerly.  
"They are about to announce who is going through!" Lucinda said. Matthew and Piplup joined in on watching the screen. Four people had already been announced: the people with the Slowking, Dewgong and Parasect included. The next person came up, and Harrison let out a squeal as he stared at his own face.  
"Congrats." Matthew said, as Lucinda gave her friend a hug. The next two people were revealed, and the girl who had been crying appeared. Only one space remained, and Matthew crossed his fingers. He watched, and grinned as he saw himself.  
"Good job!" Lucinda said. Matthew smiled and hugged Piplup.  
"Looks like we could be battling each other." Harrison said, and Matthew looked up at him.  
"Don't worry, I am sure we will in the finals."

Floaroma Meadow

There was a burst of fire, a blast of electricity, a spray of poison and the slash of a wing cutting through the air. Chimchar, Luxio and Staraptor's attacks collided with those from Ekans, Haunter and Stunky, while Turtwig battled the Geodude and Lapras and Beedrill were locked in combat. Xavier stood there, shouting commands to the Pokemon, while Vanessa slashed and stabbed at the grunts, Wurmple clinging to her shoulder. Looker and Roshonda continued in their armed combat, and Lickilicky was trying to get the caretaker out of the way.  
"This is insane!" Vanessa hissed, as she wedged her umbrella into a grunts shoulder. He howled in pain and Vanessa grinned, and then lashed out against an oncoming one.  
"Ember, Spark, Close Combat, Psychic and Absorb!" Xavier yelled. "My goodness this is tired, I am going to sit down."  
"This is no time for sitting down!" Looker yelled, as he dodged a kick from Roshonda aimed at his head, and rammed his left fist into her gut.  
"Dick!" She snarled, and doubled over in pain. Looker chuckled and rammed his palm into her nose, knocking her aside.  
"The gun, where is the gun?" He cried.  
"Up your arse." Roshonda yelled, and swung her right leg, smashing into Lookers legs. He cried out and collapsed over, and Roshonda grabbed his right arm and twisted it behind his back.  
"Find it before any of them can!" She yelled. Lapras looked over while she dodged Beedrill's Twineedle attacks.  
_What a very unladylike position. _She thought, and her eyes flashed pink. Roshonda yelled out as she was sent soaring further down the meadow.  
"Nice work Lapras." Xavier said.  
_Why thank you, now get up and do something helpful! _Lapras scolded, but then let out a soft cry as Beedrill used Bug Bite.  
"Staraptor, get over here and deal with this thing!" Vanessa yelled. She pulled out her green pen and clicked it and jabbed into the nearest grunt. He was left breathless as his uniform shirt began to melt away and his skin burned.  
"Star Staraptor Star." Staraptor said, and tried to fly, but the Zubats swarmed down, firing a number of Leech Life attacks.  
"Luxi!" Luxio cried, and fired Spark, frying several, but didn't realise Ekans was closing in.  
"Ekans-s-s-s." The purple snake hissed, and began to wrap around him.  
"XAVIER, DO SOMETHING!" Vanessa yelled, and swung her umbrella around, and blood was thrown into the air as the grunt with the burning chest was slit in the throat. Xavier ran forwards.  
"Ekans, please get off Luxio!" He said firmly, but nothing happened, and Luxio gasped as Ekans closed around his neck.  
"Chim Chim Char!" Chimchar said, rolling his eyes. He ran forwards, using Scratch on the Stunky to get it to move, and then fired an Ember.  
"Ek!" Ekans cried, and slid away, but Luxio collapsed. Xavier bent to down examine, and Turtwig rushed over, energy being sucked away from the Geodude as he went.  
"Tur Turtwig Twig!" Turtwig said, signalling for the exit. Vanessa ran over, leaving the three remaining grunts severely injured.  
"Back off, shoo, shoo!" She snarled, swiping her sword at the Zubats, but as they moved, Staraptor collapsed.  
"Star." She said weakly, and passed out.  
"Bastards." Vanessa hissed. "Luxio, Spark!" But the Zubats all dived down, and fired more attacks upon them.  
"Chim!" Chimchar cried, and fired a powerful Ember. It exploded against several of the attacks, blasting Xavier and Vanessa backwards, but left their Pokemon trapped. Looker rushed over, looking concerned.  
"You need to leave here, now!" He said. "I can deal with Roshonda." He then ducked as Beedrill zoomed over his head, chased by Lapras on a Waterfall.  
"She is unconscious, why don't you just let me kill her?" Vanessa suggested.  
"How very crude." They all looked as Roshonda stood up, pointing the gun towards them and smiling deviously.

Route 205

Virus was pounding down the route, Sahara and Mason struggling to hold on. A pair of trainers battling with a Budew and a Cleffa had to dodge to avoid being trampled.  
"Watch where your going!" One of the girls yelled. Sahara tried to apologise, but was already moving too far away, and Lunatone was blocking her view from the girl anyway.  
"How long do you think it'll hold them off for?" Sahara yelled to Mason.  
"Hopefully long enough." He replied, and looked nervously over towards the Windworks. Sahara copied him, and saw that the wall of water was still holding strong, but it was shaking.  
"They are breaking it down! Faster Virus." Sahara said. Virus nodded, and picked up speed, but Lunatone and Solrock were struggling to keep up.  
"Stop!" Mason cried. Virus turned and skidded to a halt, nearly toppling over. Sahara fell off and rolled away. Mason rushed down towards Lunatone and Solrock, who were falling closer towards the ground, their eyes turning back to their normal colours.  
"Sahara, you get out here, fast. I'll Surf on Golduck." Mason said. Solrock collapsed first, followed almost immediately after by Lunatone. There was the sound of a crashing wave in the distance, and Sahara looked and saw that the barrier had fallen.  
"I can't just leave you, put them back in their PokeBalls!" Sahara said, sounding a bit desperate.  
"I have to heal them though, they are good battlers!" Mason said, and scrambled inside his pockets for some medicine.  
"Use your others, just hurry up!" Sahara said. "I'll carry them if I have to!" And she went to pick up Solrock, they heard the screech of tyres in the distance. Mason muttered and pulled out two PokeBalls, and the two Pokemon disappeared. Sahara smiled, and they rushed and latched on Virus. But before they could move, an orange blur raced towards them, coming to a halt alongside.  
"Mason, where have you been?" Professor Rowan said, getting off his Arcanine. "Oh Sahara, how lovely to see you, how are you doing?"  
"I'd be absolutely spiffy if we just get off this route straight away." Sahara said.  
"What is going on? Has Jaki done something?" Rowan asked. Mason was about to ask who Jaki was, but the sound of screeching tyres was getting closer, and they could all see a Jeep Wrangler heading for them. There was a clatter, and they all ducked in time to avoid the bullets fired from a machine gun. The two girls Virus had nearly crushed were running away, screaming loudly.  
"Granddad, we have to stop them!" Sahara said, sounding almost hysterical. "The people in that car are trying to kill me!"  
"Well, I won't let that happen to my granddaughter!" Rowan said. "Arcanine, Fire Blast!"  
"Arca." Arcanine said, smiling at the opportunity for a fight. The giant wolf stared towards the car and fired out five balls of flame. As they moved through the air, they spread out, forming a giant star.  
Inside the Jeep, Charon could see the attack coming from the drivers seat and cursed.  
"Well boys, its been nice knowing you." He said.  
"Aren't you going to fight?" The grunt in the passenger seat said. He looked towards the drivers seat and saw that Charon had jumped out. The grunt looked towards the window, and let out a scream as the Fire Blast smashed into the windscreen. Sahara watched the carnage with glee. The front window was smashed, and the car was veering out of control as the interior burst into flames. The car went to the right, and left the road, smashed an Oran Berry plant before exploding, sending metal everywhere, most of which landed into the water. The remains of the car and the grunts inside sunk to the bottom of the lake, which began to turn black from the ash.  
"Good, now lets leave and call the cops!" Mason said.  
"Oh crap." Sahara said, and watched as green avocado shaped object flew towards them. Virus leapt up and forced her and Mason to the ground, while Arcanine shoved Rowan aside and leapt up as the grenade exploded. Charon watched it go off from the side of the road, and then grinned before passing out.

Galactic HQ- Grunt Training Division

Cyrus pulled out his third Ultra Ball, and threw it without speaking. The yellow light and energy formed into a Gyarados, which rose above the field, staring menacingly down.  
"Pity your only electric type is down for the count." Cyrus said.  
"Don't worry, I know how to counter them." Charles said, and he threw out his PokeBall. It burst open with a variety of stars, and his shiny Gyarados rose up to equal height. The two Pokemon glared at each other, but neither refused to back down.  
"Gyarados, use Ice Fang." Cyrus said.  
"Dragon Pulse when it gets close!" Charles yelled. Cyrus' Gyarados flew forwards and clamped its ice filled mouth down onto the red Gyarados. He retaliated by firing the turquoise beam at him, sending the Gyarados smashing into the ground.  
"Nice work." Cyrus fumed. "Waterfall!"  
"Hydro Pump!" Charles yelled. The blue Gyarados rose up, being propelled by a giant waterfall. He became consumed by it and then crashed into Charles' Gyarados.  
"Gyara-DOS!" He boomed, and fired out the powerful jet of water. But the other Gyarados remained airborne this time, though looked very angry about the attack.  
"Ice Fang, but make it long distance!" Cyrus growled. He stared towards the crowd, and saw that people were muttering, unimpressed about their leaders performance.  
"Hyper Beam!" Charles yelled. His Gyarados began to absorb in the orange energy, but Cyrus' released the Ice Fang. Charles gasped as his Gyarados was struck and quickly began to freeze before falling to the ground.  
"Wish to give up, or would you like to wait for it to defrost?" Cyrus said nastily. Charles glared at him, and wanted to run up to him and punch him with all his might. But if he even tried it, he would probably be shot down a few seconds later.  
"I'll wait." He said at last. Cyrus rolled his eyes and smirked.  
"If you insist. Giga Impact, now!" Cyrus yelled. The blue Gyarados flew up towards the roof, and then dived down. A yellow ball had formed in front of him, and it spread out and covered him, and purple energy mixed in. Charles shut his eyes, now wanting to see what happen. One Gyarados smashed into the other, releasing a powerful force wave. Charles was tossed across the room, smashing into the back wall. He groaned and tried to stand up, and saw Cyrus triumphantly bringing back his Gyarados, while Charles' lay unconscious on the ground.

Floaroma Contest Hall

The battle rounds of the contest had commenced, and they had been intense. Matthew had seen Harrison's, and his Skiploom had won in only a few turns, using a powerful Solarbeam to knock out the rivals Starmie quickly. Matthew's first round had been a lot longer. He had unfortunately gone up against a Shuppet. Thankfully, Hypnosis and multiple Dream Eaters allowed him to tear down its health, and a Psywave sealed the deal. The judges had given him high marks as well, which could earn him a ribbon at the end.  
"Great work!" Matthew said as he went off stage, Chimecho wrapped around his arm. "We're in the semi finals now!"  
"Chime Chime!" Chimecho cheered. Matthew turned a corner, about to step into his dressing room, but found his father standing there.  
"Hey there." He said. "Great work."  
"Thanks a lot, I think I've done-" Matthew began, glowing with happiness, but his father cut across.  
"Listen, I just received a phone call, and some people know you're my son." Adrian said. "They think the judges gave you high marks for your appeal because of that."  
"What, that's ridiculous!" Matthew gasped. "Can't you just tell them you didn't?"  
"The media would just think I am covering." Adrian said. "To get them off my back, you will have to lose." Matthew looked horrified and stepped away.  
"I am not throwing this away, I could win!" He said, and Adrian laughed. Matthew was crestfallen, and couldn't stop a tear rolling down his cheek.  
"Sorry son, but you just aren't as good as the other people here." Adrian said. "But if you at least know that you intended to lose, then when you do, it won't be as bad." Tears were now streaming down Matthew's face, but his father didn't seem to care. Satisfied, he began to walk away, but Chimecho blocked his way.  
"ECHO!" He said, and releasing a powerful Hypnosis. Adrian looked a bit shocked, before his eyes shut and fell to his side, smacking his head on the wall. Matthew stared down at his father, and kicked him in the leg.  
"Thank you." He said, and Chimecho smiled. Matthew then turned and went to open the door to his dressing room, but it was flung open before he could. Harrison grabbed Matthew's hand and dragged him, followed by Lucinda.  
"Isn't that Adrian Pearl?" Lucinda said, staring down at Matthew's father.  
"Probably, but no time to check." Harrison said. "We're battling in the semi finals, so go and get yourself ready!" And he and Matthew walked out of the tunnel, and there was more applause. Matthew quickly put Chimecho inside his PokeBall and rushed over towards his spot. Leah, Carolina and Peter stared down from the middle of the stands. The two mothers were arguing.  
"I am sorry Leah, but I have to go and find Xavier!" Carolina said, standing up.  
"But you'll miss Matthew's battle!" Leah huffed.  
"I'll be back before it begins, I promise!" Lady Carolina said, and she quickly walked off.  
"It's about to start!" Peter said, and pointed towards Matthew. Leah was shocked he was back out already, but began to cheer with everyone else.  
"Welcome to the first semi finals battle!" Felicity said to the crowd. "This battle will determine the first person to battle in the finals. We have Harrison Maude and his Skiploom and Matthew Pearl and his Chimecho. Harrison won three ribbons last year, including the Floaroma Contest, and this is Matthew's first contest. Now, let the battle begin!"  
"Skiploom, lets show him the true meaning of a contest battle!" Harrison said, and released his Heal Ball. Flower petals covered the field as Skiploom formed and floated happily around the arena. Matthew was still angry with his father, and it took him a few seconds before he released the battle had begun.  
"Chimecho!" He said, and threw out his PokeBall. Chimecho spun around when he formed, before turning to face Skiploom.  
"Use Sunny Day." Harrison said.  
"Hypnosis." Matthew ordered. Chimecho released a soft melody, but Skiploom knew to avoid it before firing a ball of sunlight, bursting open and blocking out of unnatural light in the hall.  
"Now use Stun Spore."  
"Get in there with Psywave, quickly!" Matthew said.  
"Skip!" Skiploom said, and moved so quickly Chimecho didn't see where it went. Then Skiploom stopped underneath him, and released tiny yellow spores. They clung to Chimecho, who had been about to release his attack, and he froze.  
"No!" Matthew said, and Harrison grinned.  
"Energy Ball, now!"  
"Use-" Matthew began, but looked towards the tunnel and saw his father walking out. Matthew froze, and Chimecho stared around desperately, but was hit by the green ball of energy Skiploom had just fired.  
"Oh, um…. Hypnosis!" Chimecho released another soft sound, but Skiploom moved high above, directly into the sunlight.  
"Solarbeam, NOW!" Harrison yelled.  
"Um…. um…." Matthew was completely shocked: he couldn't remember any of Chimecho's moves. Chimecho was too paralyzed to move anyway, and was struck by the powerful attack, sending him crashing into the ground at Matthew's feet. There was lots of applause, and Matthew realised the battle was over. He had completely forgotten about the judge's scores, but looked up and saw he had been given very low marks.  
"Sorry buddy." He said to Chimecho, and pulled out his PokeBall and brought Chimecho back, before walking slowly back towards the tunnel.

Floaroma Meadow

Roshonda was looking utterly mad as she walked slowly forwards, pointing the gun towards Xavier, Vanessa and Looker. Luxio had fainted, and Turtwig and Chimchar were struggling to fight the Zubats. Lapras had run out of Psychics, leaving her unable to call Xavier for help or send the gun flying, and instead having to take Beedrill's hits. Lickilicky had disappeared long ago with the caretaker, and two of the surviving grunts were busy trying to stop the other from bleeding to death, not caring about anything else.  
"I should haven just shot you all the first chance I got." Roshonda was saying. "But I just love the looks on your faces. They are positively delightful!" Vanessa's hands were clutched to the umbrella, waiting for the right moment, and Wurmple was curled up in her hair. Looker's face was losing all colour, while Xavier merely looked bored with the proceedings.  
"Now, who should I shoot first?" Roshonda pondered. "The agent, the android, or the freak?" She spun around wildly, preparing to shoot whoever it pointed at when she stopped. Vanessa lifted her umbrella, and went to stab her, but a jet of flame erupted from some trees on the edge of the field. Roshonda screamed as she was sent flying backwards, smashing into the Jeep Wrangler. The gun fell from her hand as Lady Carolina rushed up, followed by Ninetales.  
"Oh darling, what ever is going on here?" Carolina exclaimed, and looked around at the Zubats, the dead and dying grunts and Lapras and Beedrill's battle. "There's my Lapras!" She shrieked, and everyone turned to see the more intense battle happening. Lapras had got up the strength to fight back, but the Blizzard attacks kept missing.  
"Chimchar, get in there!" Vanessa yelled as she brought back Luxio.  
"Chim!" Chimchar cried, and fired another Ember towards Beedrill.  
"Bee!" Beedrill gasped, and collapsed, finally unconscious. Chimchar looked very happy, which turned to shock as it suddenly turned white. His whole body was growing: his arms and legs became longer, he grew taller, and tail suddenly started to grow. The white light disappeared, and a Monferno stood their in its place.  
"Wurmple!" Wurmple said happily, and Turtwig beamed at his friend.  
"Monferno Mon Mon Ferno." Monferno said, and jumped on the spot. Lapras gave him a nod, but then keeled over sideways.  
"I need to go and check on Lickilicky and the Caretaker." Looker said. He pulled several yellow diamond-like objects out of his pocket and gave them to Xavier and Vanessa. "They are Revives. Use them on your Pokemon to heal them, though it won't heal them fully. Thank you for your help once again." He smiled to the three of them before turning and running off.  
"Was he the same man from Lake Verity?" Carolina said.  
"Yes Mother. Now what should we do about those three?" Xavier said. The three grunts looked at them. Two of them stood up, fists raised.  
"MON!" Monferno rushed forwards, his right fist glowing white. He punched one of the grunts, sending him flying through a window of the caretaker's house. The other one was stunned and didn't notice as Vanessa stabbed him in the gut with her umbrella. He gasped and she shoved him over. Ninetales fired another Flamethrower, but this time towards the Jeep Wrangler, and the upholstery burst into flames.  
"Let's get out of here, quick!" Vanessa said, and she ran out, grabbing Monferno's arm and dragged him out. Xavier walked over to Lapras and gave her the Revive. She blinked rapidly before her neck straightened up.  
_Much better. Oh hello Carolina, surprised to see me out of my PokeBall? _Lapras smirked. Ninetales smiled warmly at her old team mate, but Carolina looked a bit cross.  
"Let's go darling, come on!" She said, and ran out.  
"Tur!" Turtwig added, and he followed.  
"Let's go Lapras." Xavier said. Lapras went to follow, but saw Roshonda stirring.  
_I'll just take care of her. _She said, and her eyes flashed pink. The caretaker's house suddenly collapsed as the beams all shattered, and the building caved in, some of the rubble landed everywhere. Lapras then turned towards the Jeep Wrangler, and her eyes flashed once again. Suddenly, the car rose into the air, did a 360 degree flip, and then landed right on top of Roshonda, along with the fire. Lapras nodded and moved along with Xavier, leaving the scene behind. But as they disappeared, the car was suddenly tossed aside, and Nidoqueen picked Roshonda up, who coughed took off her jacket as it was on fire.  
"Thanks." She mumbled, and quickly brought back Beedrill, who was still lying near a tree. One of the grunts groaned and Roshonda walked over. He was being crushed by some rubble, but when Nidoqueen moved it off, his ribs were crushed and he stopped breathing. Roshonda rolled her eyes and went to leave: the mission had failed. But as she walked away, the sunlight she had been blocking reflected off something.  
"Nido!" Nidoqueen said, and bent down and picked it. It was a small, plastic key card. Roshonda's face lit up and she snatched it out of her Pokemon's hand.  
Maybe she hadn't failed after all…

Route 205

The grenade had gone off, but Arcanine's Flash Fire prevented it from doing major damage, as he absorbed most of it in. But the shock wave knocked Virus aside, and Sahara rolled down a small embankment. Her coat buttons were ripped off and the coat came off. She rolled over a small rock, and her blazer and shirt were badly ripped.  
"Sahara, are you alright?" Mason yelled, and ran down after her, but froze as he saw her exposed back.  
The giant tear was exposing her back, which was milk white. But it was covered with a giant tattoo. Firstly, there was a large red circle, covering almost of her back. There were also three circles: steel blue, pale pink and a rich gold, which were positioned like a triangle: the blue by her left shoulder, the pink around her right shoulder, and the gold by her right hip. There was also a Pokemon face inside the red circle. It was pink and blue, but Mason couldn't work out who it was. Suddenly, a large yellow hand grasped his shoulder, and Virus threw him back onto the road.  
"Elec!" He roared, and picked up Sahara. She hadn't noticed, and looked a bit groggy.  
"Where did it come from?" Rowan asked.  
"Who cares, just take me to Floaroma!" Sahara moaned. Virus nodded, and he began to ran, carrying her in his arms. Rowan and Mason climbed onto Arcanine and they followed after.  
Behind a bush, Charon began to stir, and watched as they left. There was a beeping sound, and he picked up his cell phone. The plastic was severely cracked, but he was able to see Roshonda was calling.  
Hopefully, she would have better news.

Galactic HQ- Grunt Training Division

"Weavile, go!"  
"Elle, I choose you!"  
The Ultra and PokeBalls burst open, and Cyrus' Weavile and Elle stood there, staring angrily at each other.  
"If I win this round, I have won the battle." Cyrus said.  
"Well I'll make sure that doesn't happen." Charles replied, and Cyrus simply smirked once more.  
"Weavile, Night Slash."  
"Elle use Return." Charles boomed. Weavile raced forwards, lifting up her left claw which was glowing black. Elle waited for her to get close before forming the pink heart in swallowing it. Weavile was only inches away, about to swipe, when Elle released the pink beam. Weavile cried out as she blasted towards the roof, smashing into the lights and falling back to the ground. Jupiter looked shocked, and Draco and Mars exchanged confused looks. They had never seen an un-evolved Pokemon have such a powerful attack.  
"Get up!" Cyrus growled, sensing some disturbance. "Use X-Scissor."  
"Wea." Weavile moaned, and struggled to stand up.  
"Use Secret Power." Charles said.  
"Eva Eve." Elle said, and her body suddenly glowed white. Than, it changed to yellow and Elle ran forwards, leaping up when she reached the middle of the field. Weavile was moving slowly forwards, both claws glowing green, when Elle landed on her. Weavile collapsed and was unconscious before her head hit the ground.  
"Oh no, it looks like you didn't win." Charles smirked as Elle turned into red energy.  
"Not yet anyway." Cyrus replied, and he stored Weavile's Ultra Ball away. "Come on, hurry up and send your next mutt out." Charles rolled his eyes, but was glad that Cyrus was losing his cool. He threw out a Great Ball, and Poochyena formed.  
"Honchkrow, end this!" Cyrus said, and the giant bird formed, and flew high above Poochyena.  
"Poison Fang, quickly!" Charles said.  
"Drill Peck!" Cyrus said. Honchkrow dived down, spinning rapidly. Poochyena was running forwards with a mouth full of poison.  
"Jump onto her back!" Charles yelled. Cyrus gasped as Poochyena bent his legs and leapt up, landing right between Honchkrow's wings, and then he clamped his teeth onto feathers.  
"HONCH!" Honchkrow cried in pain.  
"Stay on with Bite!" Charles proclaimed.  
"Get it off with Psychic!" Cyrus snarled. Poochyena bit down again, and Honchkrow flinched, unable to initiate the attack.  
"Poison Fang once more!" Charles called.  
"Psychic!" Cyrus yelled.  
"Poochy!" Poochyena said, and clamped down again. But this time, Honchkrow's whole body flashed purple, and Charles punched the air happily at the bird's poisoning. But Honchkrow's eyes flashed pink, trying to get him off, but Poochyena resisted.  
"Did you forget that Dark is immune to Psychic?" Charles teased. "Jump and use Sucker Punch, now!"  
"Heat Wave, do whatever you must to defeat him!" Cyrus yelled. Poochyena leapt up into the sky, and soared back down, punching his right front paw into Honchkrow's stomach. The birds eyes bulged and she fell to the ground, landing with a soft thud. Minerva ran up to the edge of the field and stared at Honchkrow as Poochyena landed.  
"It has fainted!" Minerva exclaimed. "Charles has won!" Charles beamed and Poochyena barked happily. The grunts began to clap, but Cyrus shot them all an evil look and they remained silent.  
"Pooch Poochy!" Poochyena said, and he suddenly glowed white. Charles watched in awe and happiness as Poochyena's body grew until it was about twice its original height and length. The white light disappeared, and Mightyena let out a loud howl before jumping happily onto Charles, knocking him over.  
"How adorable." Minerva said, and she stroked his black fur. Cyrus stared over at Charles before storming off. He had just reached the lift when an the loudspeakers suddenly turned on.  
"Urgent message from Admin Charon and Grunt Roshonda." The emotionless, genderless voice said. "Valley Windworks have been unlocked. Mission 7 Phase B has begun. Require back up, the Dex Holders are in the area." Cyrus stared up towards the ceiling where the message had come from and he beamed.  
"Get your worthless arses downstairs straight away!" He yelled. "We must get there urgently." The grunts all stood up and began to stampede. Mars led the way, barking orders to anyone she could boss around. Charles sighed and gave Mightyena a pat before bringing him back and following the others down towards the helicopters.

Floaroma Town

Vanessa was leaning against the Contest Hall, watching as everyone left. Xavier had seen Sahara come in and had gone to check on her, leaving Carolina with Vanessa as they watched for the Pearls to show up.  
"So what's the deal with Xavier?" Vanessa blurted.  
"Excuse me?" Carolina said, sounding confused.  
"Why does he has about as much emotion as a brick?" Vanessa continued, and turned towards the woman. Lady Carolina took a deep breath before continuing.  
"As you may now, my family and the Pearls live between Twinleaf Town and Lake Verity. We always use to have picnics by the lake. Lapras and Leah's Mantine would take the kids across, they always loved it. But one day, when the boys were about eight, Matthew and Xavier started having an argument. We got them some Goldeen to take care of for when they became trainers, and unfortunately, some of them had died. They were arguing about who was supposed to have fed them, and they started fighting while riding Mantine. Matthew pushed Xavier off and he fell into the lake. Palmer went to dive in, but Xavier was suddenly blasted out of the water. He hasn't shown any emotion since then and I still don't know why." Tears were streaming down Carolina's cheeks, making Vanessa uncomfortable. Suddenly, a piece of white string shot out and grabbed her. Vanessa was pulled forwards, through the crowd, and suddenly she was by a disgruntled looking Matthew and his Wurmple.  
"We have to leave, now!" He said.  
"Why, what have you done?" Vanessa said.  
"I'll explain on the way, I just need to escape my family." Matthew said, and he began to run. Vanessa looked towards Carolina, who was now joined by Leah and Peter, and shrugged and followed after.  
Meanwhile, Sahara, Xavier, Nutty and Turtwig were walking out of the Pokemon Centre. Rowan and Mason had to do some work, and the two had decided to head off. The nurse had sewn up Sahara's coat for her, so her tattoo was covered up.  
"Sounds like we both had pretty eventful days." Sahara smirked, as Xavier finished explaining his run in with Team Galactic.  
"This Team Galactic seems to be following us." Xavier said. "They are always at the exact same location that we are at."  
"I know, it's like their watching us." Sahara said, shivering slightly with repulsion. The two continued to walk forwards for some, not noticing Vanessa and Matthew running ahead of them. Suddenly, there was a whirr over their heads, and the two looked up and saw a dozen helicopters flying over them.  
"What is going on, where are they all going to?" Xavier said. Sahara looked in the distance and saw a wind turbine near several small black dots that could be cars. She rolled her eyes and groaned before turning to her friend.  
"Feel like a trip to the Windworks?"


	11. Gone with the Ominous Wind

January 12th 2010

The sun was rising slowly above the mountains surrounding Floaroma Town. Starlys woke up and took flight, switching places with dozens of Hoothoots coming in to rest. The number of cars, bicycles and trainers began to increase, and the general noise of the day began to increase.  
In a small field around one of the mountains, a sole Drifloon began to wake.  
"Dri-Floooon!" She said, stretching her body. The Drifloon looked around, and realised the rest of her pack wasn't there.  
"Drif!" She huffed. The purple balloon had a slight problem when it came to wind. Most Drifloon could control themselves when the wind picked them up, tossing them into the air, but this one always got blown off course. Everyone mocked the way she flailed around, trapping to wrap her string-thin arms around a branch or pole to stop herself floating away. But Drifloon couldn't worry about being teased again: she would have to get back to her pack quickly. Drifloon moved upwards, pushing air out of her body and moving her arms as if underwater. As she flew over the field, Drifloon was surprised to see a number of berries scattered on the ground.  
"Drif Drif Loon!" She gasped, and dived down and scooped them up. This Drifloon had a curious love for berries, and carried them with her wherever she went.  
Drifloon floated over more fields and trees, staring around for her pack. She saw one of the wind turbines over in the distance, and over a dozen of her fellows were heading near the area. Excited, Drifloon rushed over, and was only a few metres away when something jumped up in front of her. A human hand tried to grab her arms, and Drifloon dropped her berries on the woman's head. However, the change in weight caused Drifloon to take off, sending her flying away.  
"Frick." Sahara hissed. "I was hoping to catch one and see what they are doing."  
"Violence against Pokemon is not the answer." Xavier scolded behind her. Sahara growled and turned around, but had to stop herself from walking off the cliff and facing a drop similar to falling out of a fifth storey window.  
For nearly twelve hours, Xavier and Sahara had been staking out the Valley Windworks, watching as Team Galactic moved in. There had been the first few helicopters and Jeep Wranglers at first, bringing in grunts to assist Charon. Roshonda arrived by foot soon after, and as they unlocked the doors, a much more frightening figure walked in: Ursilla. Two figures were on either side of her, their faces hidden by sacks. Charon and Ursilla had a quick debate, before they all went in together, except for around a dozen grunts. Another helicopter landed fifteen minutes later, and Mars walked out, followed by numerous grunts carrying crates, and then… Charles. Sahara had let out a sob at this point. Even though Eden had seen Charles, Sahara didn't know about him being part of Team Galactic, and she began to sob hysterically. She was glad Xavier didn't register emotions, and he didn't bother her while she wept, though Nutty and Turtwig both moved over to console her. Sahara now wanted more than ever to go into the Windworks and get Charles out of there, but they didn't know what was happening. Twenty minutes ago, Charon had brought a small machine out, and the Drifloon had started to move down towards them.  
"I just want to know why they are going down there." Sahara said, sitting down next to Nutty.  
"Turtwig Tur Tur Tur Twig?" Turtwig said to Nutty.  
"Pachi Pachirisu Risu Risu Pachi Pachirisu Ri." Nutty replied, shaking her head.  
"What are you two saying?" Sahara said, smiling.  
"If you don't understand what they are saying, how do you expect them to reply?" Xavier said, as his eyes followed the Drifloon. Sahara rolled her eyes and watched the balloons as well.  
"We have to get down there and get in." She said. "I just don't like what they are up to."  
"I believe that we would need reinforcements." Xavier said. "Turtwig isn't up to scratch yet, and I don't think Nutty and Smash would be either."  
"Pach!" Nutty huffed, but Turtwig merely shrugged. Sahara nodded, and then her eyes lit up with excitement.  
"I know just who we can get! Wait here, I'll be back as soon as possible." She cried, and quickly ran off towards the rocky slope they had climbed up yesterday afternoon. Xavier watched her run off briefly, and then turned back towards the Windworks.  
"She is a very strange girl." He said.  
"Tur." Turtwig agreed, and they both watched as the Drifloon formed a circle at the bottom, with one last straggler speeding towards them.

Route 205

Far away from the noise, Vanessa and Matthew strolled along the rocky route, high above the grassy plains below. The sun was heating their necks, and Matthew was already tired, as he held Piplup in his hands. Vanessa wasn't even hot though, as she strutted further ahead in thigh-high hot pink stilettos. She had decided to go for a mushroom theme for her outfit today, and had a yellow beanie, shirt and skirt, each with red spots sticking out. Matthew was trying to catch up, but had his legs still hurt after fleeing from his family the previous day.  
"Vanessa… can you please… wait up?" Matthew puffed. Vanessa twirled around, the end of her hair flying and wrapping around her face.  
"Not until you answer my questions." Vanessa sang back, and skipped ahead. Piplup looked up at her trainer and scolded him.  
"Pip Pip Lup Piplup Lup." She said.  
"Fine!" Matthew groaned, and he ran forwards, catching up to Vanessa as she began to cross a bridge. "I don't even see what I should say, Lady Carolina told you what happened."  
"Yes, but I want to hear it from your point of view." Vanessa said. "Did you push Xavier into the lake?"  
"We were both fighting, and Mantine was rather slip-"  
"Answer the question." Vanessa snapped. Matthew stared at her, before sighing and looking down at his feet.  
"I think I did push him off. I can't really remember, the only thing I properly remember is glowing lights and then him being blasted out of the water." He explained. Vanessa stared at him, curious about the mention of lights, but as they left the bridge, several shouts greeted them.  
"What is happening over there?" Vanessa said, and the two rushed over. The noise grew steadily louder, as they ran through grass and avoided several angry looking Buizels. They turned a corner, and a curious sight met their eyes.  
There was a large circle of people , all wearing green or brown, marching around a row of diggers, bulldozers and flash looking cars. A number of men in hardhats were having arguments with the people nearest, while a series of news reporters were spaced out nearby.  
"What are they protesting about?" Matthew said. Vanessa stared at one of the picket signs, and saw mention of a forest. At closer inspection, Vanessa could make out the trees of Eterna Forest behind them.  
"I presume this is some hippy environmental thing." She said, and walked forwards. The protestors were all shouting the same chant:  
"Save our Trees, Save our Future! Save our Trees, Save our Future!" The person not saying this was a figure with knee length blonde hair, standing amongst the builders and shouting into a megaphone.  
"THE PLAN TO TEAR DOWN ETERNA FOREST, JUST TO BUILD BRIDGES, IS OUT**RAGEOUS**!" The deep, hoarse voice screamed.  
"Oh my god, it's a guy!" Matthew gasped.  
"Now that is just wrong." Vanessa said, half laughing, half repulsed. No one seemed to notice the two, so they continued walking across the ground. There were deep tyre tracks in the mud, and all grass in the surrounding area had been crushed, leaving a rich brown texture behind.  
"This is frankly revolting." Vanessa grumbled. "Someone needs to tidy this place-" But before she could finish talking, Vanessa walked right into one of the numerous reporters. The tanned, blonde woman turned around, and both Matthew and Vanessa both recognised her.  
"That's Clarisse Miller!" Matthew said, staring in awe at the beautiful reporter. She was wearing a stylish green jacket over a red flora paint dress.  
"Do you mind, I am trying to film…. Oh, it's _you_." Clarisse snarled, looking at Vanessa, who was rubbing her head.  
"And it's you." Vanessa said, mocking her tone. Clarisse went to reply, but her overweight cameraman was smirking, and she turned around and shoved him aside, nearly knocking him over.  
"Head back to the car and send the footage over; I need to talk to my old friend here." She hissed, and turned away from him.  
"Miss Miller, I have been admiring your reporting since I was-" Matthew began, but Vanessa stepped in front of him.  
"I won our battle fair and square, you can't hold that against me." She said, straightening her to back to reach full height.  
"Your win has destroyed my ratings." Clarisse snapped. "I could soon be out of a job!"  
"Not my problem, is it?" Vanessa replied. The two women stared into each others eyes with such fury that Matthew expected lasers to come out. After about a minute of this, Vanessa blinked and looked over at the protestors.  
"Care to say what is going on here?" Clarisse backed away as well, and a smirk formed on her face.  
"Work it out for yourself, it's not my problem, is it?" And she turned and walked away, but her exit was ruined as her black boots sunk into the mud. Vanessa laughed and walked away.  
"What was that about?" Matthew said, rushing after.  
"Piplup Pip Piplup!" Piplup said, looking over Matthew's shoulder as Clarisse struggled to free herself. But the little penguin was ignored as Vanessa answered.  
"When you were kidnapped, I tried to get an announcement out on the news." She explained. "But I got roped into doing this Showdown thing, and I left after I won due to the building exploding."  
"Oh my god, you won Showdown!" Matthew said excitedly. Vanessa rolled her eyes and continued walking, and narrowly missed walking into another person. The man turned around, and stared at Vanessa with bright blue eyes.  
"Pip!" Piplup exclaimed, as she recognised the curved scar on his face and the red and black jacket.  
"Hello there, I believe you were at the Global Trading Station the other day." The man said to Matthew.  
"Oh yeah, Niles, isn't it?" Matthew said, feeling a bit uncomfortable.  
"Nice name." Vanessa smirked. Niles looked at her, his face twisting into a frown.  
"I would prefer not to be mocked, especially if you want information out of me."  
"What do you mean?" Matthew asked. Niles pointed towards the protestors, who were becoming louder and rowdier as more people joined the circle.  
"That lot are protesting how the trees are being cut down, and been shipped around the regions to build bridges." He explained. "I am an environmental ranger, so I am here to try and convince them otherwise. However, the protestors are giving us all a bad reputation, and the foreman is completely ignoring me." Matthew and Vanessa watched the shouts and cries, and Vanessa looked a bit disgruntled.  
"Do you think they are going to do something drastic?" She asked.  
"I believe they will." Niles said. "If it is not too much too ask, could you assist me in preventing whatever they are going to do?" Vanessa and Matthew exchanged looks, while Piplup looked very excited about the idea.  
"I suppose we could spare an hour or two." Matthew shrugged. "But I would like to get moving at some point, there is another contest in a few days times."  
"You can forget about your contests, this is a bit more important." Vanessa said, and she looked back at Niles.  
"So boss, what are we doing first?"

Valley Windworks

Since the Valley Windworks had opened seven years ago, it had always been a quiet place. There were only ever one hundred staff there at one time, as the system was easy to operate, and many Pokemon controlled the machines.  
But today, it was over crowded.  
Galactic Grunts were running all over the place, taking over the computers, setting up machines, capturing as many of the working Pokemon as possible. People that fought back were quickly shot, and more people came in to remove them. The noise coming from the spinning turbines was nearly being stifled by all the commotion, though nearly a dozen people could hear it.  
Mars stood on the raised platform overlooking the turbines, and stared down as they spun rapidly. A three metre long, black leather whip rested in her hands, and she playfully smacked the air with it. Behind her, Charles, Roshonda and Ursilla stood perfectly straight, along with a set of twins, Josh and Jerry, who were much shorter than Charles, though were several years older. Charles was slightly disturbed by the whip, but couldn't let it show without getting hit himself. Charon was sitting at a desk that had been brought in, and stared at his laptop while two other grunts attached numerous cables to a metal sheet of blinking lights and knobs. Charon was planning to hack into the main system, and would redirect fifty percent of the power to fuel Team Galactic's need for free energy.  
"Are you nearly done?" Mars asked, as she turned away from the turbines.  
"No, this is rather difficult." Charon replied, as he stared at the screen. Mars looked at it, and saw that the scientist was playing a game of Solitaire while he waited. She groaned and walked past Charles, and approached several people tied to the railing behind them. There were the three workers who had been up there when Team Galactic had arrived, and were being kept in case something went wrong. One of the men's daughters, who Sahara and Mason had passed yesterday whilst fleeing from Charon, was there as well, to ensure they behaved. And Looker and the Caretaker had been captured by Ursilla as she entered the town, and they were kept in order to be killed at a later date.  
"Don't you just love what I have done with the place?" Mars sneered, holding her whip. All the Windworks workers stared at it, but the daughter began to cry and buried her face, and Looker stared defiantly up at Mars.  
"You can't intimidate us!" He said. "Someone will realise what is happening, and someone will put a stop to your pathetic little scheme." Mars's eyes bulged slightly in shock, but she quickly regained her composure and bent down, her nose only a centimetre away from Looker's.  
"I thought your lot would have learnt your lesson, especially after what I did to that friend of yours." She said, smiling widely. Looker tried to form a smirk, but his body was shaking, and Mars grinned triumphantly. She stood back up, and kicked Looker in the stomach. He let out a cry of pain, and slumped forwards as far as he could go. Charles turned around slightly, but Roshonda swiftly hit him in the elbow.  
"Stand straight!" She hissed, barely moving her lips. Charles nodded, and turned back around as Mars walked back. She walked over to the other railing, looking down at the white tiled floor, numerous desks and machinery, and around four dozen grunts. Mars raised her whip up and smashed into against the metal. It causes a giant echoing crack, and left a dent in the metal. Everyone down below stopped talking, and looked up towards the red head.  
"Glad to have everyone's attention." Mars said, her voice echoing. "Today's mission is very important, and we can't allow any slip ups. To make sure nobody gets in, Ursilla will take ten of you and numerous Pokemon to guard the outside. Jerry, Josh and Roshonda will watch things down there. Charles, Charon and I will remain up here with the hostages. Now get to work!"  
"Yes sir." The grunts all boomed in unison. Ursilla headed towards the staircase as soon as Mars finished talking.  
"Do I have to permission to kill?" She said, pausing by the weeping little girl. She turned around and looked at Mars, and the two burst out laughing. Charon let out a chuckle as well, and Ursilla headed down the stairs, unhooking her energy gun and holding onto the railings to stop her collapsing from laughter.  
"Ah, I love a good joke." Mars said, and grinned over at the girl, who cried even harder.  
"Shall we go and rally the troops?" Roshonda said.  
"Of course, get on with it!" Mars snapped, and held her whip threateningly. Roshonda nodded, and turned and rushed away after the twins.  
"What do you want me to do?" Charles said.  
"You can get your Ampharos and Gligar out for a start." Charon snapped. "We'll need a ground type for protection if things go nasty, and Ampharos can help Magnezone when we need it." And he unhooked his own Ultra Ball. Mars pulled out a PokeBall as well, and she threw it. Charles looked as the red energy formed close by, but as it fully formed, the giant figure knocked him asides.  
"Purrrrrrr." Charles looked up, and saw Mars' giant Purugly, calmly licking a paw.  
"Wow, I didn't realise how big she was." Charles said.  
"PUR!" The Purugly hissed, and raised her paw.  
"Now now Purugly, don't make me bring you back, you naughty kitten!" Mars said, prancing forwards and hugging her Pokemon, shooting Charles a nasty look as well. Purugly purred proudly, and lay down on the floor. Charles anxiously walked over to Charon.  
"Whatever you do, run away as soon as it uses Body Slam." Charon said, moving more cards across in his game.  
"Why?" Charles asked.  
"The last time that thing landed on a grunt, all of his ribs cracked and his left shoulder dislocated." Charon continued, as he won the game and the cards shot across the screen.  
"How long did it take for him to recover?" Charles said, but quickly realised it was a stupid question. Charon raised an eyebrow and laughed.  
"Cyrus only heals the ones who can put up a good fight. We just check the rest in the incinerator."  
"Are they dead first?"  
"I'll leave that one for you to figure out." Charon said slyly, and Charles shivered and moved over the sides, making a mental note not to upset Mars ever again.

Valley Windworks (Outside)

Xavier was still staring down at the Drifloons, as they circled around a small machine. They were all moving in rhythm, bobbing up and down like a merry-go-round, though there was one that seemed to be quite confused.  
"Can you tell why it is like that?" Xavier said to Turtwig.  
"Twig Tur Twig Tur Tur?" Turtwig replied.  
"No, it can't be that." Xavier replied, shaking his head. "I'll check on my PokeDex." But as he whipped out the green machine, there were footsteps, and both trainer and Pokemon turned.  
"Don't worry, it is only me." Sahara said, as Nutty rushed in front. The two looked out of breath, but less so than Mason, who staggered behind them, red in the face and clutching his side.  
"Hello…. there…. Xavier." He said, before collapsing onto his side, wheezing. Sahara rolled his eyes and looked down towards the Windworks.  
"We had to sneak up, I am pretty sure I saw Ursilla down there." She explained.  
"I believe I saw her enter quarter of an hour ago, but I am focusing on the Drifloons. Their behaviour is most peculiar." Xavier explained, staring at them with interest.  
"There isn't time to study the behaviour of some balloons!" Sahara snapped. "I didn't walk all the way back to Floaroma to get Mason, just so we can watch them! We need to get inside the Windworks and put a stop to whatever is going on."  
"I just find them more interesting." Xavier replied, and Sahara shrieked with rage, before clamping her hand over her mouth and diving into the grass.  
"Crap, they probably heard me!" She hissed.  
"It was rather loud." Xavier added. Mason had regained his breath and stood back up.  
"I can see some of the grunts looking up, but I don't think they'll investigate us." He said, smiling warmly.  
"But they'll be suspicious, and I don't want to get blasted by that stupid gun of Ursilla's."  
"Who is Ursilla?" Mason asked.  
"I'll explain later. I just need to think of a plan!" Sahara groaned, rolling onto her back.  
"Pach Pachi." Nutty said, patting Sahara on the shoulder. She smiled, but it quickly faded as frustration sunk in.  
"What did you and Vanessa do at Oreburgh Mine?" Xavier said thoughtfully, as he checked Drifloons details on his PokeDex. "Matthew and I were under the impression that you two did something that led to the mine collapsing. Could it work here?" Sahara sat upright, a weak smile forming on her face.  
"That is a great idea, but it is risky."  
"Pachirisu Pachi Pachi." Nutty said, and Sahara nodded.  
"Turtwig Tur Tur Twig?" Turtwig said, shocked.  
"Risu Risu." Nutty said quickly, as Sahara stood up, looking very determined. She whipped a PokeBall out and threw it behind her, so the red energy wouldn't be visible down below. Aqua formed, and stretched his body.  
"I need you to bring Eden out, and then knock her out as soon as the time is right." Sahara explained. The Floatzel looked a bit uncertain, but nodded.  
"Who is Eden?" Mason asked.  
"Matthew and Vanessa said that she goes crazy on certain occasions and thinks she's someone else." Xavier said, standing up. Sahara let out a growl.  
"I don't go crazy, they are real personalities." She explained. "But I don't have time to explain it now, I'll tell you about them later. Aqua, use Aqua Tail as soon as we reach the bottom of the hill, I don't want anyone getting hurt. Now let's go!" And Sahara started walking before anyone could stop her. Aqua and Nutty walked close behind, and Xavier, with the two backpacks, Turtwig and Mason crouched behind some trees. As they got further down, Xavier pulled out his other PokeBall and released Lapras.  
_We're crouching, that's a change. _She thought, as she quickly examined Mason. Sahara looked around for the voice, before shrugging and reaching the bottom of the hill. She spied behind the tree, and saw that there were about a dozen grunts spaced around the area, each holding a machine gun. Ursilla stood with two grunts in the middle of the Drifloons with Arbok and Linoone, and she was looking around, clearly expecting trouble. The grunts had begun to send Pokemon out while they climbed down the hill, and numerous Zubats filled the air as always, while Geodudes and Electrikes wandering around.  
"Ok, you two cover with Lapras, Lunatone and Solrock's Psychics, but only if Eden stuffs up, alright?" Sahara said.  
"Yep." Mason said, and he sent out Solrock and Lunatone, who joined Lapras and their eyes flashed pink as they communicated. Sahara grinned, and then nodded at Aqua.  
"Floa." He said, and swung his tails around, smashing Sahara in the back with a wave. She smashed into the tree behind her, and everyone watched as her eyes glowed a vivid blue. Mason stepped forwards, looking concerned, but the blue light disappeared, and Eden let out a demented laugh.  
"Be quiet!" Xavier said.  
"Ssssshhhhh!" Eden said, and then giggled hysterically.  
"Um…." Mason said, very confused by this. "Sahara had this plan, and, um…."  
"I know what _Sahara _wants." Eden said huffily. "I'll do it in a minute, but first, I want a little drinky." And she walked towards Xavier, stumbling slightly, and trying to grab her bag. There was the crack of a twig being stood on, and they turned to see a Galactic Grunt, pointing his machine gun towards them.  
"I don't want to have to shoot you, so just bring your Pokemon back and come with me." He said slowly. Eden turned around, and lost her balance and fell forwards. She burst out laughing, and the grunt stood backwards and pointed the gun towards her.  
"Get up!" He said. Eden looked up and him and continued to laugh.  
"You're really ugly." She said, smirking slightly. Then, a beam of blue electricity pulled the gun out of his hands. Eden used the beam to pull herself up, and she pulled the trigger and shot the grunt through the heart. As he slumped forwards and Mason gasped, Eden took a deep breath in and looked around. Her loss of balance and hysterical laughter disappeared as she grinned manically.  
"I smell more metal." She said with glee, and marched forwards.  
"She is going to get shot." Xavier said, and he ran after. Turtwig, Nutty and Aqua raced after, and Lapras moved along with her flippers. Mason looked petrified, and Lapras turned back towards him. She rolled her eyes and communicated to Lunatone and Solrock.  
"Solrock Sol." Solrock said, and followed. Lunatone moved towards Mason, and shuffled him out of the trees.  
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Mason huffed, and he ran onwards. As the group turned around the trees, Eden waved her hands and shot out more blue bolts. The grunts and Ursilla hadn't noticed their arrival, and were shocked as their guns were lifted into the air.  
"Eden!" Ursilla growled, as Arbok hissed and went to move forwards.  
"That's my name." Eden said, before a look of shock appeared on her face, and she bent down and vomited onto the grass.  
"What a bad smell." Xavier said. Eden coughed a bit, before standing up straight and wiping her mouth on her sleeve.  
"Now, Sahara wants me to her dirty work, but I am not sure how to do it." Eden said, as she stared around at the patrolling Pokemon, the shocked grunts, and the ever circling Drifloons.  
"Why don't you come over here and we can sort this out." Ursilla said, taking a step forwards. Eden let out a malicious cackle, and lifted the machine gun up.  
"Just because I'm drunk doesn't mean I'm stupid, ugly!" Eden said. She shut her eyes and sniffed the air. "I can sense something… different." She clicked her fingers, and Ursilla's energy gun zoomed towards her, and she caught it and opened her eyes.  
"Very classy." Eden said, and stroked the machine.  
"It is very dangerous." Xavier warned, as Lapras and Turtwig stood on either side.  
"That makes it even more fun." Eden grinned. Ursilla muttered to the grunts near her, and they grabbed the machine raced off, the Drifloons following after. Eden aimed the gun towards Ursilla, and grinned happily.  
"Let's all take a look at the lovely bang." And she pulled the trigger, and all hell broke loose.  
Unbeknownst to them, Lapras, Solrock and Lunatone had discussed using Psychic, and as soon as the orange energy was released, they released the wave of telekinetic energy, knocking the grunt Pokemon aside. Ursilla, Arbok and Linoone leapt out of the way, as a huge crater formed where they had been standing, dirt and grass sent flying into the sky. Eden threw the energy and machine guns aside, and Xavier caught the machine gun.  
"I am going in, one of you stay out here." Eden said, and she ran forwards, stumbling as always. Nutty and Aqua raced after her, and Mason looked at Xavier.  
"You have a gun, you stay here." He said, grinning nervously, and ran after Eden. Xavier looked at the gun, and then towards Lapras and Turtwig.  
"Tackle and Psychic." He said, and turned towards the grunts and pulled the trigger, causing several to dive out of the way.  
Eden reached the entrance, and she fired a blast of her magnetic energy to smash the doors, and tossed them behind her.  
"Float!" Aqua huffed, as one of them nearly hit him.  
"Sorry." Eden said, before stepping onto the white tiles, and raising her hands and firing more electricity. She shut her eyes and listened to the screams and smashing glass.  
"This is heaven."

Route 205

The circle of protestors had grown to nearly a hundred, and it was now impossible for anyone to get passed them. A group of trainers stood in the corner, several being interviewed about their opinions. Three diggers had been trying to reach the site, and now were being bombarded by people unable to join the giant circle. Matthew, Vanessa and Niles circled the area, shouting out words of encouragement, while trying to catch snippets of conversation. Matthew and Vanessa had their Wurmples with them, and Niles was holding a smiling Furret, who looked very happy about the proceedings. It was very tiresome, and all they were ending up with were bad earaches.  
"Wurmple Wurm Wurm!" Matthew's Wurmple huffed, as the sun blazed down on them.  
"I know Wurmple, I'm sorry." Matthew panted, as he took of his blue jumper. "I promise that this won't be for much longer. As soon as we see Vanessa and Niles again, I'll ask if we can stop." As Wurmple nodded in agreement, someone tapped Matthew on his free shoulder.  
"Did you say Niles?" Matthew turned around, and was surprised by the woman towering over him. She had waist length hair, but it looked cleaner than the protest leader, and was plaited nicely. Her dress was green with some white, and she had a friendly face, though looked older.  
"Oh yeah, do you know him?" Matthew asked.  
"If you are referring to the one with the curved scar," the woman said, "then he is over near the forest entrance, standing with a red headed girl. And I do know him; we have met on several environmental protests."  
"Thanks a lot." Matthew said with a grin. "I am Matthew, by the way."  
"Cheryl." The woman replied, and shook his hand, and she led him towards Niles. Matthew thought that she seemed very friendly, even though she was part of a protest fill of what his father referred to as "redneck hicks."  
"Cheryl, I thought I'd see you here." Niles said as they approached, and walked forwards and gave her a hug.  
"What are doing, making kids do your dirty work?" Cheryl joked after introducing herself to Vanessa and patting Furret.  
"I have reason to believe that some of the protestors will take things too far." Niles whispered, as some of the protestors were looking at them curiously.  
"You always think something is up." Cheryl said, smiling nervously. But she looked both ways, double checking no one was listening, before beckoning them all closer. "One of my friends said that she saw Redwood and some friends brining a large box in earlier on."  
"Who is Redwood?" Vanessa asked.  
"The guy with the megaphone." Niles explained, pointing towards the man with the too-long hair. "If it is a large box, it could contain explosives or a bomb, or a variety of weapons."  
"A bomb!" Matthew gasped, a little too loudly. More people began to stare at them, and Vanessa hit him on the head.  
"Proclaim it to the world why don't ya!" She snapped. Matthew raised his hands in apology, and Vanessa smiled before turning towards the crowd.  
"I vote on going in now." She said, and threw a PokeBall into the air. It burst open and Staraptor formed, still a bit weak from yesterday, but looked fine as she landed on Vanessa's arm. Her Wurmple smiled, and began climbing up his comrades talons.  
"Why are you going to do, just fly on in there and grab it?" Matthew said.  
"No, I can be the distraction." Vanessa said, and gave Staraptor a pat.  
"Wait, I haven't agreed!" Niles snapped, but Staraptor had taken off, Vanessa swinging bizarrely from her claws. Vanessa had her bag on one shoulder, and ruffled through the contents until she found a blue bottle. The crowd all looked up in shock, and Vanessa saw the television cameras turn towards her. The man, Redwood, stopped shouting from on top of a yellow digger, and turned as Vanessa landed on the roof next to him.  
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR PLAYING AT, GIRLIE?" He screamed through the megaphone. Vanessa merely stared at him, grinning broadly as Staraptor flew overhead.  
"Oh, you hair looks a bit dirty, so I thought you might appreciate this." She said, and raised the blue bottle. Redwood looked at the label, which said "Bubbly Berry-Scented Shampoo", and he let out a gasp as Vanessa squeezed it, spraying the clear liquid straight into his eyes. The man screamed, but was silenced as Vanessa kicked him between the legs, causing him to lose his balance and fall off the digger, much to the shock of the now silent, unmoving crowd.  
"I'd take it that's our distraction." Niles said, and he rushed forwards. Matthew sighed and followed after. Vanessa picked up the dropped megaphone and pressed a button on the handle. A horrible, screechy alarm began to sound, and the crowd all cried out in protest.  
"What a wonderful sound." Vanessa cried, and tossed the megaphone into the crowd. Everyone began to run, but people were going in different directions. Most of the crowd ran back in the direction of Floaroma or Eterna, trying to get out of the way and trampling trainers and reporters as they went. The more die hard crowd ran in to take up Redwood's place, but a fight broke out over who could take over. More builders and operators came out, looking for the source of the noise, and found themselves under attack by the protestors. Vanessa grinned gleefully, and ran over towards Matthew and Niles.  
"Where's Cheryl?" She asked.  
"Probably caught in the crowd. Nice distraction, by the way." Niles said.  
"So, are we going to find this bomb or not?" Matthew asked.  
"Keep your voice down!" Vanessa said again, and reached into her bag and pulled her umbrella up. Matthew hadn't seen its effects before, and was stunned when Vanessa turned the handle and a sword came out.  
"I'll keep quiet, but I don't think anyone will hear us in this noise." Matthew said.  
"Fur!" Furret cried, and they all turned as a yellow Solarbeam came towards them. Staraptor swooped down, knocking them all to the ground. The attack went over their heads, but hit a digger nearby. There was an explosion, and the shockwave and flying yellow metal sent them all flying, just as they heard several guns being loaded.

Valley Windworks

Mars, Charon and Charles had all jumped out of the way to avoid the blue beams, and they watched as one of the grunts was pulled into the slowly moving generator by his watch. Charles shut his eyes and covered his ears, but couldn't cover up the high pitched scream as the man was killed.  
"This is Eden, isn't it?" Mars whispered to Charon.  
"What do you think?" Charon snarled back, as he slowly got up. Charles raced over to the railings, and looked down at Eden, who walked into the middle of the room, surrounded by Nutty, Aqua, Mason and his team. There were grunts everywhere, some attached to computers, others lying injured from flying glass.  
"Sahara!" Charles gasped, and Eden looked up. Mars rushed forwards and pushed him out of the way.  
"Are you the leader of this establishment?" Eden asked, grinning slightly.  
"I am in charge of this operation." Mars said. "My name is-"  
"You sound stupid." Eden said, and snorted loudly. Mars went red in the face and looked highly embarrassed.  
"What are you doing here?" She shouted.  
"Stopping you, what are you doing here?" Eden said.  
"Our mission is top secret, and I shan't be sharing it with low-life scum such as you." Mars snarled. "And there is no chance that you can stop us. Team Galactic's army of grunts and Pokemon surpasses all of you and your friend's teams put together…" As Mars ranted, Eden pretended to nod, but a thin blue beam snaked its way out of her hands, and picked up a machine gun, lying abandoned by a grunt. It lifted into the air, and with the click of her fingers, a single bullet shot out. Mars gasped as the skimmed the top of her shoulder, but Mars was always one for dramatic effect, and collapsed into the fur of Purugly. There was a loud bleep, and Charon turned as his laptop lit up, a number of figures scrolling from bottom to top. The cables were all plugged in, and a light was flashing on top of the machines.  
"It is ready!" Charon exclaimed, and quickly tapped a code in, just as Purugly leapt off the metal stand and down towards Eden, Aqua and Nutty.  
Outside, Xavier, Turtwig and Lapras were facing the full might of Ursilla and the grunts. Lapras was fighting with all her strength, sending an onslaught of Psychic and Blizzard attacks, while Turtwig used Absorb to the best of his abilities, trying to take down the giant Onix and the surrounding Geodudes. Xavier was aimlessly firing the machine gun, feeling nothing as the bullets tore through the grunts surrounding him, killing them instantly or leaving them in extreme pain.  
"Why won't you just stop, you idiotic little brat!" Ursilla screamed, as Arbok and Linoone tried to get close, but kept getting hit by flying Electrikes and falling Zubats. There was a ringing sound from her pocket, and the woman pulled a pager out of her snake jacket. A single message was on it: THE SYSTEM IS UP, GET THEM GOING.  
"We have the orders, send the Drifloons up!" Ursilla yelled. The two grunts with the machine nodded, and one pressed a button on the boxy machine. A red light began to flash, and the Drifloons suddenly rose up. Than, in pairs, they went towards one of the wind turbines. The grunt pressed a different button, and now a blue light flashed. All except one of the Drifloons spread their thin legs out, sucked in air, and began to spun around, firing out ghostly looking wind.  
"Excellent!" Ursilla, and walked slowly forwards, admiring the spinning balloons, as the three points began to turn, slowly at first, but quickly turning into blurs. Then, Ursilla's foot hit something, and she looked down and saw her energy gun, having been discarded by Eden. Grinning even more broadly, Ursilla picked it up, and saw her capture device lying nearby as well.  
"Arbok and Linoone, Gunk Shot and Thunderbolt, quickly!" She yelled, as she aimed her energy gun and fired.  
"Lapras, stop them!" Xavier said, as he fired the gun again. But Lapras was trying to avoid a number of Rock Throws from the Geodudes, and gasped as the orange energy, yellow electricity and purple poison all came flying for them.  
Inside, Purugly and Aqua had collided, a wave of water shooting out over the grunts. The two Pokemon smashed into a table, crushing the computer and knocking a grunt aside. There was silence as everyone stood at them, and then there was a whirr as the generators began to move. Mars grinned and turned around, and Charles stared down as he saw the generators move much faster than they had earlier.  
"Ok then people, we have to stop them from breaking our machine for about an hour." Mars boomed. "So let's kill them!"  
"Eep." Mason gulped, but Eden raised her hands and fired more blue bolts.  
"Bring it on!" She yelled.  
"Gladly!" Roshonda hissed from nearby, and she threw out three PokeBalls. This was the key for everyone else to start, and PokeBalls began to fill the air, and other grunts lifted their guns up and fired.  
"Psychic!" Mason yelled to Lunatone and Solrock, who protected their trainer from several bullets while he sent out Nidoking and Golduck.  
"Squirrel, get up there and try and stop Madam Tight-Arse." Eden said.  
"Pach!" Nutty said, and quickly scampered away. Eden fired another round of bolts, stopping some bullets nearby, and then lifted a computer up and dropped it onto a grunt, the glass smashing as it landed on his skull.  
"Now, let's see who else Sahara has." Eden said, and lifted her bag onto her front.  
"Nido!" Eden turned, and was surprised to see a Nidoqueen standing over her.  
"What do you what?" Eden scoffed.  
"Nidoqueen!" The Nidoqueen screamed, and lifted a glowing fist. She punched, but released a blast of white energy from her fist before impact. Eden screamed as she was sent flying, and smashed into the staircase, just below Nutty.  
"Pachi?" Nutty said, hoping down a few stairs. Sahara's eyes glowed blue, as she shook slightly before gasping and looking around.  
"I guess Eden did her job." Sahara said, as she saw the carnage all around. Grunts were either firing guns, shouting orders or trying to do work on laptops and computers. Mason seemed to be the sole fighter, his four Pokemon firing numerous attacks to the Pokemon, while Aqua fought with Purugly.  
"I think we should head upstairs, get out of the way." Sahara said. "But first, let's give them some help." And she threw out a Poke and Great Ball. Smash and Virus formed slightly down the stairs, and looked up for instructions.  
"Battle the grunts Pokemon, listen to Mason for instructions. Oh, and get rid of that Purugly for Aqua." The two Pokemon let out their cries, before diving headfirst into the fight.  
"So, what exactly is going on?" Sahara said. Nutty sighed and began to fill her in.  
Up on the metal balcony, Charles was pulling out several of his PokeBalls when a bullet smashed into the floor. He jumped, and his head hit the desk that Charon was sitting at.  
"Please jump somewhere else next time." Charon sighed.  
"Sorry." Charles huffed, as he stood up and rubbed his head. He walked over towards the railings, and looked down into the fight below. Most of the grunts were running for cover, shouting orders at their Pokemon. Roshonda was twisting Mason's arm back, while Jerry and Josh punched him in the stomach. The two twins suddenly flew as Lunatone and Solrock tossed them aside, and there was an explosion as Virus and Aqua's attacks collided with those from Cradily and Beedrill. Mars was still lying down, watching the action from the corner of her eye, her hands clamped onto her whip and a small handgun.  
"Are you looking for Sahara?" Charon smirked, as he tapped out a word. Charles blushed as he turned around and nodded.  
"I am really worried for her. We only knew each for a short time, but we really bonded and she saved my life. Seeing her fire those blue beams scares me, and I want to know what it is about." He explained. Charon nodded, and then beckoned the teenager forwards. Slightly surprised, Charles walked forwards, and looked into Charon's eyes.  
"Sahara is an evil, evil little girl." He said, and Charles gasped. "She may come across as sweet, but if she was so caring, why didn't she save you several nights ago? Why did she attack us at Oreburgh Mine? Why did she blow up my truck yesterday, and send her friends after Roshonda? I can tell that you like her, but Charles, if you want to continue living with us, you are going to have to dispose of her."  
"Dispose…" Charles whispered. Suddenly, they heard footsteps behind them, and Charon shoved Charles aside and threw an Ultra Ball. It burst open and formed a Bronzong, and it turned and faced Nutty, who had climbed up the stairs seconds before Sahara.  
"Spark!" She commanded, as she stared in shock at the hostages.  
"Gyro Ball." Charon boomed. Glowing spheres formed on the tip of Bronzong's arching arms, and it spun around rapidly.  
"Pachi Pachi!" Nutty cried, and fired the Spark. It struck Bronzong in the middle, and it let out a metallic roar, before spinning rapidly around, smashing into the railing.  
"Now Nutty, use Bite on the handcuffs." Sahara said, pointing towards Looker and the others. Nutty rushed over, and repeatedly chomped down, freeing the five people.  
"Thank you Sahara." Looker said, smiling as she pulled out his three PokeBalls. "I am Looker, by the way."  
"I've heard of you." Sahara smiled. Looker rolled of his PokeBalls forwards, and Lickilicky burst out. He then threw the other two down into the battle, and Jolteon and Gallade quickly got caught up, firing attacks towards Jerry and Josh's Poliwrath and Politoed.  
"Thank you kind girl." The caretaker said.  
"We owe you our lives." The worker that was the father said with a smile. Looker went to send out a command, but Mars had leapt up during the commotion, and fired several bullets. The first missed, but the other two struck the other two workers. They smashed against the wall, blood dripping from their hearts, and the little girl screamed. Mars smirked, and raised the gun again.  
"Move, quickly!" Looker yelled, as Lickilicky rolled forwards, smashing into Bronzong, causing sparks and Charon to yell as they endangered his laptop.  
"Pachi!" Nutty cried, and ran forwards. Mars stared down, and raised the gun, but was bowled over by the Quick Attack.  
"Bitch!" She hissed, and fired the gun.  
"NUTTY!" Sahara screamed, and she ran forwards, unaware the bullet had missed. The balcony was swaying slightly, as three Pokemon and around five people were on it, and upsetting the unsupported middle. There was a burst of red light, and a Gligar formed.  
"Gli!" He cried, and went to hit Sahara with a Metal Claw, but missed due to Nutty being kicked by Mars. Sahara crawled to the ground, and her head collided with some feet.  
"Hello there." A familiar voice said. Sahara froze and slowly looked up. Charles smiled and bent down slightly, raising a friendly hand. Sahara clasped hold, allowing herself to be pulled up. She went to say hello, but Charles pulled her into an embrace and kissed her. A strange sensation of delight spread through her body, and Sahara kissed back, shutting her eyes and blocking out the fight, just enjoying his warm lips on hers. She felt them move, and then felt his breath on her neck. Charles wasn't sure about what he should do. He thought he had known Sahara, but Charon's words were stuck in his mind, and he wasn't sure what to do. Without even thinking, Charles decided to act  
"Do you seriously think I am going to save you, monster?" Sahara's happiness evaporated as Charles placed two hands on her shoulders, and then pushed her towards the railing, but the force of an explosion by Bronzong and Lickilciky's attacks caused the effect to be worse, and Charles knocked her over the side. Sahara let out a scream, even before she saw the grey blur of the generators, and felt the wind, felt herself being sucked into a black hole that would obliterate her…

Route 205

As the explosion cleared, Vanessa, Matthew and Niles looked up, and saw that a group of people, with Redwood in the centre, were surrounding them, along with a Sceptile.  
"Filth." The long haired man hissed, and lashed out, kicking Vanessa in the stomach. She winced slightly, but refused to show more pain.  
"That all you got?" She growled, as she swung her umbrella, the handle hitting his legs and knocking him over. As he sprawled to the ground, the two Wurmples and Furret, who had been sent flying by the blast, began to attack. Staraptor had been injured by the explosion, and Vanessa thought it be wise to bring her back.  
"Wurm!" The two bugs said, and fired a String Shot and Poison Sting each. The protestors yelled at the attacks, and several stumbled due to their feet being tied.  
"Scep!" The Sceptile snarled, and began to absorb in sunlight./  
"Furr!" Furret cried, and ran forwards, surrounded by white energy. The Double-Edge hit, and Sceptile was knocked backwards.  
"Let's get out of here, quick!" Niles yelled, as he picked up his confused ferret. Vanessa and Matthew grabbed the Wurmple that belonged to them, and they quickly began to run.  
"Stop them, I must have my revenge!" Redwood screamed. As the three ran, they noticed a number of builders, lying bleeding from stab wounds.  
"Help…" One tried saying, before the blood came over his lips, and he shut his eyes one final time.  
"So much for a peaceful protest." Vanessa said.  
"No time for wise cracks, let's find a safe place to hide and reconsider our options." Niles cried, as he ran between a digger and an excavator.  
"Why don't we go into the forest?" Matthew puffed.  
"Too obvious. Besides, they probably know every inch of it." Niles shouted. Vanessa froze as they passed another corpse, and grinned and pointed.  
"There's a building right there." She said, and pointed towards a single story, square structure.  
"Good idea." Matthew said. "They might look, but we can easily ambush them." The two rushed towards it, forgetting to alert Niles, who was running towards a company van. Clarisse stepped out from behind, and was shocked by his appearance.  
"Excuse me, what do you think you are doing?" She huffed. "I don't take kindly to strangers sniffing around my van."  
"So sorry." Niles said, and quickly pulled out his rangers badge: a gold, oval shaped badge, with a tree and the word SED (Sinnoh Environmental Department) Ranger printed. Clarisse looked flustered at her mistake, and forced one of her trademark smiles. Niles rolled his eyes and turned around, looking for Vanessa and Matthew, and cursed as he realised they had disappeared.  
Vanessa whipped out a green ball point pen. Matthew went to ask why she had, before gasping as she plunged it into the locked door, causing smoke to rise and a soft hissing sound.  
"Hey presto." She announced, and kicked the door, causing it to fly open.  
"Let's just get inside." Matthew said, and shoved her slightly. Vanessa rolled her eyes and moved forwards, trying to make out a good place to hide. The first room seemed to be a cross between a laundry and waiting area, with filthy overalls, pants, shirts and boots mixed in with armchairs and a coffee table.  
"Close the door and keep on moving." Vanessa snapped, and ran into the next room. This one was more open, and there were lots of cluttered dusks, along with a huge one in the middle. A map of Eterna Forest and the surrounding areas went the full length, and had scribbles and toy diggers on it.  
"This must be the worker's building!" Matthew gasped.  
"No shit Sherlock." Vanessa sighed, as she examined a whiteboard. She looked up, and saw a crack in the ceiling. "Wurmple, do you think you could get up there and looked around?"  
"Wurmple Urm." Vanessa's Wurmple said, nodding, and he fired a String Shot into the crack.  
"Wurm Wurm Pull." Matthew's Wurmple cried, and they all looked at her sad expression.  
"I guess you want to go up and help?" Matthew said warmly.  
"Wurm." His Wurmple replied.  
"Up you go then." And she fired a String Shot, and the two Wurmples climbed up. While Matthew cooed, Vanessa walked around the other side of the table. A large, steel box was there, with a heavy padlock keeping it shut.  
"Crap." She gasped. Matthew rushed around, and ducked as Vanessa swung her umbrella, the sword easily slicing the padlock off. She kicked the lid, and the two stared inside.  
"Oh god… it's the bomb!" Matthew gasped. It was currently a steel box, with an LED screen and wires poking out of the sides.  
"We have to leave, now." Vanessa said. "It looks badly constructed, and could easily-" But she was interrupted as five thousand volts was zapped through her. Several protestors had snuck in, and one had fired a stun gun. A second injected Vanessa with a mild anaesthetic , and the third fired a second gun at Matthew, who screamed in pain as he was zapped. As he slumped forwards, Vanessa's eyes rolled back into her head, and she was dead to the world.

Valley Windworks

Sahara's deadly scream filled the entire building, and nearly everyone turned towards her. Mason's vision was blurry and his lips bleeding, but Lunatone and Solrock could see what was happening.  
"Luna/Sol!" They cried, and their eyes flashed pink. Sahara froze, suspended in mid air only a few feet above the generator. The Psychic attack prevented her from being sucked in, and the two Meteorite Pokemon moved her towards a maintenance platform several feet away.  
"ONNNNNNNNNN!" Smash roared, and angrily thrashed his tail, sending Purugly flying. Virus and Aqua were equally enraged, and combined a Charge Beam and Water Gun to knock Cradily across the room.  
"Cradil!" She yelled, and fired a Spit Up. The white energy smashed into the roof, demolishing a light and sending some plaster down.  
"Look's like your little bitch has been narrowly saved." Roshonda hissed, and smashed Mason's face onto a desk. Up on the balcony, Looker and Charles were both staring down, watching Sahara, who lay on the cold steel below.  
"Go and kill her!" Mars roared to the grunt who had helped Charon. He nodded and ran off.  
"Now, it is time for us to get rid of the pesky little International Policeman." Mars growled. Charles moved over towards her, and Gligar and Bronzong stood together, while Lickilicky limped back to Looker.  
"What are you going to do to me?" Looker asked. "Hit me with your whip?"  
"I only save my precious for special people." Mars snapped. "But I liked the boys idea of utilizing the generator. Why don't you do the same thing to him?"  
"I don't really want to kiss him." Charles smirked, and Mars and Charon laughed. "Gligar, go and block him from using the stairs."  
"Gli!" Gligar said, and leapt up and began to glide over the battle below, narrowly missing a Water Gun from Aqua. Just as Gligar reached the other side, Looker smirked and opened his mouth.  
"MUDDY WATER!"  
"NOOO!" Charon screamed, but it was too late. There was the sound of crashing waves, and they all watched as a wave of brown water smashed through the wall behind Looker. Half of it caved in, and grunts and Pokemon alike ran for cover. It cascaded down, forcing Gligar to smash into the floor below, and Purugly hissed and ran towards a table. Smash fell backwards, and the point of his head smashed through the other wall.  
"Lickilicky, jump!" Looker said, and leapt over the side of the railing.  
"Licki!" Lickilicky said, and slapped them all with his tongue before following his trainer, and the two landed softly on the dying water near Gallade and Jolteon.  
"Bastard!" Mars screeched. "Boy, get down there!" She snapped at Charles, and smashed her whip near his feet.  
"I'm going, I'm going!" Charles retorted, and he quickly raced off down the stairs.  
The Muddy Water was now beginning to flood outside, and Ursilla hissed as it soaked her boots.  
"Don't let it touch the machine!" She shouted, as she began to walk over towards Xavier, Turtwig and Lapras. Arbok had Lapras held tightly in a wrap, and Linoone was squashing Turtwig. Xavier had been stripped of his gun, and two grunts were holding him, but he wasn't fighting them.  
"Are you going to kill me now?" Xavier asked.  
"What do you think, sweet cheeks?" Ursilla sneered, and she unhooked both of her guns. "But first, I believe Cyrus would enjoy the use of such a powerful Lapras, and the Turtwig can be forced to evolve." Turtwig began to squirm, and Linoone raised a claw.  
"Li No Oone!" He snarled, and pushed Turtwig's face into the now muddy grass.  
"I think I'll start with the golden oldie." Ursilla said, pointing her capture gun at Lapras. "She has caused our side a lot of hardship."  
"But she is my Pokemon, you can't take her." Xavier said.  
"No one wants me to take their Pokemon, but it doesn't stop me." Ursilla said, grinning widely, and she began to point the gun.  
High above them, the Drifloon were continuing to spin around, firing the Ominous Winds to the wind turbines. Only one Drifloon, the same one who had trouble staying still, wasn't participating. She was worried about her friends: they all seemed to be under a trance.  
"Drif…. Floooooon! Drif Drif…. Drifloon Floo!" She cried, as she propelled herself around the wind turbines, making sure not to get to close. But no one noticed her. Instead, Drifloon turned her attention towards the strange machine they had been near earlier. Drifloon could sense something was coming out of it, but for some reason, she wasn't being affected. With newborn determination, Drifloon swooped down towards it. Everyone's attention seemed to be towards a group near the valley entrance, so Drifloon wasn't disturbed as she approached the black box. A man with green hair stood nearby, but he was eagerly looked at the crowd, and was shocked as Drifloon dived down.  
"FLOOOOON!" She cried, astonishing the grunt. He screamed and fainted in surprise. Unfortunately, the cry had alerted all the people in the surrounding area. Ursilla had just pulled the trigger on her gun, and a pink bubble was beginning to enclose Lapras.  
"Don't touch that machine!" Ursilla screamed.  
_You really should pay attention to what your doing. You never now what could happen within a few seconds. _Ursilla turned back around, and watched in shock as Lapras blasted through the half pink bubble, and then sent Linoone flying off of Turtwig. The grunts all drew guns, but the leaves on Turtwig's head spun around, and a Razor Leaf was unleashed. The guns were sliced, and Lapras then knocked them backwards.  
"I told you not to take my Pokemon." Xavier said.  
"Up yours!" Ursilla snapped, and she stroked her hair. But before the snake could come alive, there was a snapping sound. Everyone looked over, and saw Drifloon constricting the machine, crunching it up into bits.  
"NO!" Ursilla screamed, but the damage was done. The Drifloons high above were waking up, and they were beginning to stop performing Ominous Wind. Ursilla screamed, which matched with the hissing coming from her hair.  
"KILL THEM!" She screamed, and fired her energy gun. Lapras knocked Xavier aside, and then picked Ursilla up and tossed her across the field.  
"Ar Bok Ar!" Arbok hissed, and leapt towards Turtwig.  
"Razor Leaf, quickly!" Xavier commanded, and he pickled up one of the discarded guns. "Lapras use Blizzard on the Pokemon, and then get the Drifloon to help us." Both Pokemon nodded, and quickly fired their attacks. Arbok was bombarded with leaves, and was pushed right into the line of Lapras' Blizzard. She screamed and collapsed, and the rest of the Blizzard struck all the others. Several froze, while others fainted and landed in the grass.  
"Turtwig Tur!" Turtwig said happily, and fired more Razor Leafs at the giant Onix, causing it to collapse.  
"Good work both of you." Xavier said. Turtwig and Lapras nodded, and Turtwig suddenly glowed white. His body began to grow to about three times his size, and he doubled in height. His tail elongated, stuff began to grow on his back, and his feet and legs became thicker. The white light died down, revealing a green, yellow and brown Grotle.  
"Gro Till, Gro." He said.  
"Congratulations." Xavier said. The sun suddenly disappeared from their faces, and Xavier looked up and saw that all the Drifloons had gathered.  
"Dri Floon Drif." The Drifloon who had destroyed the machine said.  
_They want to help. _Lapras said. _Some grunts took a machine to the field, and put them under a trance. The one hear was to continue it and make it more powerful. Now it is broken, they can assist us.  
_"If you would like to assist, then please use Ominous Wind on everyone else in the area." Xavier said. The Drifloons weren't fazed by this, and they all turned to face Ursilla, her Pokemon and the grunts  
"Dri...." The head Drifloon said, and they all moved so their legs faced the grunts. "Flo…" They spread their legs. "FLOON!" The Drifloons all sucked in air, and then fired out the Ominous Winds. The combined use of the whole pack smashed all the remaining windows on the Valley Windworks, and picked up all others humans and Pokemon, and sent them flying into and through the wall.  
"Good work." Xavier said approvingly, and all the Drifloons nodded.  
Inside, it was complete mayhem. The area was still flooded, and Roshonda had sent her Sharpedo out. Smash had been knocked out, and had crushed many desks as he fell. Mars had added to the chaos her Tentacruel and Drapion, and they were having furious battles against Nutty, Aqua and Virus. Nidoking and Nidoqueen were having a gigantic brawl, and Lunatone and Solrock were trying to protect Mason, while Cradily and Beedrill battled with Golduck. Charles was searching for Gligar through the muck, but had sent Elle out, who was firing attacks at Nutty from behind. Charon was desperately tapping at his laptop, trying to work out why the power was shutting down, and Mars smashed her whip angrily against the metal.  
In between the two, Sahara was stirring, rubbing her aching head, when she realised someone was standing over her.  
"Get up, you filth!" The grunt said, pointing a machine gun. Sahara groaned and struggled to her feet.  
"You know what?" Sahara said. The grunt was taken aback by this, and stood back a bit.  
"What?"  
"I really don't have time for this shit." She said, and kicked her between the legs. The grunt gasped and collapsed, and Sahara rushed up the metal stairs he had climbed down. Suddenly, there was an explosion, and she looked in time to see Smash's giant body fly towards her, having being blasted by an explosion. Sahara screamed and tried to run, but the giant rock snake hit her, sending her crashing into some loose electrical wires. The sparks shot through her body, causing her eyes to turn body. Sahara's body shook violently, before she collapsed onto the ground. As her hands hit the ground, pink energy was emitted, and Smash was lifted off the ground, before landing with a sickening crash. Crystal looked upwards, her eyes flickering pink and a malicious look on her face.  
"Time for fun."

Route 205 (Inside the workers hut)

Matthew let out a soft groan as his eyes flickered open. His vision was blurry and there was a sharp pain in his chest where the stun gun had hit. He tried to move, but something him back.  
"Morning Sleeping Beauty." Matthew looked around, and was surprised to see Vanessa was right by his side, her left and his right arm tied together.  
"Wh-wh-what's happening?" Matthew said, as he fought against the ropes.  
"They've tied us to their bomb." Vanessa explained. Matthew looked around, and was horrified to see that they were indeed tied to the metal box. The lid was open, and the bomb had been activated: the screen informed him that only six and a bit minutes remained. Matthew fidgeted more, but there were ropes tied around his chest, and he felt a sharp pain when he tried to move.  
"But… but…. Where's Niles? Where are our Wurmples? Where's Cheryl, why is nobody trying to-"  
"Oh will you just shut your bloody trap!" Vanessa growled, and head butted Matthew with her mushroom hat. "The hippies are guarding the outsides, so I don't think Niles can get in, unless he has special weapons or anything. Our Wurmples are still up in the roof, and I tried calling for them, but they must not be able to hear me."  
"What about our other Pokemon, can you reach your PokeBalls?" Matthew asked, and Vanessa let out a hissing sound.  
"Of course I have bloody well tried, but my arm is stuck due to this ropes." And she demonstrated by twitching her left arm, and her fingers barely went past the rope.  
"Your umbrella?"  
"On the table only a few feet away, along with our bags." Vanessa said sadly. Matthew sighed, and the two leaned against the cold steel, waiting for their time to be up. There was an awkward silence, broken only by Matthew's sighs and sobs.  
"Oh, I can't take this." Vanessa said. "I need to do something, I can't just sit here." And she turned to look at Matthew. He looked at her, and she leant forwards and planted her lips on his. Matthew's eyes bulged in shock, but he didn't part, and he savoured the moment: he had thought Vanessa to be pretty, but hadn't acted on it. But now that she seemed to feel the same way, he could leave the world happy. Matthew tried not to think too far ahead, and just let himself enjoy this wonderful feeling.  
"Grab my hand." Vanessa whispered seductively. Matthew was surprised, but figured that if he wanted to keep kissing, he should do what she says, and he moved his hand and grabbed hers.  
"Pull." Vanessa said. Matthew obliged, and gave her hand a soft tug. Vanessa broke apart, grinning broadly.  
"Cheers." She said, and reached into her pockets. Matthew gasped at the betrayal, but was more surprised when Monferno formed.  
"I didn't know your Chimchar had evolved." Matthew said.  
"I don't tell you a lot of things. Now Monferno, grab his Piplup's PokeBall." Vanessa commanded. Monferno nodded, and raced over and reached into the blue bag, and pulled out a PokeBall. He passed it to Matthew, he pressed the button, allowing Piplup to form.  
"Pip Pip." Piplup smiled.  
"Ferno." Monferno replied.  
"Piplup, use Peck." Matthew said. Piplup faced towards the ropes, and her beak glowed white and slightly grew. Then, she slashed the ropes with it, causing the ones around their waists to tear. She repeated this, this time freeing their arms.  
"You guys go out and make sure it is safe to go, I'll look for our Wurmples." Vanessa said, racing over and grabbing her bag and umbrella.  
"Vanessa, we only have two minutes and forty seconds left, I don't think there'll be time." Matthew said, as he pointed at the bomb.  
"So you are happy to let one of your Pokemon die?" Vanessa said, a look of utmost rage upon her face.  
"Of course not, but I think that it would be safer for us to get out, and then we can come back-" Matthew never finished his sentence, as Vanessa strutted forwards and punched him in the mouth. Matthew stumbled backwards and spat blood onto the ground.  
"What the hell was that for?" He yelled. Vanessa went to hit him again, but the whole building shook as a white van smashed through the back wall. The door slid open, and Niles and Clarisse climbed out.  
"Get in, now!" Niles yelled, and ran forwards to help them. Matthew picked up Piplup and jumped in, and Monferno looked at his trainer.  
"Monferno Mon No Fer Mon." He said, and ran to her, and extended one of his human-like hands. A tear began to stream down Vanessa's face, and she reluctantly extended her own. Monferno pulled her forwards, and Niles helped her run.  
"WURMPLE!" Vanessa screamed, looking back at the building. But she was bundled into the van, followed by Niles and Monferno, just as Redwood and Sceptile appeared around the corner.  
"Flaw it!" Clarisse yelled to her cameraman, who reversed them backwards as quickly as possible. Tears were now streaming down Vanessa's face, and Matthew went to pat her to comfort her, but was batted away.  
Then the building exploded.  
The bomb was more powerful than expected, and all of the wood was disintegrated. The top of the roof remained intact, while the rest of the tiles were blasted into the sky. Several protestors, including Redwood, were struck by the shockwave, and one of the remaining diggers was blown up.  
"It's a good thing all the workers fled with the protestors." Niles said.  
"Stop the car!" Vanessa yelled. The cameraman was surprised, but braked anyway. Vanessa opened up the door, and leapt out and ran towards the flaming ruins.  
"Wurmple, Wurmple, where are you?" She yelled, kicking roof tiles and flaming wood aside. "WURMPLE!"  
"Vanessa, stop yelling!" Matthew said, as he and Monferno ran up behind. "I know it isn't nice to hear, but

maybe-"  
"Ssh." Vanessa said, holding her umbrella up. They fell silent, so only the sounds of injured protestors and the crackle of flames sounded. Matthew was getting hot, and wanted to move from the flames, but then he heard it.  
"Coon." Vanessa began to walk forwards, listening for the sound. There was another "coon", followed by a softer one. Vanessa excitedly ran forwards, and Matthew put Piplup down so she could use Bubble. The fire began to die down, and Vanessa was able to push more stuff aside. She approached towards the entrance, and the very front hadn't been as damaged, with only a few flaming clothes.  
"Coon!" Vanessa looked at a pile of dirty overalls, and she shuffled them asides. There, nestled at the bottom, where a Cascoon and a Silcoon.  
"Cascoon Cas!" Cascoon said, and smiled at Vanessa, while Silcoon looked over at Matthew.  
"Your alive!" Vanessa yelled, and pulled Cascoon into a hug.  
"Coon." He said, and Monferno moved forwards and hugged them as well. Matthew bent down and picked Silcoon up, before wrapping his arms around her as well. Niles walked over and patted Matthew on the back.  
"I presumed they evolved to save themselves." Niles said. "Silcoon and Cascoon can only learn Harden, which increases their defence."  
"Awesome." Matthew smiled, as he pulled out his PokeDex. Piplup jumped up and hugged Silcoon, and the two began to gossip to each other. "Aren't you so happy they evolved Vanessa?" Vanessa stood up and turned around, eyeing Matthew with pure fury.  
"Don't talk to me you bastard." She hissed. "You were willing to let them die, just to save your own arse. I am happy the two evolved, but I don't give a crap about your happiness." Matthew went to step forwards, but Monferno moved first, and the flame on his tail grew in size.  
"Come on, let's leave." Vanessa said, and she turned and walked off through the ruins, Cascoon in her hands and Monferno following behind.  
"Hypocrite." Matthew mumbled, as he looked down at his Pokemon. Silcoon looked a bit upset, and Matthew stifled a sigh as he held her softly.  
"I had better comfort her." Matthew said, and Niles nodded and pointed towards some shady trees. As the two began to walk over there, they didn't notice Clarisse or her cameraman filming them.  
"Did you get it, all of it?" Clarisse said excitedly.  
"Yeah, so what?" The cameraman grunted. Clarisse stood up from behind the digger they had hidden behind, checking neither Matthew or Niles was watching.  
"We have just caught on tape a Dex Holder." She said. "You may not understand, but this is going to change our world." The cameraman raised an eyebrow, clearly not knowing what she was on about. But Clarisse merely giggled in an obnoxious fashion, as she turned and headed towards the van.

Valley Windworks

Team Galactic's presence in the Valley Windworks now seemed futile, as no power was being brought in. As the Drifloons had fallen, the wind blowing through the valley was not enough to get the energy required. Charon angrily closed his laptop, furious at the 23% energy they had received. He looked over the railings, looking for Mars, and found her battling furiously with Mason. Mars, Ursilla, Roshonda and Charles had Looker, Mason and all of their Pokemon and Sahara's Pokemon cornered. Nidoqueen and Linoone had fallen, but Ursilla had added her Huntail, and he and Sharpedo battled against Lunatone and Solrock. Nidoking and Nidoqueen continued their punch up, while Virus, Aqua, Nutty, Lickilicky, Gallade, Jolteon and Golduck attempted to bring down Elle, Purugly, Tentacruel, Drapion, Arbok, Beedrill and Cradily. The other grunts stood back, watching the drama unfold.  
"PACHI!" Nutty cried, and fired a devastating Spark at Tentacruel.  
"Tent." The jellyfish said, before keeling over and landing on Cradily.  
"You people aren't going to win with so many Pokemon out." Mason yelled, as he dodged a diving Beedrill.  
"The attractive nerd is correct." Mars pondered, as she carelessly swung her whip.  
"What do you suggest on us doing then, Mason?" Charles snapped. Mason recognised the voice and turned.  
"Charles! I didn't recognise you in that hideous outfit. What are you doing on their side?" Mason asked. Charles smirked and looked down at Elle.  
"Shadow Ball, quickly." He said. Elle went to fire, but she froze.  
"Eva Eve Eevee." She said, and stepped backwards. Charles' eyes bulged as he stared down at her.  
"I told you to fight." He growled. Elle shook her head, and ran backwards. Charles scowled and ran through the water.  
"If he is out, then I'd better step up my game." Ursilla said, and unhooked her capture gun. She aimed it towards Virus, who had his back turned. Mason screamed out a warning, but Nidoqueen had just thrown Nidoking, and he had to dodge. The pink fluid began to enclose Virus, and he screamed in pain. Mars and Roshonda brought all but one (Purugly and Beedrill) back, and took a steep backwards. Huntail and Arbok circled around, preventing Nutty, Aqua or any of Mason's from helping. No one noticed as Crystal walked down another staircase, brining Smash back and throwing the Great Ball into Sahara's bag.  
"Now what's going on here." Crystal said, smirking. She walked slowly forwards, swirling the water around with her hands. As she got closer, she heard the cries of pain. Crystal moved quicker, and could see that the pink bubble had fully enclosed Virus. He was screaming and roaring, trying to break the bubble. Ursilla grinned, and she pulled the trigger again. Virus screamed a violent roar, before turning into energy and being sucked inside the gun.  
"Finally, I have one of those little runts Pokemon." Ursilla said, holding her gun up with glee. Blue energy was flowing through a container near the trigger, and Mars and Roshonda clapped.  
"BITCH!" Crystal screamed. Everyone looked towards her, and Mars grinned cheerfully at her presence.  
"Oh Crystal, I have been dying to meet-"  
"Shut it!" Crystal screamed, and she waved her hands. A fist of water formed, and it slammed straight into Mars' stomach, sending her flying backwards. Crystal waved both her hands in a circle, and everyone except Ursilla was sent flying backwards.  
"Now now, there's no need to get violent." Ursilla said.  
"I am not getting violent, I am just getting revenge." Crystal said, and her eyes began to glow pink.  
"Float Zel Zel." Aqua said. Crystal looked over and saw the terrified looks on Nutty and Aqua's faces.  
"We wouldn't want to upset your Pokemon, now would we, tart?" Ursilla screamed.  
"SHUT UP!" Crystal roared, and she stuck her hand out. Ursilla flew backwards, and crashed into the staircase.  
"Arbok, Huntail, return." She said, and quickly summoned back her Pokemon. Crystal took the time to bring back Nutty and Aqua, and Mason brought back his team as he crept along the side. Jerry and Josh seemed to think that now was a good time to attack Crystal, and they ran forwards. Crystal looked at them and clicked her fingers. There was a snapping noise as both boys necks were broken, and the two crumbled to the ground. A female grunt screamed, and they all began to race up the stairs behind Mars and Ursilla, with Roshonda and Beedrill leading the pack.  
"Don't run from me, come back down here and fight!" Crystal screamed. But everyone was ignoring her, and Crystal couldn't take it. She waved her hands around again, and the water began to rise up as a giant column, heading towards the grunts.  
"Air Cutter!" Roshonda screamed high above. Crystal tried to keep the column steady, but Beedrill's Air Cutter sliced through it, causing it to collapse. Crystal moved her hands, and the water flowed to the sides. There was a whirring sound that had been added to the mix, and Crystal released a wave of energy to blast through most of the roof. It seemed Team Galactic had gone up the fire escape, and were fleeing the scene on their helicopters.  
"FIGHT ME YOU COWARDS, FIGHT ME!" Crystal screamed. Up in the main helicopter, Charles sat at the open door, staring through the hole down at Crystal, still thinking she was Sahara. He felt sorry for her, especially as Ursilla had just taken her Electivire. But her violent and strange powers only highlighted what Charon had said earlier. He felt someone elbowed him, and Charles had to move as Ursilla appeared, holding a giant rocket launcher. The helicopter was beginning to take off, but Ursilla had one last thing she wanted to do.  
"Are you going to blow her up?" Charles said, sounding shocked.  
"I'm going to blow the building up." Ursilla said, smirking. "If she gets hit by it, then so be it." And she pulled the trigger. The rocket shot out, and the energy it made knocked Charles backwards. The tiny pointed black missile moved expertly through the hole, and headed straight for Crystal.  
"Oh fu-" She said, as the missile hit her in the stomach. Ursilla slammed the helicopter door closed as it exploded, setting off a chain reaction with all the machinery and electrical equipment inside. A fist of flames burst through the roof, narrowly hitting one of the other helicopters.  
"Onward to headquarters." Mars yelled from nearby. Charles stared out of the window one last time, and felt sad as he watched the roof and back wall collapse, as he realised he had lost his first friend from Sinnoh.

Route 205

Matthew and Niles stood at the entrance to the forest, Niles' Tropius standing by him, and Piplup and Beautifly in Matthew's arms. Nearby, a number of police cars and ambulances stood with their lights blinking, while their owners arrested and cared for the protestors.  
"It was a miracle that no innocent person got injured." Niles smiled, and Matthew nodded.  
"I have to go now and report to my boss. Thank you for your help, and I hope we are able to meet again." Niles said with a smile.  
"Thanks for getting us out of the building." Matthew laughed. Niles smiled and climbed onto Tropius.  
"Until next time, goodbye." Niles said, and patted Tropius on the side.  
"Trop!" Tropius cried, and flapped his giant leaf wings and began to take off.  
"Pip!"  
"Sil!" Matthew's Pokemon said, and they watched as Tropius and Niles took off over the Eterna Forest trees. Matthew saw something orange out of the corner of his eye, but as he looked around, Vanessa had already walked off into the trees. Matthew wanted to go after her and try apologising, but he was still rather sour about how she had tricked him back when they were tied up, and decided to just forget about her.  
"Come on guys, let's go into the forest." Matthew said, and Piplup and Silcoon agreed. But before he could walk, someone tapped him on the shoulder.  
"Hello again." Cheryl said, smiling.  
"Oh hi." Matthew said as he turned around. "I thought you left with the other protestors."  
"I did, but the forest is pretty dark, and I heard it is best to go with a friend." Cheryl said.  
"You want to travel with me then, I presume?" Matthew asked, and Cheryl nodded.  
"I know I sound silly, but there is a Pokemon Contest in Eterna City in a few days, and I wouldn't want to miss out." She explained. "I can also heal your Pokemon if they get hurt."  
"I am sure that'll be alright." Matthew grinned, and the two began to walk into the trees. Matthew decided it would be best not to tell her he was entering as well until they had made it through the forest, which already looked very frightening.

Valley Windworks

Xavier, Grotle, Lapras and the Drifloons watched as the power plant fell to the ground. What had been the main power source of Sinnoh only a few hours ago, now lay as a pile of rubble, which was already falling into the water. They had ignored the black helicopters, deciding it would be too risky to try and take on all of Galactic.  
"I wonder when someone will clean this up." Xavier said.  
_Shouldn't you be worrying about your friend? _Lapras asked.  
"I am sure Sahara will be alright." Xavier replied. "Look, I can see Mason coming out already." Over near where the entrance had been, Mason and Looker were crawling out, with Gallade walking behind, bashing rubble aside.  
"Thank you for using Protect." Mason said to Gallade.  
"Ade." He replied.  
"I have to get back to my headquarters and report this. Hopefully they can track the helicopters to their hideout." Looker said, and he brought Gallade back and began to walk quickly. He nodded to Xavier as he passed.  
"Where is Sahara?" Xavier said to Mason. A tear began to form in his eye, and he shook his head.  
"Dead." He whispered, and began to move toward Floaroma. Grotle gasped, but Xavier merely looked over at the Windworks.  
"Oh well." He said after a few moments, before looking at the Drifloons, who were beginning to head back towards their field. Xavier tapped the one nearest to him. She dropped all her berries and zoomed forwards, hitting one of the wind turbines. The other Drifloons giggled, leaving her behind.  
"I was wondering if I could catch you." Xavier said, holding out a PokeBall. Drifloon rubbed her head with one of her legs, and stared at Lapras and Grotle, and then up at her friends. They always teased her, and never made her feel welcome. Several looked back at Xavier's comment, but tears filled Drifloon's eyes as they all floated away.  
"Floon Drif." She said.  
"Very good. Grotle, Razor Leaf." Xavier commanded.  
"Grot Grotle." Grotle said, and fired a number of leaves. Drifloon accepted the attack, and was blasted back into the wind turbine.  
"Lapras, use Blizzard."  
_Very well. _She replied, and fired the powerful snowstorm. Drifloon let out a soft cry, before the attack caused her to freeze and fall to the ground. Xavier threw a PokeBall, and Drifloon turned into red energy and was sucked inside. The PokeBall landed on the muddy grass, and shook several times before flashing, signalling the capture.  
"Excellent." Xavier said, as the PokeBall flew to his hand and he began walking. "Now, we shall begin our quest towards Eterna City. I do not know where Matthew and Vanessa have gotten to, but I believe they'd be interested to know of Sahara's death."  
"Who said she's dead?" A voice boomed, and there was a blast of purple energy, sending lots of the rubble soaring into the sky. Xavier, Grotle and Lapras turned around as Crystal stood up, Sahara's white coat in tatters and a slight graze, but otherwise no injuries.  
"Oh, hello Sahara. Mason said you had died." Xavier said. Crystal laughed, as she began to walk towards them.  
"I'm obviously not dead, and I'm not Sahara. The name's Crystal." Crystal said.  
_Looks like someone's been doing a bit of experimentation. _Lapras smirked.  
"You look like Sahara though." Xavier said, thinking. "Are you by any chance a multiple personality? I read an article in the paper about it once." Crystal shrugged as she got even closer.  
"Something like that." She said. Grotle and Lapras stared at her and she walked up to Xavier, put her arms around his neck and jumped, wrapping her legs around his hips. "Your quite the cutie, aren't you? I'm surprised Sahara hasn't pounced you already." And Crystal leant forwards, opening her mouth wide and licking the side of Xavier's neck. She then began to move her tongue onto his cheek, and began to move towards his lips.  
"Please stop Crystal, you are acting very strange." Xavier said. Crystal froze and leant backwards.  
"Excuse me?" She snarled, and slapped Xavier before jumping off. He stumbled slightly due to the force of the slap, but barely recovered before Crystal blasted him backwards. Xavier landed face-first into the mud, nearly hitting the path.  
"No one turns me down." Crystal boomed.  
_Oh put a cork in it. _Lapras said, and her eyes flashed pink. Crystal was sent flying, her back smashing into a wind turbine ten metres away.  
"Grotle, Grot Gro." Grotle said, using his larger jaw to pull Xavier by his collar. He stood up and looked over at Crystal, whose eyes were alight with pink.  
"Let's leave her to calm down." He said, and headed towards the wooden bridge. Lapras gave Crystal one last look, before sliding through the mud. Crystal looked over towards them, before letting out a gasp and transitioning back to Sahara. She rubbed her head, before looking around her. It was eerily quiet, and the site of the ruined power plant seemed a bit spooky.  
"What the hell happened in there." She said, and pulled her Poke and Great Balls and PokeDex. She held each ball up to the PokeDex, and saw that Smash had fainted. Nutty and Aqua seemed fine, but nothing happened when Virus' Great Ball passed by. Sahara raised an eyebrow, and tried again. Still nothing. Now getting very worried, she pressed the button, and pointed the Great Ball towards the grass. Nothing. Sahara grabbed Nutty's PokeBall and threw it. The white squirrel formed, and looked sadly up at Sahara.  
"Nutty, what happened, where's Virus?" Sahara said. Nutty looked down at the grass. "Tell me! Was he killed, or kidnapped, or…" Sahara froze as Nutty nodded at the mention of kidnap. Sahara collapsed to her knees, her eyes wide in shock. "No…. no…. no…" And she fell fully to the ground, instantly crying and wailing. Nutty patted her on the head, but she knew that there was no comforting a loss like this.

Galactic Headquarters- Pokemon Storage Facility

It was only a few hours after Mars' helicopter had touched down, but it was only now that Cyrus had called a meeting over the mission. Cyrus, Mars, Charon, Ursilla, Charles and Roshonda sat at a long table inside the bright room. The plain white room had racks of all the Pokemon used by the grunts, along with special Pokemon stored inside giant glass capsules, fill of a clear liquid. Virus was in one, with a Dewgong and shiny Swellow on either side.  
"What exactly went wrong, tell me now?" Cyrus said. Mars had her whip in her hand, and was looking very nervous.  
"It was Madam Multi-Mind and her hot scientist friend." She said.  
"Not to mention the android." Ursilla added.  
"Sahara, Xavier and Rowan's assistant, I presume?" Cyrus said, and Charles nodded. "Very well then. I was hoping you were all trained enough to be able to defeat them, but obviously not." Cyrus said and leant back in his chair. "Here is what is going to happen. Ursilla, once you have replenished your supplies, I want you to head towards Eterna Forest. Our friends are bound to be heading for the Eterna Gym. Mars, I want you to spend more time training up your team, along with Saturn, Jupiter and Charon's Pokemon. Charon, you need to work on getting us more energy. Charles and Roshonda, you to go into training as well. I'll have another assignment for you in a few days." Everyone nodded, and there was the sound of scraping chairs as everyone stood up. Cyrus watched as everyone headed towards the double doors at the end. As Roshonda passed through and the doors swung shut, Cyrus pressed a button underneath the table. The table and chairs slid backwards, taking part of the floor with it, and revealing a giant black space. A giant glass tank began to move upwards, filling in all of the space. Nothing was inside the tank except for a Castform, which had about thirty different wires and pipes attached to him. These lead to a number of tanks and machines on the outside of the glass. On Cyrus' side, there was a small control panel about the size of a laptop. There was only a red dial, the numbers 0 to 9, and a bar like on a calculator along the top. Cyrus turned the red dial, and the bar at the top flashed yellow, before dying back down again.  
"Just a little bit more my old friend, just a little bit more." Cyrus said, and he pressed down on the red dial. He watched as the tank slid back down the hole, and the table slid back. Once it was completed, Cyrus slowly began to make his way out of the room, carefully thinking of what his next move could be.


	12. Where the Mild Things Are

January 16th 2010

Eterna Forest

"Hurry up Piplup, we aren't going to get out of this bloody forest if you don't keep up!"  
"Piplup Pip!"  
It was the middle of the day, yet the thick branches and numerous leaves protruding from the tall, towering trees blocked out the majority of sunlight. This made it seem like the day never ended and night never began. Pokemon moved in pairs, unnoticed by passing trainers due to the dim light and long grass. When a trainer unwillingly ventured in, they were attacked by two Pokemon, and many were left too startled to act, and were swiftly attacked. There was dark energy in the forest, and it seriously effected the time, space and the Pokemon.  
Matthew Pearl was running through the forest, his starter Piplup and new friend Cheryl running behind. They had been lost in the forest for four days after fleeing from deranged eco-terrorists, and the confusing layout of the forest made it difficult to travel through. They had passed many trainers who had given up, and had simply collapsed to the ground from exhaustion, madness, and if they had been stuck long enough, illness and death.  
"I wish you weren't so snappy!" Cheryl said in a motherly voice, and picked Piplup up.  
"Pip!" Piplup said happily.  
"Of course I am snappy: this stupid bloody forest is driving me mad!" Matthew said, and wheeled around. His jumper was torn, his hair was a mess, and he didn't smell particularly pleasant, but Cheryl was used to it.  
"I swear that if we go into another dead end, I am going to kick something!" Matthew huffed,  
"Pip Pip Piplup!" Piplup said, and pointed towards a road of trees up ahead.  
"Thanks Piplup!" Matthew said excitedly.  
"I am sure this will be the one!" Cheryl said happily, and the two ran forwards. Matthew liked travelling with Cheryl: she was optimistic, friendly and good with Pokemon. It was better than the emotionless Xavier, or the foul, nasty, horrible….  
"WATCH OUT!" Cheryl yelled. Matthew looked, and briefly saw the orange thing he was about to hit, before colliding and falling over backwards.  
"Watch were you are walking, dickhead!" Matthew moaned in pain from the pain, but froze when he heard the snappy remark and instantly recognised it. He looked upwards, and his eyes moved over a green tiered dress that resembled a tree, before finally making contact with Vanessa.  
"Oh, it's you." She said. Matthew stood up, and the two stood a few centimetres apart. There was a lot of tension following the worker's shed explosion, and there was silence between them. But Cheryl was running forwards, and Monferno was walking behind Vanessa, with Cascoon swinging from his hands.  
"Don't run off like that again!" Cheryl scolded. "Oh, hello there Vanessa. I like your dress."  
"Thanks, I've spent the last two days making my outfits for the next three weeks." Vanessa said happily, before turning back and glaring at Matthew. Silence fell again, and Cheryl, Piplup and Monferno exchanged awkward looks.  
"Maybe we should try a different route." Cheryl suggested.  
"Brilliant idea." Matthew said through gritted teeth, and slowly turned away from Vanessa. He walked forwards, and went to stand over a bush, when it moved and growled at him.  
"What the hell?" Matthew cried, leaping backwards. A Grotle glared up at him, and thumped awkwardly over to Piplup and Monferno.  
"Grotle Grot Grot." He said.  
"Piplup Pip Pip!" Piplup said happily.  
"Ferno." Monferno said, and nodded. There was the sound of more footsteps, and everyone turned as Xavier appeared. His face looked rather twisted, like it was trying pull an emotion it didn't know.  
"There you are Grotle." He said, and moved swiftly over and patted him.  
"I see it evolved." Vanessa said.  
"I'd believe that is obvious." Xavier said, and looked around. "Your new." He said to Cheryl, but turned before she could reply. Xavier stood up, and Grotle muttered to Piplup and Monferno and moved with him.  
"How long have you been lost?" Matthew asked.  
"Oh, I am not lost." Xavier explained. "I purchased a map from a stand outside. There was a very large crater there as well." Vanessa and Matthew smirked, but they heard the other and stopped.  
"Hello, my name is Cheryl, and we need some help to-" Cheryl began, but Xavier was already walking out.  
"See you all later." He said, and marched into the distance. Grotle looked apologetically at the others, before rushing off after him.  
"Strange child." Vanessa said. She then pulled her umbrella out and faced Matthew. "I am going to follow him: don't come after!" She snarled with pure venom. "Bye Cheryl, bye Piplup." She said, and skipped away in her lime-green high heels.  
"Mon Mon!"  
"Coon!" Monferno and Cascoon said, and ran after. Matthew was growling with anger, but breathed in, calmed himself down and picked Piplup up.  
"Let's just head this way then." He said, and turned around. Cheryl nodded, but her happy nature had been sucked out by the past few minutes confrontation.  
It seemed they would never get out of the forest.

Sahara was feeling close to death.  
She had hidden inside her tent for three days, curled up in a ball and letting the tears stream down her face. She had lost one of her dearest friends, and had no idea where he had been taken. Nutty, Aqua and Smash were also sad to have lost Virus, but they knew that if Sahara remained how she was, she would never have any hope of finding him. It had taken much nagging, pulling, pushing and roaring to get her to move. Eventually, snow had forced Sahara to move spots, and Nutty was preventing her from getting down again.  
Now the two were hopelessly lost in the forest. They had entered late last night, and had wandered hopelessly around, trying to find where to go. Nutty was worried about what would happen, but Sahara didn't care. All that was on her mind was what had happened to Virus. She didn't know where Mason was, Xavier hadn't been inside the power plant at the time, and Team Galactic seemed to be laying low for the time being. There was no way she could tell what had happened to Virus, and could only presume the worst.  
"Pachirisu Pach Pachi!" Sahara looked down, and saw Nutty pulling her backwards. Sahara had been about to walk into a sharp branch at neck height.  
"Why did you stop me?" Sahara whispered. "I can't take this pain anymore."  
"PACHI!" Nutty said in rage, and whacked Sahara with her tail. She repeated this, hitting her shins, hips and once in the gut.  
"Ok, I get it!" Sahara said, and turned and walked faster. Nutty chased after: this technique seemed to be working. Sahara ran faster, and soon the two were chasing each other. Sahara felt some of her stress fly off her, and let her feet move for her, and let her mind drift away. She could hear Nutty running, and the rustling of the grass and leaves, but she was enjoying the warm feeling the run was giving her, and the sense of happiness was something that she couldn't remember feeling since capturing Smash…  
Sahara came to a stop. Thinking back was making her feel depressed, and she felt like she was running away from the truth.  
"Pachi?" Nutty said, stopping as well. Sahara looked down and picked her up.  
"Thanks for making me feel better." She said, stroking her head. Her shoulders ached from running with the bag, so Sahara moved towards a large rock to sit down. But she had barely touched the surface before Nutty gasped with shock.  
"Risu Pachi Pachi!" She exclaimed, and pointed in the distance. Sahara looked over, and couldn't see anything at first. But then she realised that some of the green was darker than the trees and grass, and didn't think trees had snake prints. And as the human figure walked off, a head of green hair swayed, and one of the thin beams of sunlight hit it, causing a metallic shine.  
"Ursilla." Sahara hissed. Her depression evaporated in one second. Nutty fell to the ground as Sahara stood up, eyeing her in the distance. Ursilla hadn't seemed to have noticed her, and turned to her left towards a treeless area.  
"Pach!" Nutty huffed, but Sahara was marching forwards. Nothing else was on her mind asides from bringing her down. Nutty ran alongside, and Sahara picked up speed, and reached the right spot and turned left. The two then froze at what was in front of them.  
A huge house stood in front of them. It had a wine red wooden frame which covered most of the house. Cream coloured concrete walls took up what space remained. The majority of the windows were boarded up, and purple shutters hung from rusted hinges. The grass around a cracked concrete path was mixed up: half was green stubble growing out of the earth, while the rest was at thigh height. A lawnmower was nearby, between two sections of a broken white picket fence. Ominous wailings and angry shouts were emitted from the house, and several Gastly and a Haunter passed over the wooden roof.  
"Talk about haunted." Sahara said, and moved forwards. Nutty seemed less willing, but Sahara nudged her with her foot. The two walked along the path, keeping an eye out for Ursilla, when suddenly a Misdreavus leapt out from one of the tall areas of grass.  
"MISDREEEEEAVUSSSS!" She wailed.  
"Pachi!" Nutty cried, and jumped behind Sahara.  
"Keep moving, I'm not in the mood." Sahara snapped. The Misdreavus was affronted, but turned and flied off. Nutty was shivering, and Sahara chuckled and bent down to pick her up. But Nutty squealed in fright and ran forwards, smashing into the front door a few metres away.  
"Silly." Sahara sighed, and rushed forwards. Nutty was looking rather dazed, but there was no injuries. A small crack was on the door's surface, and Sahara realised that the door was locked from the inside.  
"Nutty, you are going to have to Spark this door down." Sahara said.  
"Pachirisu." Nutty nodded. She glowed yellow and fired the ball of electricity. The doors were blasted off their hinges and fell to the ground. Sahara smiled and rushed inside.  
The entrance hall was a very grand area. The carpet had once been purple, but it had faded over time and been eaten away. The walls were cream coloured like the outsides, and they were plastered with holes. Several paintings and tapestries hung above dead pot plants and small tables, and there were two doorways to the side. A grand staircase was in the middle of the large room, with a dusty chandelier dangling over it. Sahara looked across the room, astounded by how huge it was, but Nutty had noticed something. She jabbered and pointed up the staircase, and Sahara looked around. Ursilla was standing at the top of it, cackling as she sucked a Gastly into her Capture Gun. Arbok stood by her, grinning and hissing with glee. Sahara grinned: she would soon have her answers.  
"Oi bitch!" Sahara yelled. Ursilla turned around, and her gun fell to the floor as she gasped with shock. The last time she had seen Sahara, Ursilla had fired a missile at her chest. But there she was, standing determinedly at the bottom of the staircase, not a single scratch on her.  
"What brings you to this fine establishment?" Ursilla asked, trying to keep her cool.  
"Cut the act you street corner hooker!" Sahara hissed. "Tell me where Virus is!" Ursilla was surprised by this reaction, but just grinned with twisted pleasure.  
"I should have known." She replied. "Don't worry, your Electivire is in a safe place, for the time being."  
"JUST GIVE HIM BACK YOU WH-"  
"Such foul language!" Ursilla said in mock surprise. Sahara saw her hand move: it slid over her snake hairstyle, and then wrapped around the energy gun. "You must be punished for it."  
"Ar Bok Bok!" Arbok roared, and leapt down the stairs.  
"Pachi!" Nutty said, and ran forwards. The two collided, and Arbok's thrashing tail destroyed part of the banister. Ursilla pulled the trigger on her gun, and Sahara leapt for cover, while throwing two PokeBalls and preparing for war.

Route 219

Charles envied normal humans.  
He stood on the edge of the beach, peering through the trees. It was a bit chilly, but the sun was shining, and several families and couples were enjoying the brightest sun of the year. Kids were playing in the water, parents flicked through ragged books, while people in love made out or sucked in the sun, simply holding hands. Charles remembered a time he and Lyla had found a small, away from the rest of Johto. Quilava covered by Charles' chest, while they watched Lyla, Chikorita, Marill and Charles' Wooper dance in the waters. He could remember the sea breeze, the warmth from the sun, Quilava's cute whimpering sounds…  
"Charles… Charles… CHARLES!" Charles jumped, and turned around in shock. Roshonda was standing behind him, arms crossed and tapping her feet impatiently. A Jeep Wrangler was parked in a clearing, and two speedboats on a trailer were outside of the trees.  
"Sorry, I was visiting Memory Lane." Charles said.  
"I don't care." Roshonda snapped. "We need to get those boats in the water ASAP!"  
"Why can't we back the Jeep down?" Charles moaned. "It's easier!" Roshonda sighed and slapped him.  
"Are you crazy boy? Everyone has heard of Team Galactic, and most people know what our signature car is!" She explained. "We can't wander out in our uniform, waving to the public as we prepare a national disaster."  
"Fair point," Charles said as he rubbed his cheek, "But can't we use our Pokemon?" Roshonda hadn't thought of this, and huffed before sending out Nidoqueen.  
"Get those boats in the water." She said.  
"Nido." Nidoqueen replied, and stomped off to perform the order. As she walked, Roshonda took of her jacket, shirt and pants, revealing a black bikini. Charles flushed and looked away, but Roshonda caught this and laughed. She clipped a fluro orange life jacket on, and Charles stripped down to deep blue board shorts.  
"Sexy." Roshonda said, and Charles flushed harder, and rushed clipping his jacket on in order to hide his chest. The two then bent down and picked up a black box. They staggered over branches and twigs, and then dashed down the sandy seas. Nidoqueen had got the speedboats into the water, and had shoved the trailer back up with one powerful push.  
"Good job." Roshonda said, and quickly brought her back. Charles loaded the black box into a container on the back of his speedboat, and the two climbed onto their vessels.  
"GPS says to head North West towards Route 220 and 221." Roshonda said. Charles nodded, and he started up the engine, and within a few seconds, he and Roshonda were racing along the water. But as they left the beach, another person walked onto it. She had seen them briefly, but had recognised Charles' face.  
"Seviper, does he look familiar to you?" Deidre Plattina said. Seviper merely hissed, and slid through the sand, looking for a meal. Deidre shrugged, and continued pushing a small trolley of supplies. She kept looking over at the retreating speedboats, but she heard Seviper's jaw snapping, and instinctively rubbed the bite marks that stretched across her throat.

Eterna Forest

Vanessa happily skipped through the grassy surroundings, staring at all the trees around her. She quite liked nature, and enjoyed being near so much of it. And it was very peaceful compared to the dangers that remained outside. Matthew had disturbed her thoughts, but as long as Monferno, Cascoon and her other Pokemon were near, she was happy.  
"Isn't the day just glorious?" Vanessa said to Monferno. Monferno raised a curious eyebrow, and examined the surrounding area. There was little light, numerous Murkrow swooping above them, and strange creaking sounds sounded around them.  
"Monferno Mon Mon." Monferno replied sarcastically, and Cascoon giggled. Vanessa glared at them, before continuing to skip forwards.  
"Well _I_ think it is lovely." She said.  
"So do I." Vanessa froze as she recognised the voice, and turned around in shock. Emerson was leaning against a tree, bouncing two Dusk Balls in his hand.  
"Look what the Miltank coughed up." Vanessa growled.  
"Pardon?" Emerson snapped, annoyed he'd already lost the edge.  
"Your outfit." Vanessa smirked, pointing at the leather ensemble. "How many Miltank did you kill to get that fashion atrocity?"  
"It's fashionable!" Emerson said defensively.  
"Yes, along with fig leaves and togas." Vanessa beamed. Emerson growled and marched forwards.  
"Putting my clothing aside, I saw you walking through here and I want to get my revenge!" He boomed.  
"You mean you think you can beat me, after losing twice?" Vanessa said.  
"I have been training especially to destroy you!" Emerson replied. "So how about it: a four on four double battle in two rounds?" Vanessa looked at Monferno and Cascoon, who shrugged, so she did the same.  
"Excellent!" Emerson said, and scampered away a few metres. "Phanpy and Nosepass, come on out!" He threw his first two Dusk Balls, and the small blue Phanpy and the giant nosed Nosepass formed.  
"Monferno and Cascoon, make this quick." Vanessa said. Monferno placed Cascoon opposite Phanpy, and then stood opposite Nosepass. Emerson laughed with joy.  
"This will be much easier!" He said. "But let's start off defensively: Harden and Defence Curl." Phanpy curled up into a ball, and Nosepass glowed a dim white.  
"Mach Punch on Nosepass, and Iron Defence Cascoon!" Vanessa ordered. Cascoon flashed silver as his defence was raised, and Monferno ran forwards. His right fist glowed white, and he smashed it into the bridge of Nosepass' nose.  
"Nose!" He cried, and fell backwards into the grass.  
"Nosepass, use Earth Power on that monkey!" Emerson huffed. "And Phanpy use your boosted Rollout on Cascoon!"  
"Mach Punch again on Nosepass, and Cascoon slow down Phanpy with String Shot!" Vanessa boomed. Monferno rushed forwards, and rammed his fist into Nosepass again. But the Pokemon took the attack, and landed on the ground.. He slammed his body onto the earth, and yellow light burst from below, blasting Monferno backwards. Phanpy, meanwhile, was rolling forwards rapidly, about to squash Cascoon.  
"Cas Cas." He said, and fired a String Shot. It wrapped around Phanpy, causing the attack to slow. Cascoon used his needles to push himself aside, and Phanpy narrowly skimmed past.  
"Tough luck." Vanessa said with glee. Emerson's eyes twitched, but he had to keep going.  
"Earth Power and Rollout again, same Pokemon!"  
"Mach Punch and String Shot again, my darlings." Vanessa beamed.  
"Ferno!" Monferno yelled, and ran forwards once again. Nosepass had no time to react before being knocked out cold. Phanpy had slowed down following the String Shot, and Cascoon happily fired more. Phanpy was now moving at walking pace, and Cascoon could easily dodge.  
"HEAD SMASH ON MONFERNO!" Emerson yelled.  
"Mach Punch and Poison Sting!" Vanessa said. Phanpy ran forwards, the red parts of his body glowing yellow. But he was moving too slowly, and Monferno ran forwards and punched him, knocking him backwards. Cascoon then fired a purple sting, which struck Phanpy below the stomach.  
"Py." He said pathetically, and collapsed to the ground. Emerson roared with rage, while Vanessa happily hugged her Pokemon.  
"Take a rest: the others can deal with the rest of this loser's team." Vanessa said, and quickly brought them back inside their balls, before pulling her next two out and preparing for round two.

Matthew's rage towards Vanessa had transformed into energy: he was walking madly through the trees, not looking where he was going, and crushing leaves and twigs as if they had personally insulted him. Cheryl and Piplup struggled to keep up, and were having to run for every stride he took.  
"Matthew, slow down!" Cheryl yelled after nearly ten minutes. Matthew still didn't slow, and Cheryl ran up. She kicked out, and Matthew tripped over her outstretched leg. He toppled over, and landed with a soft thud.  
"Matthew, stop being such a pathetic, immature little brat!" Cheryl fumed.  
"I am not being pathetic or immature!" Matthew hugged, as he struggled to get up due to his bags weight.  
"Yes you are!" Cheryl said. She held a distressed looking Piplup out. "Look at her. She is upset about your attitude, and you have been ignoring both her and Silcoon since what happened in the worker's shed." Matthew looked into Piplup's eyes, which were indeed tinged with sadness. "Now, something between you and Vanessa has gone down, that is obvious. But don't take it out on your Pokemon."  
"Your right." Matthew said, and he stood up and hugged Cheryl and Piplup. He then pulled out his Net Ball and sent Silcoon out, who formed on his shoulder.  
"Sil?" She said, and Matthew pulled her and Piplup into a hug.  
"I love you both, and I am sorry if I have been grumpy." He whispered. Cheryl smiled with pride, but Piplup and Silcoon looked like they were getting squished.  
"Piplup Pip!" Piplup huffed, and jabbed Matthew with her beak. He laughed and loosened his hold.  
"I am glad to have you two, I wouldn't let anything bad happen!" Matthew said. "And is something di-"  
"Ssssshh!" Cheryl said. Matthew, Piplup and Silcoon looked at her, and watched as Cheryl wheeled around, looking for something.  
"I heard something." She whispered. Matthew listened out as well, and he could hear faint whispering, coming from nearby.  
"Sil!" Silcoon said, and twitched towards two trees. Matthew and Cheryl crept over, and they peered between two thick trunks.  
Two men were standing by some trees, slathering the bark with a rich amber liquid. A rusted red pick up truck was between them, and several crates were stacked up in the hold.  
"I didn't no cars could come in here." Cheryl whispered.  
"They are just trying to catch Pokemon, nothing wrong with that." Matthew said, and he turned away. But Cheryl gasped and grabbed his arm. He looked back, and saw several grass-cloak Burmy climbing down the tree towards the honey. The two men stood back and watched them greedily. Neither of them pulled a PokeBall out, or even tried to catch them. But suddenly, one of the Burmy froze. The others looked around curiously at their friend, and watched as he toppled backwards. Then, this happened to another one, and then a third, and then the fourth. The men yelled in glee, and then picked the Burmy up and threw them into one of the crates.  
"Thieves!" Cheryl gasped. "Stealing innocent bug types!"  
"Oh god, what should we do?" Matthew whispered.  
"We have to stop them, of course." Cheryl said, and she pulled a Net Ball out from one of her pockets. "And I know exactly how we are going to do it!" Matthew exchanged worried looks with his Pokemon, but moved closer to here what Cheryl's plan was.

Unlike the other two, Xavier was making excellent time. His map was telling him the right places to turn, gave helpful hints about Pokemon in the area, and he would hopefully be out within half an hour. Grotle was enjoying the natural air in the area, and kept stopping to eat berries and leaves, and caught some in his bushes for Lapras and Drifloon.  
"Come along Grotle." Xavier said, as they walked out a corridor of trees. "The map says we are nearly at Eterna City."  
"Grotle Grot!" Grotle said happily, and thumped through the trees towards Xavier. The two had bonded greatly over their time together, and the special training Grotle had undergone as a Turtwig meant he was able to put up with Xavier. Lapras merely ignored his comments, and Drifloon was always too busy eating berries or flying away to notice. But they all got along, which is the most important thing.  
"It says that we have to turn here at this rock." Xavier said, and he glanced up briefly to double check the rock, and then turned right. As they made their way down this area, they noticed that lots of Pokemon were fleeing from an area to the left. Gastly, Haunter and numerous Misdreavus and Murkrow flew up into the sky. Wurmple scuttled along the grass, followed by their Beautifly and Dustox parents.  
"I wonder what is going on here?" Xavier said.  
"Grotle." Grotle said anxiously, and the two walked towards a white picket fence. An old house was in front of them, and a quarter of the front of it had been blown to pieces. The lawn was on fire, there was rubble everywhere, and several Caterpie and Weedle were trapped due to fence and flames surrounding them.  
"Grot!" Grotle said, and fired a Razor Leaf. They cut through the wood, and the fence fell away. The bugs all squealed with happiness and worry, and scuttled through the space that had been created. Grotle looked anxious about entering through the fire, but Xavier was peering through the hole in the house.  
"I think Sahara is in there." He said, and walked forwards, ignoring the flames licking the sides of the concrete. Grotle examined them nervously, before sprinting after Xavier. The two walked up towards where the doors would have been, and looked in to see what had caused the destruction.  
The first thing that was visible was an Onix, roaring and thrashing about. He was whacking his back with his tail, and Xavier could see a Linoone clinging to the Rock Snake, and Onix was trying to get it off. The Onix let out a roar and toppled over, hoping to squash it, and narrowly missed the chandelier. As he landed, over Pokemon became visible. A Floatzel and Huntail were firing water attacks at each other, though they kept missing. Ironically, none of them made it out of the door. A Pachirisu and Arbok were also battling, leaping around a grand staircase and firing Electric and Poison attacks.  
"These are the exact Pokemon that Sahara and Ursilla own." Xavier said. Grotle had already worked this out, but merely nodded and rolled his eyes.  
"DIE YOU BLOODY BITCH!" The two looked around at this cry, and they saw Sahara and Ursilla standing at the top of the staircase. Ursilla's snake hair was snapping at Sahara, who was batting it with a vase while kicking at Ursilla.  
"I wonder what has happened." Xavier said, and walked straight into the house. Grotle had been shocked by the battle that he didn't notice his trainer wandering off, and quickly rushed after.  
"Hello Nutty." Xavier said as he climbed over Arbok's tail. Arbok and Nutty both turned around, but Grotle suddenly ran up and tackled Arbok, knocking her backwards and over the banister.  
"Pachirisu Pach." Nutty said in gratitude.  
"Till." Grotle said, and the two ran up after Xavier. They were close to Sahara and Ursilla, and could see both of Ursilla's guns lying behind them, along with shards of broken glass and torn paintings that had hung in the corridor.  
"I would sooner die than tell you where your precious Electivire is!" Ursilla yelled, and slashed at Sahara's face with her long green, snake patterned fingernails. Sahara snarled as they drew blood, and smashed the vase down. It shattered over the snake's head, and china rained down upon Ursilla.  
"Have you two caused the fire in the garden?" Xavier asked. The two women looked at him, including the snake, surprised to see him there.  
"Probably, her aim with that gun is bad enough." Sahara said, breathing deeply from the fight.  
"Shut it!" Ursilla snapped, and her snake hissed.  
"Why exactly are you fighting? You are worrying the wild Pokemon." Xavier said. Ursilla cackled with laughter, and emitted power and strength as she marched towards him.  
"I don't give a crap if a couple of bugs are getting upset." She hissed. "I have bigger things to worry about. I have to find a very special Pokemon for Charon, and I can't let you two stop me."  
"How do you plan on stopping us?" Sahara snarled, and bent down and grabbed one of the broken vase pieces. Ursilla simply laughed again, and then clicked her fingers.  
"BOK!" They turned as Arbok leapt up from below the stairs, and flew through the air towards them.  
"Nutty use Spark!" Sahara yelled. Arbok was getting close, and Ursilla stood backwards as she headed for Xavier. Nutty charged up, but Grotle jumped into the air to protect his trainer. Arbok smashed into him, who then hit Xavier, and they fell and toppled down the hall. Nutty fired the Spark, and Arbok swerved so that it hit Grotle. He and Xavier were sent further down the hall, and their combined weight caused them to crash through a door at the end of the hall.  
"That's the room!" Ursilla whispered, and she darted forwards.  
"Over my dead body!" Sahara snapped, and stuck her leg out, causing Ursilla to trip. As she fell, Sahara stabbed her in the thigh with the piece of china. Ursilla yelled with pain as she landed on Arbok and her guns.  
"Nutty, let's finish this off with Spark!" Sahara said. Nutty nodded, and fired the electric attack. As Ursilla and Arbok yelled, Sahara heard another roaring in the distance, and turned and saw Smash being hit by water attack, but could hear cries from Ursilla's Pokemon and knew she had an even chance of winning.  
Grotle groaned as he climbed off Xavier's stomach. Xavier didn't seem to mind flying through a door and landing inside a dark, dusty room. He stood up, and could see Sahara and Nutty attacking Ursilla and Arbok.  
"Pleasant." He said, before looking around the room. There were white lace curtains drawn, and a single bed was to the side. The pink sheets and pillows were coated with a thick layer of dust. Several boxes were also there, and Xavier considered opening one, but something was catching his eye. A small television was between the two windows, and it was flickering slightly. This seemed very strange in a house with no electricity, so Xavier slowly approached it.  
"Grotle, do you think something is in here?" Xavier said.  
"Grot." Grotle said in agreement, and the two peered at the screen. The flickering light seemed to be taking shape, and it was changing from white to blue.  
"Grotle Till." Grotle said nervously. Xavier peered closer, and could definitely see something now. He reached out to touch the screen, somehow entranced by what was happening.  
"GROT!" Grotle cried, and knocked Xavier aside as something burst from the screen. The two looked upwards to see what had happened. A floating orange bulb, surrounded by blue electricity, was floating in front of them. It had somehow burst out of the television, but it had remained fully intact. The Pokemon was illuminating the room, showing the rich purple of the walls and the flower patterned carpet.  
"What Pokemon is this?" Xavier said.  
"ROTOM ROT ROT!" The bulb said in a robotic sort of voice. It glowed fully blue, and electricity bounced around the room. Xavier and Grotle had no time to find cover, and simply covered their heads.  
"!" The Pokemon said, and fired the electricity directly into the floor. There was a cracking sound as the floorboards were destroyed, and Xavier watched as the carpet became torn and sagged, and suddenly he and Grotle fell head first through the hole. Grotle screamed as the two disappeared into the darkness, and the strange electric Pokemon released sparks before chasing after them. The rest of the room remained the same. But the bed started to shake, and suddenly the dust rose up and formed into a little girl. She had long brown hair, a pink dress with matching shoes, and large black eyes that took up too much of her face. There were strange marks around her neck, as if something had clamped around her neck.  
"I was hoping to play with them." The girl said in a strange, high pitched voice, and her whole body shook as she spoke. Next to her, more of the dust roomed up, and it formed into a man who was clearly a butler: glasses, white hair, a black suit with grey pants and polished shoes. There was a red patch on his white shirt, and his eyes were also much too large for his face.  
"There are more living things outside for you to play with." He said in a booming deep voice.  
"Let us go and find them then." The girl said. The butler nodded, and the two turned back into dust and disappeared through the sheets.

Route 220

The sun was shining gloriously down onto the ocean, and the Pokemon were thoroughly enjoying the unseasonable weather. Finneon and Lumineon dived in and out of the surf, and Wingull did the same up in the skies. A pack of Tentacool and Tentacruel floated ominously, trying not to show their elation at the warm weather. A Gyarados sped through the water, trying hard to avoid the schools of Finneon that surrounded him, but nearly smashed into a silver chain. The Gyarados froze and examined it, and realised it was attaching an anchor to a boat above. The Gyarados huffed, before quickly speeding off again. The tip of his tail whacked the hull of the boat before the Gyarados disappeared off into the distance.  
"What was that?" Lady Carolina huffed from up on the boat's deck. The sleek, modern white boat was co-owned by Adrian and Palmer, and the warm weather was a great excuse to take it out after months of it being locked in a shed. Gyarados' tail had caused the boat to rock, and a small table with several of Carolina's things had fallen, rolling along the polished deck towards Leah, sitting in a deckchair opposite. Ninetales and Lucario briefly looked up, before meeting each others eyes and glaring.  
"Pass the tanning lotion over please Leah." Carolina said. While Carolina wore a bright red bikini, Leah didn't have quite the same figure as her friend and wore a blue sun dress.  
"You'd better be careful you don't get skin cancer." Leah said as she threw the bottle back, and the two chuckled. They were interrupted by a sudden banging sound, and the double doors leading inside the boats dining area blasted open. An Espeon and Umbreon, twin brothers belonging to Adrian, rolled out of them, play fighting as usually. Lucario leapt up, Ninetales scampered away and Peter followed after them, laughing and cheering while Mime Jr. tried to copy them.  
"Watch out!" Carolina gasped, as they hit her feet.  
"Adrian!" Leah shouted. Her husband quickly rushed up the steps, wearing green board shorts and a white shirt.  
"Come on, break it up you two!" Adrian said, and stamped his foot. Umbreon and Espeon stood fighting and rolled apart.  
"Um."  
"Esp." They said, and nodded that they would stop.  
"Aww." Peter sighed. "I'm going to go and play inside." He sighed. Adrian chuckled, before moving to sit in the deckchair by his wife. But before he could, he was covered in water as a Mantine froze out of the water.  
"Hello Mantine." Leah said to her Pokemon once she stopped laughing.  
"Man." Mantine replied, and shook to get several Remoraid off his wings.  
"Why are you back from your swim?" Leah asked. Mantine turned and pointed in the distance.  
"Tine Man Man Tine." He explained. Everyone looked around, and saw two speedboats racing along the surface of the water.  
"Outrageous!" Leah huffed.  
"Isn't there a speed limit in these waters?" Carolina scoffed. They watched as the speedboats came to a stop, and the faces and bodies of the two people were visible. Carolina gasped as she saw one of them.  
"That black girl!" She exclaimed. "She is a member of Team Galactic, and fought against Xavier and that Vanessa girl at Floaroma Town." Leah gasped and Adrian leapt up.  
"Shall we head towards Route 221 and call the police?" He said, moving toward the doors.  
"No, we should go and see what they are doing!" Carolina said.  
"What, you mean go and battle them?" Leah gasped.  
"I thought that girl had died!" Carolina said. "But she is alive, and could be doing something disastrous. If we go towards land, it could be ages before the police get here! We must stop these terrorists!" Adrian and Leah were surprised by this outburst, but they exchanged looks and nodded. Carolina smiled, and she moved towards the deck with Ninetales, a fang necklace swinging from her neck. She hadn't had a proper battle in years, so she would ensure that this one went well.

Eterna Forest

Marcel and Darren had been good friends for several years. Both always got beaten to the league registrations, and had decided to take a more unconventional way to get Pokemon. They lived in a small house between Eterna Forest and City, and made a living by slathering poisoned honey onto trees. Any Pokemon that licked it got knocked out, and the two would then shove them in crates and sell them to trainers, other dodgy dealers or to suppliers who used the Pokemon to make their products. The majority of the time, they got Wurmples or Burmy, but there were the odd occasions they got Aipom, Heracross and the elusive Munchlax. These three always got them big bucks, and they were hoping for them today.  
"Any sign of any Pokemon?" Marcel said. He was tall and look intimidating, but was rather weak when forced into confrontation.  
"None yet." Darren said. He was shorter, fatter and much weaker than his friend, and had a sort of hunch about him. It seemed unlikely at first glance that these two would be friends, but they got along well enough.  
"None yet, eh!" Marcel snapped, and pointed upwards. A Silcoon and a Mothim were crawling along a nearby tree branch.  
"Sorry, I didn't see them." Darren said, and he ran towards the tree, grabbing one of their honey pots. A brush was inside, and he quickly slathered honey over the base. The Mothim and Silcoon smelt the sweet scent, and they began to head straight towards it. Marcel grabbed a crate, and he rushed forwards to catch them as soon as they fell asleep. He and Darren watched greedily as the two Pokemon got closer. But suddenly, something white and oval shaped flew through the air, and landed right between their feet.  
"It's… an egg!" Darren proclaimed. He went to touch it, but it suddenly flashed white, and a shockwave blasted the two backwards. The two smashed into a tree trunk opposite, and both groaned in pain. The white light disappeared, and Marcel and Darren found two people and four Pokemon opposite them: Matthew holding Silcoon and Piplup, Cheryl with her Mothim on her shoulder, and her Chansey standing alongside, pocketing her egg.  
"String Shot!" Matthew ordered.  
"Sil." Silcoon said, and fired them silky string. It wrapped around Marcel and Darren, tying their hands and legs together.  
"Who are you?" Marcel snarled, as he began to struggle against it.  
"Plain old good Samaritans." Cheryl said, and took Piplup and climbed onto the pick up truck. Matthew, Silcoon and Chansey headed over to guard their captives.  
"Mothim, Psybeam!" Cheryl said, and pointed at the locks on the cages.  
"Help out with Peck!" Matthew called.  
"Moth." Mothim said, and fired rainbow coloured circles from his eyes. They blasted the locks right off the hinges, while Piplup pecked at the wood around them. Cheryl opened up the lids to see who was inside. The crates mostly had Burmy and Wurmple inside, but one had three Aipom, another had a snoring Munchlax, and the last had a Misdreavus and Murkrow that had flown past.  
"Matthew, I'll need help waking them all up." Cheryl yelled, as she pulled Awakenings out of her bag.  
"Will your Chansey be alright on her own?" Matthew asked.  
"Chansey Chanse." Chansey replied, and stood threateningly over Marcel and Darren. Matthew rushed back to the pick up truck, climbed onto the back and placed Silcoon down. He grabbed two Awakening and sprayed them on the Misdreavus and Murkrow.  
"Come on, wake up." Matthew said.  
"Murk…" The Murkrow said quietly.  
"Quickly!" Matthew said urgently.  
"They need time!" Cheryl said. Matthew sighed, and stood up to grab some more Awakenings. He looked around as Piplup smashed more wood, Silcoon used String Shot to help heave the Munchlax up, and Mothim observed Cheryl waking up some Wurmple. But then Matthew smelt something strange, and wheeled around. The smell reminded him of the fireplace at his family's old winter lodge, and then it struck him what is must be.  
"Cheryl, I am pretty sure I can smell wood burning." Matthew said. Cheryl gasped and leapt up.  
"So can I…" She said anxiously. Piplup and Silcoon both gasped, and Chansey turned in shock.  
"Im Mothim!" Mothim exclaimed, and signalled in the distance. They all looked, and saw orange and yellow flames flickering from between two trees.  
"Chansey, get onboard!" Cheryl shouted. "Matthew, hold onto the crates." And she jumped off the end and raced around to the front, where she climbed into the driver's seat. Chansey ran up and jumped onto the truck as it roared into life. Lots of the Pokemon were in panic, and Matthew tried desperately to calm them, whilst Marcel and Darren.  
"What are we going to do?" Darren asked.  
"Well I'm getting out of here." Marcel said with a smirk, and stretched and broke the string. Darren gasped as his best friend stood up and moved towards the truck.  
"What about me?" He screeched in desperation. Marcel froze and looked around. He had known Darren for years, but their friendship had been diminishing, and if Darren died and Marcel survived, he would get lots more money from their line of work, and a house all to himself.  
"Sorry bro, but it looks like I'm going solo!" Marcel bellowed back, and he rushed up to the truck. Matthew gasped as he saw Marcel approaching.  
"DRIVE!" Matthew roared, and clung onto the sides as Cheryl flawed the accelerator. But Marcel leapt athletically on, and bowled head first into Matthew. The Pokemon all gasped as the two teens fought, not realising that the fire had burst out of the trees and onto the open land.

Old Chateau

It took nearly two minutes for all the dust to settle, but Xavier and Grotle coughed violently longer after this. None of them were injured from the fall, and they simply stared around at their new environment. The strange Pokemon, who was buzzing above their heads, highlighted grey stone walls, a number of pipes, lots of moisture, and a washing machine and a dryer.  
"I wonder what sort of Pokemon this is." Xavier said, and pulled out his PokeDex. It quickly scanned the strange Pokemon, who buzzed excitedly around their heads. A list of details appeared on the screen, and Xavier quickly scrolled through them while Grotle tried to see them.  
"It says that this Pokemon is called Rotom, and that it is extremely rare." Xavier read aloud. "It inhabits electrical objects and can destroy their circuitry, but Rotom can also control them to learn new moves and have boosted strength."  
"Grot." Grotle said in agreement. Rotom made several more buzzing sounds, and dived low towards Grotle. He hit him on the head, and fired a ThunderShock. Grotle growled as he was blasted backwards, but Rotom simply giggled and fired more ThunderShock attacks. Xavier jumped aside, and quickly reached into his bag.  
"Lapras and Drifloon." He said, and threw them out. His two Pokemon formed, and Rotom backwards in surprise.  
_What? _Lapras sighed.  
"The Rotom has attacked us, we need to defeat it." Xavier said.  
"Floon Flooooon!" Drifloon said, shaking her head.  
_That thing is clearly Electric. Drifloon and I are part Flying and Water. Sending us out is like bringing a knife to a gun fight. _Lapras explained.  
"I need you to fight." Xavier said. Grotle rolled his eyes and muttered to the others, who merely shrugged and nodded: they were getting use to Xavier's attitudes. Rotom was bored with all the talking, and quickly fired another ThunderShock. It hit the rubble from the fallen roof, and Grotle jumped backwards, Drifloon cried out and Lapras huffed.  
"Absorb, Psychic and Astonish." Xavier ordered.  
"Grot!" Grotle cried, and fired the small green ball from his mouth. Lapras' eyes glowed pink and rubble flew up from beneath Rotom. He saw the two attacks coming, and quickly dived into the washing machine behind. The attacks hit the wall above, but there were far more shocking things at hand. The washing machine was turning orange and it glowed an ominous blue. Two strange pincer-like arms came from the blue glow, and a pipe came out of the wall and was pointed towards Xavier and his team.  
"Rotom Tom." Wash-Rotom said in a deep voice.  
_Oh joy, a demon washing machine. _Lapras sighed.  
"Drif!"  
"Grot!" Grotle and Drifloon rushed behind Xavier and Lapras, frightened by the haunted machine. Rotom grinned mischievously, and opened his door and fired a Hydro Pump. Lapras moved forwards and took the attack using Water Absorb. Rotom was appalled, even more so when Lapras used Psychic to throw more rubble. Rotom tried another Hydro Pump, but Grotle fired a Razor Leaf which cut through them. The rubble smashed into Rotom-washing machines side, and he toppled over. Rotom quickly phased out, leaving the dented machine behind. It looked at shock at Xavier, Grotle, Lapras and Drifloon, and then flew through the wall.  
"Drifloon, go after him." Xavier said. Drifloon looked shocked by the suggestion, but knew that she had to. She sighed and followed after, her berries falling to the ground as her feet disappeared through the stone.  
"Grotle Till Grot Grot?" Grotle asked.  
"We'll look for a door." Xavier said, and began to rummage around in the darkness, searching for a wall. Grotle and Lapras did the same, but Lapras began to notice the moisture in the walls.  
_This is a leaky house. _She thought. _I could travel through the moisture in the walls.  
_"Good idea, use Dive." Xavier said. Lapras nodded, and her whole body turned blue. She turned into water and disappeared inside the wall. Grotle watched the water going, before whacking the wall with his chunky paws to try and find a door.  
Out in a corridor, Rotom was buzzing around, searching for another electrical object. The corridor was wide but rather short, and had the same colour scheme as the rest of the. Glass windows and doors had been boarded up to the right, and several paintings covered most of the other wall. As Rotom buzzed past a portrait, Drifloon floated through a wall behind him. She was partially afraid of him and his attacks, but knew that surprise was a great advantage.  
"FLOON!" Drifloon cried, and blasted out an Ominous Wind. Rotom turned around and got hit with a face-full of the attack. He smashed into a portrait, and released sparks in anger. He sucked in air and then roared loudly. The Uproar shattered glass in the photographs and blasted the wooden boards apart. Drifloon cried out as she was struck by the echo, and sucked in air to release Gust. But Uproar continued to sound, and Drifloon was distracted and the attack went off course. Rotom chuckled and dived towards a small table, just as Lapras seeped out through the wall.  
_Where is it? _Lapras asked.  
"Drif!" Drifloon exclaimed, and pointed at the table. All that was on it was a vase of dead roses and a fan, which was surprisingly dust less. Rotom smiled deviously, before diving into the fan. Lapras and Drifloon gasped as the fan began to grow and turn orange. The two blades extended and curved, and the fan began to glow orange.  
"Ro Ro Ro!" Spin-Rotom said in a high pitched voice, and began to hover due to the spinning blades.  
_Drifloon, can you use Ominous Wind or Gust on the ceiling? _Lapras asked.  
"Floon." Drifloon said, and turned so she faced the ceiling. She fired out the black wind of Ominous Wind, and it struck the ceiling. As it fell down, Lapras used Psychic and redirected it towards Rotom. Spin-Rotom gasped, and the blades stopped spinning. Instead, they glowed white and he slashed the air. The Air Slash forced the rubble backwards, and they sped towards Lapras and Drifloon. Lapras bended her long neck and they flew over head, but Drifloon wasn't fast enough to dodge, and they smashed into her face.  
"FLOOOOOOON!" She exclaimed, and smashed through a wooden door behind her. The rubble caused her to crash to the ground. But instead of hitting flat land, Drifloon bounced down several wooden steps, before smashing onto Grotle.  
"Hello Drifloon, you found a door." Xavier said.  
"Drif Flo." Drifloon huffed, and rubbed her head.  
"Grot Grotle Grot?" Grotle asked.  
"Drifloon Floon." Drifloon said, and quickly grabbed her berries lying on the ground and floated back up.  
"Let's go and find Rotom." Xavier said, as a roar and a crash sounded from above. They all rushed up the staircase and into the corridor. Lapras and Spin-Rotom were facing off. More of the corridor was damaged, and several portraits and photo frames lay scattered on the ground. Lapras and Spin-Rotom were completely destroying the hallway: Uproar was causing the unstable roof to shake and Waterfall was causing the hall to flood.  
"Psychic, Razor Leaf and Ominous Wind." Xavier called, and he ran forwards so his Pokemon would all be in a line.  
_If you say so boss. _Lapras thought, and used Psychic to throw the table the fan had been on to Rotom. Spin-Rotom deflected it with his blades, and then blew the leaves and black wind towards Lapras. Grotle and Drifloon gasped as Lapras was hit in the throat, and she slumped up against a cracking wall.  
"Ro Ro Ro!" Spin-Rotom said in triumph, but was silenced by an Absorb from Grotle. Xavier walked briskly over to Lapras, who was breathing deeply.  
"You appear to be weak." Xavier said, and pulled a Potion out of his bag.  
_You can tell I am hurt? _Lapras said weakly.  
"It is quite obvious you are upset, you have a rather large face." Xavier said, and sprayed the healing liquid. Lapras and Drifloon exchanged looks of shock: they had no idea Xavier could register their expressions.  
"Grot!" Grotle yelled in shock. Everyone turned to see Spin-Rotom fired a screechy Uproar at the ceiling. The booming noise hit a large crack, and half the ceiling began to tip. Lapras looked at Xavier, Grotle and Drifloon and fired a Psychic, knocking them all backwards. The ceiling crashed to the floor, causing a lot of dust and barrier between Lapras and Spin-Rotom and Xavier, Grotle and Drifloon.  
"Lapras, what did you do?" Xavier asked.  
_Saved you! _Lapras huffed. _Go and find another exit, I'll chase after Rotom.  
_"Good idea. Come on Grotle and Drifloon." Xavier said, and ran off down the other end of the corridor. Lapras turned towards Spin-Rotom, who was shocked that his plan hadn't worked. He phased out of the fan, causing it to fall to the ground, and then turned and buzzed down the hallway. Lapras smirked before using Waterfall to propel her down the hallway. Rotom tried desperately to get away from Lapras, but Lapras was high levelled and very skilful, and easily turned around a corner and sped for Rotom. In his desperation, Rotom fired a ThunderShock and succeeded in blasting her backwards. He phased through a wooden door and arrived just beside the grand staircase.  
Aqua and Linoone were still battling, firing attack after attack at each other. Huntail had fully faint, and lay limply at the bottom of the stairs. But Smash still had some energy left, and leant against the wall, gasping for breath and staring around. The fire from the garden was beginning to move onto the carpet through the holes in the walls, and soon the ancient house would be ablaze. Not wishing to go between fighting and fire, Rotom raced through the double doors directly opposite. As he phased through, the door was psychically blasted off its hinges, and Lapras squeezed through.  
_Where is he? _She hissed, and looked around. Lapras shut her eyes and used Psychic, and was able to detect movement from behind the double doors. She smiled and moved towards them, just as the double doors at the opposite end of the hall swung open. Xavier, Grotle and Drifloon had gone through a large dining hall, and now arrived just as Linoone smashed into the wall near them.  
"Lin!" He snarled, and leapt forwards to Slash Aqua.  
"How violent." Xavier said. Smash looked at them, and then pointed with his tail towards the other double doors. Xavier could see he was in pain, so he pulled a Potion out and sprayed him.  
"Onix." Smash said in happiness. Xavier and his Pokemon went to walk forwards, but Aqua and Linoone were blocking the way, and they were forced to come to a stop.  
Behind the double doors, Lapras found herself inside a kitchen several years out of date. The counter and doors were all painted purple, and the electronics looked like they had been time travelled from the mid nineties. There was a thick layer of dust over the surfaces, and there was no light except fro a strange red glow glowing from the right. Lapras turned towards it, but found balls of flame rushing for her. She quickly blasted them aside with Psychic, and revealed Rotom. He had now inhabited a microwave oven: it had a curved top and square bottom, and two claws had come out from around the side. The door was open, and Heat-Rotom was preparing another Fir Blast.  
_You can't defeat me. _Lapras snarled, and used Psychic to blast Rotom backwards. He phased out of the microwave oven, and it fell and smashed onto a stove. Rotom then fired a ThunderShock, causing Lapras' head to smash against the back wall, and he used the opportunity to flee inside a nearby two-door fridge. Lapras moaned slightly as she straightened up, and looked towards the fridge to see it transformed. It turned orange and expanded, and began to glow purple. But Lapras realised something it seemed Rotom had not: the fridge had been between a cabinet and the wall, and was now too wide to get out. Frost-Rotom tried to thump out, but was unable to.  
_Cornered. _Lapras said triumphantly.  
"Tom Tom Tom?" Frost-Rotom boomed.  
_Bring it. _Lapras replied, and she opened her mouth wide as Frost-Rotom opened his doors. Both Pokemon fired a powerful Blizzard attack, and both attacks collided in the middle. The temperature in the kitchen suddenly dropped to 0 degrees, and the two snowstorms began to spread out across the surfaces. The double doors banged open, and Xavier, Grotle and Drifloon ran in, having finally got across the hall.  
"Good job Lapras." Xavier said, as the snow began to form ice along some of the benches.  
"Dri-Dri-Dri-FLOOON!" Drifloon sneezed, and propelled backwards.  
"Till Grot Grot!" Grotle said with a shiver, as snow began to form in his bushes.  
"I want to watch this." Xavier said, and stared into the determination inside Lapras' eyes, and the worry inside Rotom's. A bench nearby was so cold that it was started to crack, and the dead light bulbs above their heads burst.  
"Grot!" Grotle said, and began to pull Xavier backwards.  
"We'll wait outside for Lapras then." Xavier said, and nearly slipped on the ice as he turned around. Drifloon happily went to move forwards, but suddenly a lot of dust appeared from under the cracks.  
"Where do you think your going?" The ghost of the girl said as she formed, her arms outstretched to stop them leaving.  
"FLOOOOOON!" Drifloon cried, and began to fly around the room in shock as the butler formed, and the two ghosts loomed over them all.

Outside of the kitchen, the battle between the Pokemon raged on. Aqua and Smash repeatedly struck Linoone, who got his own back with Thunderbolt and Grass Knot attacks. The carpet was torn up in dozens of places, most of the banister was destroyed and the chandelier was shaking ominously. The fire from the garden had set the front of the house on fire, and it was spreading across the carpet.  
On the upper storey, Nutty had successfully knocked Arbok out with a powerful Spark and Bite combination, though she had been poisoned in the process. The Pachirisu now sat on Sahara's bag, watching as her trainer and Ursilla fought to the death.  
"Tell me where Virus is!" Sahara screeched from the umpteenth time, and slashed at her throat with a jagged piece from a vase. Ursilla simply laughed and kneed Sahara in the stomach, before hitting her across the face with the butt of her energy gun.  
"I would never tell an evil little girl like you anything!" She said, while her snake hissed with pleasure. "Now, it is time to finally end this!" And Ursilla aimed her gun towards her.  
"Run Nutty, take Smash and Aqua and RUN!" Sahara yelled. She tried to stand, but there was too much pain in her stomach.  
"You can't escape me now!" Ursilla hissed, and put her finger on the trigger.  
"PACHI!" Nutty yelled in horror. Sahara looked at her, tears streaming down her face, and reached out a hand. Ursilla hissed and stood on her wrist, crunching it. Nutty had tears streaming down her face as well, and moved obediently backwards. She planned to fire a Spark, but she was in to much shock to know what to do. Sahara watched her trusted friend leave, and went to turn back and accept her faith. But then she noticed something lying on the ground: the jagged vase piece. If she could grab it, Sahara could use it to jam the gun. It was unlikely, but Sahara had to do something. She turned painfully onto her front and grabbed onto the piece.  
"NO!" Ursilla roared, and she pulled the trigger.  
"PACHIRISU!" Nutty yelled, and watched the orange beam of energy smash into Sahara's back. She expected something horrible to happen: her back to split open, all her bones to explode, the world to end. But Sahara began to shake and twitch, her limbs flailing madly. Ursilla was shocked and stepped backwards, and only Nutty could see Sahara's eyes turn black. Then, a shockwave emitted out of Sahara. It blasted Nutty, Ursilla and the unconscious Arbok along the hallway and dented the wall. Sahara then slowly stood up, taking extra and unnecessary time to do so. She stretched her arms and legs, and shook back her hair which suddenly looked a lot darker. Then, she turned around and faced Ursilla, who was lying horrified on the ground.  
"Who are you?" She whispered. Sahara smiled sweetly and raised her hands up.  
"My name is Jaki, and I am going to claim back a world that is rightfully mine." She explained, and then burst into high pitched, malicious laughter. The chandelier exploded, glass and gold flying everywhere, and then Jaki kicked Ursilla in the stomach. The kick sent the women flying down the hallway, where she smashed through a wall. Nutty watched in terror as this unfolded, and eyed a glowing golden light coming from Jaki's back.  
This was much worse that her back exploding.

Route 220

The GPS on Roshonda's speedboat beeped loudly at the two of them, signalling they had arrived at the right spot.  
"Our instructions from Charon said to slowly lower the device onto the seabed." Roshonda explained as the two cut their engines.  
"What is this device anyway?" Charles asked as he turned and opened up the hatch of his container.  
"Ask no questions and get told no lies." Roshonda smirked. "It's Team Galactic, so I am sure Charon doesn't want to research the live patterns of Magikarp." Charles laughed and nearly toppled off his boat.  
"Good point." He said, beaming from ear to ear. He hoisted the black box out of the container, and rested it on his knee. Roshonda pulled one of her PokeBalls out and sent out Sharpedo. Charles reached into his board shorts and pulled out the one containing his Gyarados.  
"Gyara!" Gyarados roared as he formed, and he dived into the water, nearly capsizing the two speedboats. Roshonda pulled a square of fabric out from her bag and threw it to Charles.  
"Attach it to the box: it is a mini parachute so it'll lower to the floor slowly." She explained. Charles nodded and attached the ends to the top of the box. He double checked everything was secure, and then threw it into the ocean. The clear surface of the water allowed them to see the parachute deploy, and Sharpedo dived underwater to make sure it floated down safely.  
"That was relatively easy." Charles said. "A bit of a waste after driving for nearly two days."  
"You get that sometimes." Roshonda smirked. "I once was on a helicopter trip for a whole week, only stopped to refuel. And we got to our destination, we found out the coordinates were incorrect and we'd have to go back!" Charles laughed, and went to ask where they had meant to go, but Gyarados poked his head out of the water. He looked rather distressed and was looking over Charles' shoulder.  
"What is it?" Charles asked, and looked around. A white boat was heading towards them, and it's speed seemed to say it wasn't casually passing by.  
"Maybe we got recognised." Charles suggested.  
"I don't care why they are coming for us." Roshonda hissed. "If they look to dodgy, then this will turn into a red sea." To emphasise her point, she pulled two handguns out of her pocket and threw one to Charles. Sharpedo came back up to the surface alongside Gyarados, and the two Pokemon stood strong as the boat approached. As the vessel slowed down, two people on the deck where clearly visible: both women, one looking anxious and uncertain, while the other was determined and elegant.  
"YOU!" Lady Carolina yelled, and pointed dramatically at Roshonda. "You tried to kill my Xavier!" Roshonda was stunned by this, but she quickly recognised the face.  
"Lady Carolina Diamond." She said. "It would be a pleasure to kill you!" And she lifted the gun up. Leah screamed, but Ninetales leapt up so she perched on the railing and fired a Fire Blast. Charles and the Pokemon gasped, and Sharpedo tried to fire a water attack, but the flames hit the speedboat. Roshonda had jumped off, but the explosion caused her to fly before smashing into the waves. The shockwave caused Charles' speedboat to tip and he jumped onto Gyarados.  
"You'll pay for that!" He snapped, and reached into his pocket as Gyarados rose into the air.  
"Ninetales, Iron Tail if they attack." Lady Carolina ordered.  
"Lucario use Aura Sphere and Mantine use Hydro Pump." Leah said, and rushed towards her bag to grab another PokeBall.  
"Dive down and use Dragon Pulse!" Charles cried.  
"GYARA!" Gyarados yelled, and he swooped down towards the ground, a ball of turquoise energy forming. Lucario fired an Aura Sphere, Mantine opened his mouth wide and fired the powerful jet of water, and Ninetales raised her glowing silver tails in preparation for attack. Gyarados fired the Dragon Pulse, and it collided with the Hydro Pump and Aura Sphere. There was a miniature explosion which struck Gyarados in the middle, and the force caused Charles to bounce off and fall.  
"HELP!" He cried. Charles fell through the smoke, and was expecting to hit water. Instead, he hit something rather soft. He opened his eyes and found he had landed on the soft cushions of a deck chair. Carolina, Leah, Ninetales, Lucario and Mantine all turned towards him, and Charles realised that it was a bad move. But he felt the reassuring bulges of the PokeBalls inside his life jacket, and reached in and pulled them out.  
"Mightyena, Gligar, Elle!" Charles yelled, as they all burst open. Mightyena looked towards Ninetales, and both wolf-like both bared their teeth before running forwards and beginning to fight. Lucario leapt forwards to fight Elle, who fought back with Shadow Ball. Gligar flew up to scare Leah and Carolina.  
"GLI!" He cried. Leah screamed and dropped the PokeBall in her hand. But Lady Carolina stood strong and sprayed tanning lotion in Gligar's face.  
"Hey, that's uncalled for!" Charles yelled over the fighting.  
"So is destroying our region!" Carolina snarled, and lunged forwards. Charles hadn't expected this, and suddenly found one of her hands around his throat, while the other slashed at his cheek.  
"Eve!" Elle cried, and fired a blue Secret Power at her. But before it could hit, the boat suddenly shook violently. Carolina fell over, along with nearly everyone else, and Charles rushed to the side to see what was going on.  
Gyarados was now below them, yet still in mid air.  
A huge wave had formed, and the boat had been picked up and being forced towards the coast. Charles had a funny feeling he knew who was behind it, but before he could spend any more time wondering, another explosion rocked the boat, and Charles fell backwards. He saw flames, wood from the deck flying and Gyarados flying up to fight Mantine, before his head hit the deck and he was consumed with darkness.

Eterna Forest

"Machop, Geodude, come on out!"  
"Staraptor, Luxio, it's your time to shine!"  
The four assorted Poke and Dark Balls burst open, and Emerson and Vanessa's respective Pokemon all formed.  
"There is no way either of yours are going to survive my Geodude!" Emerson smirked.  
"Well, we'd just have to see about that." Vanessa replied simply, and smiled at Staraptor and Luxio.  
"Is that the Shinx from our first battle?" Emerson asked.  
"Congratulations, you're a genius." Vanessa snapped sarcastically, and Staraptor and Luxio chuckled. Emerson turned red with anger and embarrassment, and Machop and Geodude exchanged looks.  
"Machop use Seismic Toss on Luxio, and Geodude use Rock Throw on Staraptor!" He roared.  
"Aerial Ace and Bite on Machop." Vanessa yawned. Machop ran forwards, one of his fists raised high. But Staraptor and Luxio raced forwards, and simultaneously bit and slashed at him. Machop toppled over, giving Geodude a clear shot for Rock Throw.  
"Star!" Staraptor screeched as the rock slammed into her chest. She fell onto her back, and Vanessa rushed forwards in shock.  
"Are you alright?" She asked.  
"Star Aptor Star." Staraptor replied. Vanessa beamed and Luxio rushed over and smiled warmly as well. Machop and Geodude were slightly confused by this interruption in the battle, and looked up at Emerson.  
"Geo Dude Dude?" Geodude asked.  
"We can take them down while they are distracted." Emerson said. "Geodude get over there and use Self-destruct! Machop, you wait and see if they can attack and then use Revenge."  
"Ma Ma!" Machop said, shaking his head.  
"Just do it!" Emerson snarled. Geodude sighed before slamming his hands into the ground and forcing himself forwards. Vanessa, Staraptor and Luxio turned, and saw the rock flying straight for them.  
"Staraptor, Close Combat it backwards!" Vanessa yelled.  
"Luxi!" Luxio whimpered, and ducked behind Vanessa. Staraptor quickly stretched her wings and got up. Geodude was only metres away, and Staraptor swiftly punched him on the head.  
"DUDE!" He yelled, and flew backwards towards Emerson and Machop. Emerson yelled as Geodude slammed into Machop, who then slammed into him. There was a white flash, a loud bang, and a shockwave that knocked Vanessa and her Pokemon backwards. As it cleared, Vanessa heard a loud yell getting more and more distant, and she looked into the sky and saw three black dots flying away.  
"Oh well, looks like he's going and blasted off." Vanessa said.  
"Staraptor Star." Staraptor said huffily.  
"O Luxio Lux!" Luxio added.  
"Well put." Vanessa said. "Come on, let's keep finding our way out."  
"Staraptor!" Staraptor said, and she stretched her wings and took off into the sky.  
"Great idea, look out for any possible exits!" Vanessa yelled. She stroked Luxio's head, who purred with happiness, while Staraptor landed on a high tree branch and peered through the leaves. She could hear the roar of an engine motor, and the grey smoke from the fire was clearly visible over the treetops.  
"Star!" She explained as she flew back down, and pointed nervously into the distance.  
"What is it?" Vanessa asked. But her question was answered as the car engine sounded from nearby. Confused, Vanessa and her Pokemon ran to the end of their row of trees to investigate the noise.  
A black pick up truck was driving madly through the grass, sending numerous bug Pokemon fleeing. Vanessa stared through the window and saw that it was Cheryl driving erratically behind the wheel. Some sort of scuffle was going on at the back, and Cheryl was trying to end it.  
"What the hell is this?" Vanessa gasped. She stuck her hand out and waved, and Cheryl gasped as she recognised her. She slammed onto the brakes, and the car screeched and turned around. Vanessa could see Matthew slumped over the sides, while a taller, fitter man tried to fight a Chansey that was repeatedly using DoubleSlap on him.  
"Get off me you stupid egg!" Marcel snarled, and shoved Cheryl's Chansey backwards. But this only angered the other Pokemon more, and they all charged.  
"Pip!" Piplup cried, and rammed a Peck into his stomach. Marcel gasped and collapsed to his knees. Silcoon then tackled him in the face, making his head smash against the sides. Cheryl opened up the car door as Vanessa ran forwards.  
"What the hell is going on?" She asked. She reached into her bag and pulled out her umbrella.  
"This guy is a poacher and we caught him in the act." Cheryl said, pointing at Marcel. "We tied them up and tried to free their Pokemon, but there is a forest fire and we had to flee. And, unfortunately, he followed."  
"This is my truck!" Marcel snarled, but was silenced by another Peck in a more sensitive area.  
"Did you say there was a forest fire?" Vanessa said. Cheryl nodded, and Vanessa looked towards Staraptor, who nodded knowingly. "Well, we need to leave then!"  
"But I don't know the way out!" Cheryl said.  
"Oh, why let that stop you." Vanessa scoffed. She climbed into the driver's seat and adjusted it to her liking. Luxio ran up, jumped over his legs and curled up on the passenger seat. Staraptor flew up and landed on the roof, and Cheryl was left slightly confused.  
"I thought you were fourteen." She said.  
"Do you think that has ever stopped me with anything?" Vanessa laughed, and emphasised this by grabbing a bottle of Jack Daniels from the drinks holder and taking a swig out of it. Cheryl gasped, and looked up at Staraptor. She looked back down and merely shrugged.  
"Come on then Cherry, let's get out of this giant oven." Vanessa said, and slammed the door shut. Cheryl sighed and clambered onto the back. Matthew was unconscious, Marcel was clutching his genitals in pain and all the Pokemon were looking worried. The captured Pokemon had woken up and were thoroughly confused.  
"We'll be out of here soon." Cheryl said with a smile, though she was rather nervous. Vanessa floored the accelerator, and the pick up truck sped off towards the end of the forest.

Route 220

"Eva… Eevee… EVE!"  
Charles groaned and slowly opened his eyes, blinking as he adjusted to the harsh light above his head. Bits of wood were on his chest, and an unconscious figure lay nearby. Charles looked over and realised that, by its length, it was the Mantine belonging to Leah.  
"Elle, di… did I get knocked out?" He asked.  
"Eve." Elle replied. Her left front leg was bent slightly, and Charles went to hold it, but she leapt aside. This revealed the battle that was half heartedly being fought. Lucario and Gligar exchanged Force Palms and Metal Claws, Mightyena and Ninetales rolled around on the damaged deck, and a Raichu belonging to Leah fired attacks at Gyarados. Charles looked around for the two mothers, but they seemed to have disappeared. Instead, he dragged himself towards the edge and peered over the sides. Roshonda was riding her Sharpedo, who was indeed controlling the wave. Roshonda saw Charles and smiled and waved. He reciprocated before moving back towards Elle.  
"Why is the sun so hot?" Charles asked.  
"Eevee Eva." Elle said, and signalled towards Ninetales, who was blasting Mightyena with a Fire Blast.  
"Let me guess, Sunny Day?" Charles questioned, and Elle nodded. "Fantastic. Well, I can't be stuffed staying on this stupid boat. Roshonda can crash it, but we are leaving."  
"NOT SO FAST!" Lady Carolina boomed dramatically, and she pranced out from behind the glass door. Her fanged necklace made her look slightly menacing, but not enough to worry Charles. Leah and Peter stood nervously behind her, and Umbreon and Espeon walked out with her. The fighting stopped, and Mightyena and Gligar rushed to their trainers, while Ninetales, Lucario and Raichu did the same.  
"You can't stop me from leaving." Charles snapped.  
"Gli!" Gligar added, though Lucario growled and he backed away behind Mightyena. Gyarados flew down near Charles, and lowered his tail to be climbed upon.  
"You can leave, but first tell us what your doing, put a stop it and get our boat down!" Carolina barked.  
"Wow, you rich people really do demand a lot." Charles scoffed.  
"JUST TELL ME!" Carolina growled, and Leah had to hold her back  
"Go shove it you old bag!" Charles snapped, and walked determinedly towards Gyarados.  
"You tell her Charles!" Roshonda yelled from down below. Carolina hissed with anger, and the five Pokemon stepped forwards, visibly outnumbering Charles' five. Umbreon and Espeon whispered to each other, staring towards a nervous Elle.  
"I am leaving." Charles said, pulling out several PokeBalls. "See you all around."  
"Don't let them leave!" Carolina cried to the Pokemon. Umbreon leapt forwards, his eyes glowing black and staring towards Elle, who Charles was preparing to bring back.  
"Um." He said, and a black beam was fired. It quickly smashed into Elle, causing her to yell in pain. Before anyone else could react though, a blast of white light shone down upon them all. Everyone stared towards the light, but the black Pursuit suddenly exploded, firing out hail, rain, sand, balls of sunlight and fog. They began to enclose the boat and spin rapidly around, causing a multi-weather tornado. All the Pokemon roared in pain at all the weather, while strong wings merely blew their trainers over.  
"It's Acid Rain!" Leah yelled. "When Pursuit is used during any Pokemon-caused weather, the speed and increased power of it causes an explosion that upsets the weather system."  
"That means nothing to me!" Carolina cried. Leah simply rolled her eyes and tried to ignore the sand and hail hitting her. Gyarados and Gligar were spiralling around, and the boat was starting to turn as well.  
"Rai Rai!" Raichu said, and patted his trainer's foot. Leah looked down, and Raichu pointed with his tail at Gyarados, who kept batting Charles accidentally with his tail. There was a lot of rain surrounding him, and the long water snake was soaked.  
"Brilliant idea Raichu, use Thunder!" Leah said happily.  
"Chu Chu!" Raichu said, and flashed yellow and fired the powerful beam.  
"GYARA!" Gyarados roared, and collapsed towards the boat, smoke flying emitting from his body.  
"Might!"  
"Gli!" Charles' Pokemon cried, and they leapt away from their impending doom.  
"Return!" Charles cried, and pulled out his PokeBall. But Gyarados smashed into the end before Charles could act, and the whole boat tipped backwards. Gyarados turned into energy and was sucked away, and the boat tipped forwards. The upset in balance was causing the boat to tip backwards and forwards, and Charles yelled out as the boat suddenly began to fall. Elle, Mightyena and Gligar clung to him, but Charles heard a scream, and suddenly Roshonda's Sharpedo smashed into his face, followed by the girl herself. Mightyena and Gligar were sent flying, and the wind pushed Gligar down towards Carolina.  
"Gar!" He exclaimed, and clung onto her in surprise.  
"Get off of me you vile beast!" Carolina yelled, and batted Gligar across the head.  
"Gligar Gli!" Gligar growled, and lashed back with a Metal Claw. It wrapped around the fanged necklace around Carolina's neck, and she shrieked with shock and shoved Gligar backwards. The cord snapped, but the fang remained in Gligar's claw as he flew backwards, not stopping until he hit Charles' face.  
"This is just ridiculous!" Roshonda was saying, as she cradled Sharpedo.  
"We have to get off here soon!" Charles said.  
"Might Mightyena." Mightyena whimpered, and covered his head with his paws. Charles and Roshonda brought their Pokemon back, and Leah and Carolina did the same. Moments later, only Charles and Roshonda remained on the rocking, spinning deck, while Espeon, Umbreon and Mime Jr huddled behind the glass door.  
"ADRIAN, come bring your Pokemon back!" Leah yelled to her husband as if asking him to do the dishes.  
"Shall we take a few of them down before we leave?" Roshonda asked deviously, pulling out her hand gun. Charles shook his head and went to elaborate, but the boat suddenly tipped forwards dramatically. The weather tornado was the only thing keeping it up, but it didn't seem to be doing the job, and the whole boat was tipping dramatically forwards. Charles and Roshonda fell forwards, and they bounced down the damaged deck towards the doors. Carolina went to close them, but was too slow and was bowled over. Leah screamed as she was hit, and the human snowball soon hit Peter, Mime Jr and the twin brothers. They rolled along the blue velvet carpet and narrowly avoided a dining table.  
"What is on this commotion?" Adrian said as he walked down the stairs from the cabin. His eyes widened, he tried to run, but he was bowled over by all the rolling humans. Everyone smashed up against the wall, and the pressure caused Adrian's other two PokeBalls to activate. Zangoose and his Blaziken formed, joining in on the commotion. Carolina slashed at Charles, Leah raised her arms in defence from Roshonda's punching and Peter simply cried, and they all could do nothing as the ship began to spiral away.

The beach had begun to clear quickly after Deidre arrived. She was researching and comparing the soils of Sinnoh to abolish the ancient myth of how the land was made. Three Diglett that Deidre owned were burrowing below the ground to collect a number of different samples, but they were releasing vibrations from their movements, upsetting those who had been on the beach. So Deidre was now along, and she flicked through a battered romance novel she had never quite finished. Camerupt ran towards the water, but then rushed back as it burned his skin. Seviper happily coiled around nearby tree trunks, snapping at Starly and Chatot in the tree tops. Deidre was used to her reasonably boring life that had happened since Sahara had left, and today was no different.  
"Camerupt Camer!" Deidre looked up briefly, and saw Camerupt running around in circles.  
"Yes, I can see you Camerupt." She said and waved. Deidre was use to Camerupt's insane antics: she had to stop taking him for walks after the moon spooked him and he burnt down an orphanage. But Camerupt seemed to keep staring towards the ocean, and Deidre was getting rather curious. Her suspicions were confirmed when Seviper sped past her and stared into the sky. Deidre followed their line of eyesight and gasped.  
A white boat was spiralling through the air, and ti was getting closer and closer towards the beach. A strange tornado was surrounding it, possibly causing the spinning. But all Deidre could think about was the giant vessel heading straight for her.  
"RUN!" She yelled, and run towards the trees for cover. Seviper wrapped her tail around Camerupt's back left leg and pulled him backwards, and the camel began to move at his own speed. The tornado was disappearing, and the boat spun rapidly for the beach. Deidre jumped behind the trees, and Seviper pulled Camerupt behind. They watched the boat fall, and then the bow headed straight for the sand.  
There was a loud, echoing crunch as the boat snapped in half. Glass and metal flew everywhere, and large pieces scattered across the sand. The back half flipped over twice, spilling its contents and passengers along the beach, before ending up on its roof, smoke billowing everywhere and a huge crater in the sand. Two black solar panels were embedded in the sand, and a dining table leg, the door of a microwave and half a bookcase were amongst the destroyed items. Deidre's three Diglett all fled from the scene, very frightened by the pieces of glass, metal, plastic and wood enclosing them. Deidre ran out to greet them, but looked over at the humans and Pokemon scattered around the beach.  
No one had been killed in the crash, but there were multiple bruises, cuts, Peter was unconscious and Leah's right arm was in unbelievable pain. Charles moaned, his face buried in sand, and he struggled to push himself out. There was a nasty cut down his left arm, and sand was in his eyes and mouth.  
"Charles, are you alright?" He looked around and saw Roshonda rushed towards him. She had grazed her forehead and sprained her ankle, causing her to hop slightly as she came towards him.  
"I am fine, but you don't look too good." Charles said.  
"Cheers." Roshonda smirked. "But we need to get out of here quickly while they are all distracted." Charles nodded and stood up. Umbreon and Espeon were lying unconscious nearby, but Blaziken and Zangoose were both up and ready to fight.  
"BLAZE!" Blaziken cried, and ran forwards, his right leg on fire and ready for a Blaze Kick.  
"Goose." Zangoose added, and his claws glowed white and grew. Charles and Roshonda cried out and ran forwards, leaping over a broken section of the boat. Blaziken and Zangoose were catching up fast, and Charles could feel the flames behind him. Not wanting to get kicked by the Blaze Kick, Charles pushed Roshonda aside and went with her, so that Blaziken and Zangoose tripped over their fallen bodies.  
"Nice idea." Roshonda laughed, and the two watched Blaziken and Zangoose try to untangle themselves from each other. They heard footst

eps, and Roshonda reached for her gun, but then Charles recognised the woman walking towards them.  
"Charles, is that you?" Deidre gasped. "What are you doing here, where is Sahara?"  
"Dead last time we saw her." Roshonda laughed. Deidre gasped in shock and stumbled backwards.  
"What do you mean?"  
"Our people blew her up. They fired a missile at her Crystal form and now she is dead." Roshonda explained, enjoying egging on the older women. Deidre seemed surprised at the mention of Crystal, and her shock seemed to disappear from her face. But before Charles or Roshonda noticed, there was a loud hissing noise from nearby. They all turned around and saw that Zangoose had gotten away from Blaziken, and he now stood, his claws ready to Slash, directly opposite Seviper. The two Pokemon were staring at each other, making hissing and growling noises.  
"I forgot that Sevipers and Zangooses are natural enemies!" Deidre gasped  
"Viper."  
"Zan Zan." And then the two leapt towards each other. Their claws, tails and fangs collided, and their hisses and roars got louder and louder as they both tried to kill the other. Deidre was in shock at the sight, with the long Seviper wrapped fully around Zangoose and trying to tear his head off. Charles and Roshonda exchanged looks and began to sidle along the upturned hull of the boat, hoping to head for freedom. They could see Carolina and Adrian rushing to investigate the commotion, and Blaziken was still very absorbed in the fight. No one seemed to know how to react to this violent battle, giving Charles and Roshonda perfect cover to flee. But then, Deidre suddenly had an idea.  
"Camerupt, break this up with Eruption!" She called. Camerupt was stunned at being asked to battle, and happily ran forwards. His large feet collided with a piece of metal, and the giant Pokemon tripped and fell onto his face. But he still fired the blast of flame and rocks from his humps, and they shot over the duelling Pokemon, burnt through the trees and hit the Jeep Wrangler in the clearing. Charles and Roshonda skidded to a halt, and watched as their getaway vehicle went up in smoke.  
"What now?" Roshonda growled.  
"We'll go into town, that's our only option." Charles said. Roshonda scoffed and pointed at her ankle. Charles rolled his eyes and picked her up, like how a superhero holds the damsel in distress. And then he ran towards Sandgem, leaving behind the wreckages and thinking of how he was supposed to get all the way back to Veilstone City.

Old Chateau

Grotle and Drifloon pulled Xavier backwards in fear, trying to ignore both the cold and the ghosts approaching them. The girl and the butler had somehow made the frozen kitchen even colder, and their distorted faces were scaring the Pokemon. The snow phased through their dust bodies, splattering against the wall behind.  
"You have been destroying my house." The girl said angrily.  
"Master and Mistress won't like that." The butler added. They stretched their hands, making out that they would strangle Xavier. But Xavier merely stood there, rather unaffected and bored with the proceedings. The two ghosts froze and exchanged looks.  
"He doesn't cower like the others." The girl hissed.  
"I don't find you particularly frightening. I have never found dust particularly scary." Xavier said simply. Grotle and Drifloon stared at him as if he telling him off. But the two ghosts seemed shock by this defiance.  
"If you'd excuse me, I need to wait outside. My Pokemon are getting cold." Xavier said. The ghosts backed away as Xavier walked forwards, slipping slightly on the frozen floor. The girl and the butler looked at each, then at Xavier, before exploding into dust with an ear-wailing screech. Grotle and Drifloon moved forwards and stared at the places where the ghosts had exploded. But then they felt the chill of the nearby battle, and stared over towards it in wonderment.  
The snow had frozen ever surface in the kitchen, from the hinges on cabinets to the cracks in the walls. The temperature was below 0, and Drifloon was to freeze and sink towards the ground. Between Lapras and Frost-Rotom there was a single area of pure white snow, and it was impossible to tell who's attack was which. But Lapras' years of experience and power were overpowering Rotom and his newly acquired attack.  
"Tom Tom." Frost-Rotom groaned.  
_Can't handle an experienced women, eh? _Lapras laughed. She unleashed another Blizzard, and the added power blasted through the opposing snow and struck Frost Rotom. The orange and purple glow was taken over by a pure white one, and Frost-Rotom began to boom with pain.  
"Keep it up Lapras!" Xavier said.  
"Gr-Gr-Grotle!" Grotle added.  
"Floooonnnn!" Drifloon shivered. There was a loud, shuddering sound from Frost-Rotom, and then sparks flew as the fridge broke down and Rotom flew overhead. Lapras stopped attacking and slumped against a cabinet, and Xavier, Grotle and Drifloon rushed to join her. They all looked up at Rotom, who glared at them with sadness and annoyance. He then fired a ThunderShock at the frozen wall, blasting it to bits and revealing the flaming garden. He flew off through the fire, and moments later they heard a revving noise. The lawnmower that had been in the garden sped through the flames and off into the distance. Silence fell upon them all, and the Pokemon all exchanged different looks.  
"Let's go find Sahara." Xavier said and turned towards the doors. His Pokemon all collectively rolled their eyes and went to follow. But suddenly, the double doors were blasted off their hinges as Aqua and the unconscious Huntail flew through them. Aqua skidded along a frozen bench and fell onto the floor.  
_I have a feeling something strange is about to happen. _Lapras sighed, and Grotle and Drifloon nodded. Aqua struggled upwards and pushed Huntail out of sight.  
"Flo Zel." He said, and beckoned the others towards the wall. Xavier and his team followed, and they all peered around the wall.  
Sahara, as Jaki, stood under where the chandelier had been, cackling loudly. Black wind was spinning around the hall, and pieces of rubble and destroyed ornaments were caught up in it. Ursilla's two guns were strapped to her back, and the women herself was standing on the staircase, her unconscious Arbok wrapped tightly around her. Smash was coiled up by the staircase, with Nutty resting on his head.  
"Why are you out?" Ursilla growled. Blood was dripping down her chin from her mouth and nose, and her snake skin jacket was badly torn.  
"I am out because you made Sahara very, very angry." Jaki explained, and threw a small golden trophy at Ursilla's leg. "There is also a lot of dark energy inside this house, and those factors pulled me out." Jaki then began to twirl around, firing balls of black flame at the ceiling. Ursilla sniffed slightly: she wanted to remain tough, but she was in pain and was very afraid. Cyrus had warned them all about Jaki's capabilities several weeks ago, and Ursilla did not want to be killed in any of her ways. There was a whimper from the corner of the large hall, and all eyes turned towards Linoone, who was trying to find a way out.  
"Stop your whining you miserable animal!" Jaki snarled, and directed one of her attacks towards him.  
"Noon!" Linoone squealed, and rushed away. He ran through the hole where the front doors had been and along the concrete path. Ursilla gasped at this abandonment, but she then realised that it was better Linoone had a good life. Jaki was enjoying her torment, and blasted off sections of the banister.  
"Power is a funny old thing Ursilla." Jaki said. "You love inflicting yours on people, but you don't like me forcing mine on you." And to prove this, Jaki sent glass flying towards Ursilla, and the tiny pieces tore at her cheek. A single tear begin to fall down Ursilla's cheek, and Jaki cackled with glee.  
"Your crying, your crying, your crying!" She called.  
"I know I am, but I am glad." Ursilla hissed, stopping Jaki's dancing. "The snake on my head can is programmed to detect my emotions via my brain waves. If I show any emotion of worry, it will automatically activate." And Ursilla smiled with great pleasure as they all heard a snapping sound. Jaki's eyes widened with shock, and she quickly used her wind to pick up a half damaged mirror from across the hall. The snake rose up and stared towards Jaki, the paralysing beams about to be fired. But Jaki grabbed the flying mirror and put it in front of her. The beams reflected off the surface, and Ursilla gasped as they bounced back and hit her in the eyes. As all her muscles seized up, Ursilla toppled face first down the stairs, rolling with a clunk at each step. Jaki cackled with glee as Ursilla rolled to her feet, unable to do anything but blink. Jaki got down on one knee and bent over her ear.  
"I am going to show you what power truly means." She hissed, before leaping upwards and waving her arms wildly. Ursilla was picked up by the wind and sent flying out the door, above the concrete path before disappearing by the flames. Jaki went to march forwards, but froze as she neared the doors. She closed her eyes and listened for some unknown sound, before clicking her fingers behind her. The dust figures of the girl and the butler formed, and Jaki wheeled around to stare at them.  
"I felt your presence." Jaki said. "Why do you haunt here?"  
"Ghosts began to inhabit this building over a decade ago." The girl said. "They drove my father mad and he killed our entire family before killing himself."  
"That's absolutely lovely." Jaki grinned deviously. "I need some dark energy when I go outside, come with me."  
"As you wish." The butler said, and he and the girl bowed before her. Jaki grinned and began to walk out of the house. She raised her hands as she got to the bottom of the steps, and all the flames began to be absorbed inside of her.  
Behind her, Smash raised his head slowly, Nutty clinging frantically on. Xavier and the others ran out, and stared towards Jaki and the ghosts.  
"We'll follow her after she has cleared the path." Xavier said, and the six Pokemon all nodded and waited for them to move.  
Jaki finished absorbing all of the flames in, and began to glow with the power she contained.  
"This is just what I need." She hissed joyfully, and marched down the concrete path, the ghosts following behind her.

Vanessa was a purely bizarre driver, and Matthew, Cheryl, Marcel and the Pokemon were being thrown around in the back. Crates fell over, Chansey rolled around, and Cheryl had to hold onto several different Pokemon. Staraptor and Luxio were fine with it, and remained perfect still while their trainer drove madly through the forest. Staraptor was peering around, trying to see where they were, and when they turned a bend she saw Ursilla and Arbok lying by a tree.  
"Staraptor Star!" She exclaimed. Vanessa stamped onto the brakes, and the speeding car skidded to a halt. Cheryl toppled over, along with Piplup, Chansey and several crates.  
"Why did you brake?" Cheryl yelled.  
"Staraptor spotted something, and I think it is Ursilla." Vanessa replied, and opened up the driver's door.  
"Who is Ursilla?" Cheryl asked. Vanessa looked towards the limp figure by the tree and laughed.  
"That helpless cow over there!" She said, and pointed towards Ursilla.  
"Pip Pip!" Piplup cried, and pecked at the moaning Matthew. Silcoon waddled over and the two prodded at him until he began to open his eyes.  
"What happened?" He groaned, rubbing his head. Vanessa scoffed at annoyance of him, and she reached inside her bag to find a weapon. Cheryl, Chansey and Mothim stared with interest over at Ursilla, but they didn't notice Marcel slowly rising behind them, a piece of broken wood in his hands, raised like a knife. But Matthew gasped at the sight, and quickly tried to get up.  
"Look out!" He yelled. Cheryl turned and screamed as Marcel stabbed down.  
"I am going to get revenge on you scum!" He snarled.  
"Put a sock in it." Vanessa snarled, and pulled her green pen out. She clicked it and stabbed, jabbing Marcel in the eye. He roared with pain as the corrosive acid burned through his skin, and he stumbled and toppled over the other edge of the pick up truck.  
"That was disgusting." Matthew said, as he grabbed Piplup and Murkrow and climbed off the truck, quickly followed by Cheryl. The Pokemon in the crates all scrambled off, rushing away into trees or down the corridor of trees. Vanessa put her pen away and walked, followed by Staraptor and Luxio, towards Ursilla.  
"I think we should bring our Pokemon back, just so Ursilla can't attack them." Matthew whispered.  
"If you say so." Cheryl said, and the two trainers pulled out their respective PokeBalls and brought their four Pokemon back. As Matthew put his away, he noticed someone walking in the distance. At closer inspection, he realised it was Sahara. He signalled for Cheryl to follow and walked forwards, but he noticed something evil in her eyes, and saw two strange figures floating behind her. Than, Sahara raised her hands, aiming for Ursilla with Vanessa nearby.  
"VANESSA!" Matthew yelled, and ran forwards. Vanessa turned just as Matthew grabbed her bag and pulled her backwards. Staraptor and Luxio moved as well, and they narrowly avoided a jet of black fire Sahara fired, setting the tree behind them on fire.  
"It isn't powerful enough yet." Jaki snarled, staring with anger at her hands. "But I have enough energy around me for what I really have to do." And she walked quickly towards Ursilla, her hands together. Matthew, Vanessa, Cheryl, Staraptor and Luxio backed towards the ute, watching Jaki with wonder and worry. Ursilla stared up at Jaki, who was now looming over her. The demonic girl grinned, and her hands suddenly flashed black. A sleek, black sword formed between her two palms, and Jaki grasped the handle with her right hand. Ursilla shut her eyes, not bearing to look, and Matthew and Cheryl did the same. Only Vanessa watched as Jaki slashed the sword, the black metal cutting through the skin on Ursilla's neck, instantly killing her. The sword travelled through muscle and bone, completely severing Ursilla's head and causing it to flip slightly and land on the ground. Jaki laughed, and the sword turned into flames and disappeared.  
"I love doing that." She said, and fired flames at Ursilla's decapitated body and head. As she turned, Jaki noticed the other humans standing in the distance and smiled.  
"Vanessa and Matthew, how lovely it is to finally meet you face to face." She said, and walked slowly forwards.  
"You must be Jaki." Vanessa said slowly. "I have heard about you."  
"Who hasn't, I've been around for a while." Jaki smirked. "Did you like what I just did then?" She unhooked the two guns hooked to her back. She turned the capture gun into hot plastic, but through the energy gun to Vanessa. "Have it if you want, I have no need for it." Jaki turned to leave, the ghosts waiting patiently for her, but Cheryl stepped forwards, fighting back tears of horror.  
"Who are you?" She said, her voice cracking. Jaki froze and turned her head. Her smile was very wide, and her eyes were fill with glee.  
"My name is Jaki, and I am the real big bad bitch in this region." She replied, and raised both her arms: her left pointed at the ghosts, her right at the others. "I recommend you start running." She added, and clicked her left fingers. The girl and the butler shrieked as they were suddenly sucked into Jaki, who was muttering a strange incantation under her breath.  
"Run, get out of her quickly!" Vanessa said to Matthew and Cheryl. "Luxio, you go with them for protection.  
"Lux." Luxio said.  
"What are you going to do?" Matthew asked. Vanessa held up the energy gun, her finger on the trigger.  
"Stop her of course." She replied. Staraptor hovered over head, waiting for the fight, while Luxio led Matthew and Cheryl towards a patch of light in the distance. A ball of fire was growing in Jaki's hand, and her incantation was getting louder. Than, she shut her eyes and the ball flew off, passing between Vanessa and Staraptor and into the trees in the distance. Jaki let out a loud laugh, but suddenly gasped for breath, her eyes bulging and collapsed to the ground. There was a flash of golden light from her back, and Vanessa could tell Jaki had left. There was the sound of mixed movements, and Vanessa turned to see Xavier and all of his and Sahara's Pokemon come out. Nutty gasped and pointed at Sahara, and they all rushed for them.  
"Xavier, bring your Pokemon back and get out of this forest right away!" Vanessa yelled. She picked the unconscious Sahara up and passed her to Aqua, who put her on Smash and held on. Nutty leapt on as well, and Xavier quickly brought his team back.  
"Care to explain what is going on?" Xavier asked as he climbed onto Smash.  
"Just leave." Vanessa yelled. There was an explosion in the distance, and Smash quickly sped off with his passengers.  
"Ready Staraptor?" Vanessa asked, facing towards the sound of the noise.  
"Star." Staraptor said, and she waited for what would happen. There was a strange rushing sound, and Vanessa could make out something moving through the trees. The smell of smoke met her, and Vanessa realised it was something made of fire. And then it burst through the trees.  
A gigantic, black fire Charizard was speeding towards them, flapping its wings and roaring loudly. Trees caught on fire as it passed, and many Pokemon screamed and yelled. The creature was purely demonic, and Vanessa and Staraptor exchanged looks.  
"Oh well." Vanessa sighed, and pointed the gun upwards. "We may as well give this a shot before we are incinerated."  
"Aptor." Staraptor said nervously, and she shut her eyes. Vanessa grounded herself as the Charizard got closer and closer, its mouth open wide and its fiery claws raised. Pokemon were screaming and fleeing deep into the trees, their wholes turned to ash as they fled. Charizard got so close to Vanessa that she could feel the heat sucking moisture from her body, and she had no choice but to pull the trigger. There was a blast of orange energy and it struck the Charizard in the centre. Vanessa shut her eyes, expecting the worse.  
But suddenly the orange energy turned into a beam being pulled out of the gun. Vanessa yelled out as the whole clearing became engulfed with orange light. The Charizard let out a furious roar as he disintegrated, turning into tiny wisps of fire. Staraptor flew forwards and grabbed onto Vanessa's shoulders, both fearing the worse as the orange energy struck the car.  
"FLY!" Vanessa screamed. Staraptor shot forwards, Vanessa dragged with her. The orange beam continued to fire, but the faster Vanessa moved away, the less powerful it became, and Vanessa began to make out the trees again. But there was a major explosion, combing all the light and black flames into one big shockwave. The Old Chateau was destroyed, and Staraptor wasn't fast enough, causing the two to be hit. They began to spin, and Staraptor's hold on Vanessa loosened until her green dress tore. The teenager was sent flying, the gun clutched to her chest and her bag clunking on her back. Vanessa felt a warm feeling, quickly taken away as she smashed into a pool of water. Her eyes and injuries stung, her dress began to drag her down, but Vanessa kicked upwards and her head broke the surface.  
She was surrounded by a vast lake of water, along with a wooden bridge and green fields of grass in the distance. There were trees nearby, but the smoke coming out from them was blocked by Staraptor flapping her wings happily. Vanessa looked at her and laughed.  
They were finally out.

Sandgem Town Pokemon Centre

Charles felt a bit nostalgic as he sat down inside the Pokemon Centre, staring around at the building he had been inside only a few weeks ago. Roshonda, who was still wearing her swim gear like Charles, was dealing with healing their Pokemon, leaving Charles to try and contact Team Galactic. However, the number was blocked and no one answered, so Charles gave up and sat down. He looked around the room and saw the computer where he had retrieved Gligar, Poochyena and Tauros. This reminded Charles to check on his others, and pulled out the Safari and PokeBall containing Tauros and Ampharos. Charles stared at them for a few seconds before letting out a long, sad sigh. How had he gone from travelling with a new friend to witnessing her murder a week later? Charles' life had changed dramatically and nothing was there to hold him back. Lyla, Typhlosion, Lugia and Dragonite had all been forced out of his thoughts, and there wasn't any chances for him to call Professors Elm or Oak or get his other Pokemon. Nothing was going right, and Charles tipped backwards onto the other seats and groaned.  
"Funny seeing you back here." Charles opened his eyes and looked for the source of the voice. He recognised the elderly man sitting next to him as the one who spoken to him when Charles had last visited. A Dragonair had been beside him then, but now a Flaafy sat on the seat, waving her legs happily.  
"Flaaf." She baaed, and Charles gasped as his whole world turned white…  
_The building around him was collapsing, dust falling from the white ceilings onto the tiled floors. Explosions sounded from every possible area, completely blocking out the self destruct warning blaring over the loud speakers. Charles looked over a balcony into the large hall beneath, where two trainers were battling dramatically with all their might next to a large, whirring machine.  
"Flaaf!" Charles turned around and saw his Flaafy, limping slightly towards him. Charles beamed and rushed forwards, wrapping his arms around her middle.  
"I am so relieved, I thought I had lost you." He said to his old friend. Flaafy briefly hugged him, but pushed him away and pointed behind her. Charles looked down the corridor and into a doorway. A cloaked man was standing there, watching the proceedings. His face was shadowed by a hat, but Charles saw the man smile before he turned and ran, his cloak flapping behind him. Charles wanted to chase after him, and reached for a PokeBall. But he quickly remembered the rest of his team had fainted, leaving only the injured Flaafy behind.  
"Lyla… Hina… Lance… Silver?" Charles yelled in desperation, but knew no one would hear him even if they were alive over the blasts. He looked down at Flaafy, who stood tall and smiled at him.  
"I'm ready if you are." He said.  
"Afy Fla." Flaafy said, and the two began to run, their feet clunking on the metal balcony. They were nearing the doorway when suddenly the machine exploded. The shockwave struck Charles in the back, sending him flying and smashing into the wall. His head hit the metal and Charles slumped into unconsciousness…  
_"Wake up your lazy arse!" Charles snorted and opened his eyes. Roshonda was standing over him, holding his PokeBalls above his face.  
"Sorry, I must have dozed off." Charles said, rubbing his head. The elderly man was sitting perfectly still, stroking his Flaafy's head.  
"Well, everyone is healed now, so let's go." Roshonda said. Charles nodded and pocketed the PokeBalls, but as he stood up, the elderly man coughed.  
"You dropped your other two on the ground." He said. Charles saw the Safari and PokeBalls on the ground, and bent down to pick them up. Suddenly, the elderly man moved, putting his mouth near Charles' left ear.  
"Don't give up on yourself yet, the time to prove yourself is coming." He whispered. Charles stood up quickly, stunned by this. But Roshonda was tugging on his arm, and Charles was forced to leave.  
"What did he want?" Roshonda asked.  
"Just an old man wanting company." Charles said irritably. The glass doors parted and the two walked out into glorious sunshine. The lights from police cars were glowing in the distance, so Charles and Roshonda turned and rushed towards Route 202. Without even stopping to make a plan, the two ignored their injuries and simply ran. They had a lot of land to make up before they got home.

Route 205

Everyone watched as Vanessa swam to the edge of the lake and clambered out. She threw her soggy bag and the energy fun aside before collapsing to the grass, landing alongside Sahara. Staraptor and Luxio stood by her, and Xavier, Matthew and Cheryl gathered around.  
"Are you alright?"  
"What happened in there?"  
"Should we call the police?"  
"I am fine, and there is no use getting the police involved." Vanessa sighed, as she sprawled out her limbs and let the sun dry her off. "What exactly are we going to tell them? That our friend turned evil, beheaded an evil cow and created a black beast of fire?"  
"It is a very unbelievable story." Xavier added, with nods from all the Pokemon.  
"If you are absolutely certain you are fine," Cheryl said, and Vanessa nodded vigorously. "Than I will head into Eterna." And she pointed into the distance, and everyone looked towards the large city nearby.  
"How come?" Vanessa asked.  
"I have to register for the Eterna Pokemon Contest, if it is still on." Cheryl said.  
"Are you going to register as well?" Xavier asked Matthew. Vanessa chuckled as Cheryl gasped and turned towards Matthew, who glared at Xavier.  
"You never told me you were a coordinator as well!" Cheryl gasped.  
"I know, but it never really came up." Matthew said sheepishly. "And I didn't get the chance to tell you either, so-"  
"Never got the chance?" Cheryl shrieked. "We were in there for four days!" Cheryl raised her hands in rage and let out a groan.  
"I am sorry, I truly am!" Matthew said. Cheryl just growled and stomped away towards Eterna. Matthew sighed and ran after her.  
"He could have said goodbye." Xavier said.  
"Who really gives a damn." Vanessa replied, and pulled out her PokeBalls to bring Staraptor and Luxio back. "Come on Xavier my man, come ly besides me." Xavier nodded and lay down as well, his body becoming rigid. There was a groan from besides Vanessa, and Nutty, Aqua and Smash rushed forwards. Sahara coughed violently and sat up, rubbing her head and hands.  
"Hey there…" She sighed. "How the hell did I get out here?"  
"Your good friend Jaki came out." Vanessa said. Sahara groaned and lay back down.  
"Please tell me she didn't do anything bad." She said. Vanessa, Xavier and the Pokemon all exchanged looks and Sahara got worried.  
"Wait, where's Matthew? Did she kill him?"  
"No, but she killed Ursilla." Xavier explained. Sahara was stunned, but merely shrugged and patted Nutty.  
"For the better than, I presume." Sahara said quietly. "But what else did she do?"  
"Just ly down and relax." Vanessa said, stretching out 'relax'. "The sun is beautiful, we are outside of that stupid forest and we have one less murderous maniac to worry about, can't we enjoy ourselves?" Sahara nodded and laid down. Aqua happily jumped into the water, Nutty curled up on Sahara's chest and Smash coiled up in a ball. The three trainers stared up at the sky, putting the days dramas behind them and enjoying themselves. None of them even noticed the lawnmower speeding through the grass alongside them as they had their first break in weeks.


	13. Eternal Hate

**Eternal Hate**

January 18th 2010

Eterna City

Matthew Pearl was almost out of breath.  
The Pokemon trainer was running through the sprawling streets of Eterna City. Thankfully for him, it wasn't as big as Jubilife City, though it seemed to be bigger than Oreburgh. There was a mixture of large towering skyscrapers, and small one storey shops and houses. Matthew also noticed that nature feel that there was too the city: trees were growing naturally, unlike in boxes at Jubilife, and there was even a forest surrounding a secluded tower at the top of the city. He had noticed a lot of the nature around the Eterna Contest Hall, a little bit south of the Dialga statue. Matthew quite liked the change of scenery, but he had other issues at hand.  
Following on from his dreadful contest performance, Matthew was desperate to prove himself, to both his friends, family, rivals and himself. It hadn't been the best performance, so he was ready to redeem himself. And one of the Sinnoh gyms was located right in Eterna, and Matthew was running there right now. He knew his friends were in the city, and could be heading towards the gym as he ran, and wanted to get the Forest Badge first. His feet pounded the pavement, and a group of hippies parted to let him pass. Matthew turned a corner, and ran down a street. But before he reached the end, which was a wall of rock, Matthew skidded to a halt.  
"Woah." He whispered, and stared at the Eterna Gym.  
The roof of the gym was a giant, pink flower bud, which rose up higher than the surrounding mountain cliffs. A pleasant aroma was coming from it, and Matthew imagined it as a real flower. Four, ten metre long petals were rotating around, made from green glass. They hovered over a giant garden: there was a rainbow of colours to rival Floaroma Town. Cherubi, Budew, Oddish and Bellsprout danced around, playing a tag-like game.  
"Awesome." Matthew mumbled, and walked along a cobbled walkway, and threw a set of glass doors.  
There was a smell of pollen in the air, and Matthew sniffed at the number of pot plants and flower beds in the lobby. The carpet was green, and soothing music played. There was a reception desk shaped like a Torterra, and a slightly overweight man, with brown hair and black glasses, sat behind it.  
"Umm… hello." Matthew said, a bit unsure about the building. "I am here to battle the gym leader, Gardenia." The man nodded, and pointed out a door shaped like a daisy.  
"Miss Gardenia is battling at the moment, but you are welcome to watch." He explained.  
"Thank you sir." Matthew replied, and walked up to the door, and slowly pushed it open.  
The first thing Matthew noticed was how forest like the gym was. There were rows of trees covering the walls, with flowers and bushes scattering the middle, and real grass crunched under his feet.  
Then he noticed it was raining.  
Water pelted down, instantly soaking him, but Matthew realised it couldn't rain inside… unless a Pokemon had moved. And, sure enough, two Pokemon were fighting in the middle of the gym.  
The battlefield was a miniature version of the building: a pink flower bud, with four rotating green leaves. A circle of grass and flowers enclosed it and went underneath, making a giant flower clock. A Roserade, who caused the rain, was battling furiously with a Monferno.  
The gym leader was a young women, with a ginger bowl cut hair style, and a black band keeping it in place. Her face was pointed at the chin, but still had a warm smile. She was wearing a green shrug, tied over a black singlet, and an orange mini skirt, though it had a more earthly colour than her hair. And another redhead was opposite, and Matthew's face dropped: she was wearing an bright white dress, which somehow wasn't wet, and it went up at the bottom, with a yellow underlining. Only one person would wear something like that.  
Vanessa.  
"Come on Gardenia, I was hoping for a challenge." Vanessa snapped snarkily, as Monferno fired an Ember. Gardenia simply smirked, while Roserade absorbed water to make a Weather Ball.  
"You haven't seen how I plan to end this." She replied, and Roserade smashed the ball of water on Monferno, smashing him into the flowers.  
"Rose Roserade." The Bouquet Pokemon sneered, and Monferno growled with rage at her.  
"Use another Weather Ball!" Gardenia commanded. Roserade nodded, and the rain formed into a ball in her flowers, and she leapt off the leaves.  
"Mach Punch!" Vanessa shouted. Like a rocket, Monferno leapt up, his left fist glowing white.  
"Ferno Mon Mon!" He shouted, and rammed the fist into Roserade's face.  
"Rose." She moaned softly, and smashed into the pink bulb. Roserade landed in the flowers, while Monferno landed on a leaf, and poked his tongue out at Gardenia as he rotated past. The gym leader quickly brought Roserade back, and switched her for a Grotle, who landed onto the same leaf as Monferno.  
"A battle of starters, interesting." Vanessa murmured. "An associate has a Grotle, so I know how to fight back."  
"We'll just see about that." Gardenia smirked. "Start off with Headbutt!"  
"Hit him with Ember!" Vanessa ordered. Monferno opened is mouth wide, a ball of flames forming. But Grotle ran forwards, whacking Monferno with his head, and the two rolled off the leaf, landing in the flowers. Monferno blasted the Ember as they fell, but it's power was stripped by the rain, and it only singed his soaking bushes.  
"Monferno, return." Vanessa said bitterly, and Monferno disappeared, leaving Grotle along in the flowers. Staraptor was then sent out, and she flew around the bulb, ignoring the rain pelting her.  
"The aerial advantage won't save you!" Gardenia boomed. "Grotle, bring her down with a Bite!"  
"Twister!" Vanessa shouted. Grotle jumped up, using the leaves for extra spring, and opened up wide.  
"Till!" He boomed, and clamped onto Staraptor's talons.  
"AP!" She squawked, and began to spin around rapidly. A blue tornado formed, and Grotle was spun around, finally letting going and hitting the pink bulb. Gardenia gasped, but thankfully for her, Grotle landed on a leaf, barely conscious.  
"Razor Leaf, end this!" The gym leader shouted, but Vanessa tipped her head back and laughed.  
"It'll take more than leaves to bring her down! Finish this with Aerial Ace." Vanessa cried. Grotle's bushes glowed green, and leaves shot out of them. Staraptor covered her face with her wings, causing her to drop, but she opened her wings up, both glowing white.  
"STAR!" She cried, and slashed Grotle, blasting him backwards on his shell. A leaf snapped as Grotle smashed through it, and he fell, unconscious, onto the soaked garden. Matthew knew the battle was over, as the rain cloud was disappearing. It revealed a hole at the top of the bulb, showing the cloudy sky outside.  
"That was a good game." Gardenia said, smiling brightly, but Vanessa was too busy hugging Staraptor to care. Matthew stepped forwards, and Gardenia swiftly saw him.  
"Hello there." She called, and leapt over one leaf, and then landed in front of Matthew. "I am Gardenia, the Eterna Gym leader."  
"I'm Matthew Pearl, and I'd like a battle." Matthew asked. Gardenia sighed, and looked over at her field.  
"It will take about an hour or two to fix things up, are you able to come back later?" Matthew was a bit shocked: his battle against Roark had happened soon after Xavier's. But he supposed that it would be better to wait.  
"I suppose so." He said, and Gardenia smiled.  
"Well well well." The two turned, and Vanessa walked over, a smile on her face and Staraptor on her shoulder. "I thought you would still be hung up over your loss."  
"I get over things quickly." Matthew replied stiffly, and he stood up as straight as possible, and was thankfully a few centimetres taller. Gardenia looked between the two steely eyed trainers, unsure what was going on. The two were still harbouring emotions from the protest a week ago, and it had been made worse at the contest hall yesterday. After two minutes, Matthew looked away, making Vanessa smile brightly.  
"I'll be back later." Matthew muttered, and storm off, squelching through the mud. Vanessa watched him go with glee.  
"We did good Staraptor."  
"Star!" Staraptor agreed. Gardenia coughed, and held up a small green badge: it was triangular shaped, and had three green trees outlined in white.  
"Your Forest Badge, congratulations!" Gardenia said with a beam. Vanessa snatched it, and held it up to her eye, as if checking if it was fake.  
"Excellent!" She proclaimed. "Thanks for this! See you around." And Vanessa walked off, smiling brightly. But as she got closer to the door, she began to hear shouts, a major commotion. Staraptor took flight, and she flew up to the door, listening. Vanessa grabbed her yellow bag, which was lying by the door, and pulled her umbrella out. She raised it, preparing to strike, when she recognised the voices: one was Matthew's, and the other's was…  
"LOOKER!" Vanessa exclaimed, and she kicked the door. It swung open, and revealed Looker standing there, dragging Matthew away.  
"I don't want to get involved, I hate battling them!" Matthew was protesting.  
"I need your Silcoon and Piplup's powers!" Looker insisted.  
"Sure, if the boy doesn't want to go-" The receptionist said, but Vanessa glared at him, and then walked forwards with Staraptor.  
"Looker what's going on?" She asked. Looker turned to her, and smiled brightly. Matthew tried to walk off, but the spy held him closer.  
"There is a possible terrorist attack in the works, and I need major assistance from the Dex Holders." He explained, but that only confused Vanessa more.  
"What's a Dex Holder? And whose planning a terrorist attack?" Looker raised and eyebrow, and looked seriously at her.  
"Team Galactic, of course."

Xavier was having another plain, perfect day. He was spending the day roaming around Eterna City, waiting for news from his friends before carrying on with them. The weather was clear enough for winter, and was perfect for him and Grotle to examine the buildings around Eterna.  
The two had been roaming around for half an hour, but Xavier still wasn't very interested by the city: it was very plain and bland compared to other cities he had been too. However, up ahead, there was a pleasant, old fashioned, building, complete with wooden walls and a triangular roof. A sign was hanging inside the window: RAD RICKSHAW'S CYCLE SHOP.  
"I should buy a bicycle, it will be useful." Xavier said aloud. "What do you think Grotle?" Xavier turned, and saw Grotle sniffing a nearby tree, and happily eating leaves from the lowest branch.  
"Grotle, come here." Xavier called. Grotle froze, his mouth clamped on a leaf. His reluctantly swallowed it and waddled over. Xavier pointed towards the bike shop.  
"I am thinking of getting a bike, what do you think?"  
"Grot Till Grot." Grotle replied, shrugging. Xavier nodded, but still continued to walk forwards. Grotle trotted after, but began to notice something strange. People that were walking past seemed to be double taking, and staring curiously at Xavier. Some people got out camera phones, some people began to dial numbers, or mumble to a stranger, both of them intrigued by the situation. Xavier didn't notice, but Grotle had been trained specifically for Xavier, and didn't want him being laughed at. He was about to Razor Leaf the crowd, when suddenly a man jumped in front of them. He had greasy blonde hair, charming good looks, and was dressed casually in a blue shirt and jeans. He was holding a notebook and a pen, and was smiling wickedly.  
"Hello there, my name is Ritchie Jones," The man said, his voice slick and cool. "Head Columnist for the Sinnoh Star Times. I was wondering if I could have a quick interview?"  
"Why do you want to interview me?" Xavier asked, side stepping past him. Grotle moved up, baring his teeth, but Ritchie ignored him, as he was laughing.  
"Have you looked at a paper over the past week?" He cackled, and reached into his jeans pocket. Xavier froze, and stared towards the folded up newspaper. But before Ritchie could pull it out, the ground began to shake. The people gawping at Xavier toppled over, along with Ritchie, but Grotle stopped Xavier from falling. Before he could thank him, a rough hand grabbed Xavier's collar, pulling him into an alleyway.  
"GROTLE!" Grotle shouted. He ran forwards, but froze, and fired leaves from his bushes. Ritchie's notebook was sliced up, and Grotle smiled before running into the alley. He could make out Xavier in the middle, letting himself be pulled by a mysterious figure.  
"GROT TILL GROTLE!" Grotle shouted, and bit on Xavier's trouser leg, holding him back.  
"Leave it, you have to come with me." The figure grunted, his voice as rough as his hand. Grotle wanted to fight, but there was a hissing sound. He looked, and a Swampert appeared, his eyes narrowed and glaring.  
"Let's go inside Grotle, see what he wants." Xavier said. Grotle sighed and nodded, and let his trainer go. The figure nodded, and opened up a door inside the alleyway. Swampert slid inside, and the figure followed, and turned a light on.  
Xavier and Grotle examined the room as they walked in. One wall was completely covered with shelves, and they were all fill: fossils, a rainbow of jewels and shards of glass, different sized rocks and pearls, sections of dirt and a several long, pure white bones. The next wall had an array of photos of different men and women, sketches, maps of what appeared to be a subway system, diagrams for different machines, and a variety of pictures of rock and ground Pokemon. There was also a cluttered wooden desk, a strange purple box, and quite a lot of dirt. The Swampert was standing beside the figure, who was now in focus.  
His face was nearly completely covered with white hair: a long, tangled up white beard, filthy white hair that ran past his ears, and big tufty eyebrows. He was wearing a brown, holey cap, a thick brown jacket over a badly stained shirt, and shorts that showed off his thin legs. A pair of clunky sandals and a green hiking bag completed the look, and Grotle stifled laughter.  
"Who are you exactly?" Xavier asked. The man stared seriously at him.  
"My name is Arthur, and I am here to help you." He growled, and quickly grabbed the purple box.  
"Why do you have to help me?"  
"Because, thanks to one Clarisse Miller, it isn't safe for you anymore." Arthur explained, whilst checking over the purple box.  
"Doesn't she work for the Sinnoh Broadcasting Company?" Xavier inquired.  
"Right you are, and she made a story that has endangered you and your friends." Arthur explained, and looked satisfied with the box. His face was very wrinkled, dirty and pale, and reflected the rest of his body and clothing, and his chapped lips were hidden by his beard. "I am going to give you a possible option to help give you freedom." And he moved outside, placing the purple box on the tarmac. Swampert ushered them out, and Grotle glared at him. Arthur pressed several buttons on the box, and it made a bleeping sound. The ground shook slightly, and a rainbow light appeared on the centre.  
"Follow my lead." Arthur said, and he stood on the light. There was a flash, and suddenly he was gone. Xavier walked forwards, curious, and reached out.  
"Grot!" Grotle cried, but Xavier touched the light instinctively.  
All of a sudden, all Xavier could see was darkness. He was falling, moving through a narrow tunnel. It was perfectly circular though, and light was coming up, getting larger and larger. Xavier registered nothing, except the fact he was falling. Then, almost as quickly as it had begun, he landed, though seemed to float the last few centimetres, landing in a cloud of dust. He coughed, and Arthur put out a hand, pulling him up.  
"So, what do you think?" Arthur asked, pointed around them.  
They appeared to have landed metres, possibly kilometres, underground. The floor was made of dirt, rock and sand, and they walls were definitely woven from the Earth: brown, jagged, and muddy. Xavier and Arthur stood in the middle of a crossroads, with four possible paths on either side, and more could be seen in the light of oil lamps. Some of the walls seemed to be glittering, and wooden posts held everything in place. The ceiling of this underground subway was too high up to see, but there was a cry, and Grotle suddenly materialized from the black. He landed with a thud, and Swampert squashed him a few seconds later.  
"Are you alright?" Xavier asked.  
"Grot." Grotle moaned. Swampert smirked and climbed off, and went obediently towards Arthur.  
"What is this place?" Xavier inquired, while he brought some potions out to fix Grotle up.  
"This is the Underground!" Arthur boomed, and his voice echoed. "Me, my sister, and a team of experts dug all the tunnels, and then carved it out properly, put supports in, and voila!" He cried. "It took five years, and we discovered a lot of rare objects: jewels, pearls, fossils from here and abroad. However, after only three years, things got a bit… bad." Arthur sighed. "Black market dealers and thieves began to use it to escape the authorities, and several murders have been committed in far corners." Arthur looked a bit depressed, but quickly recovered. "Despite that, this is still the safest place for you!"  
"I don't want to be murdered though." Xavier complained.  
"Grot!" Grotle added, nodding with agreement.  
"Trust me, it is safer down here than it is for you up there." Arthur insisted. "Sit down, I'll explain everything to you." He sat down on a rock, and Xavier sat down alongside, and prepared to listened to what Arthur had to say.

Eterna City Pokemon Centre

"Owwww."  
Sahara moaned, and slowly raised her body up. Her head was throbbing, her mouth was dry, and her back and neck were stiff. She groaned with every tiny movement, wheter she moved her arm, her leg, or even breathed too deeply.  
Her room was completely trashed: a mirror lay shattered on the floor, the metal bunk bed was twisted badly and appeared to be rusted. There were holes in the wall, the light bulbs had burst, and her entire bag had been emptied. PokeBalls lay over the soggy carpet, along with spare changes of clothes, a book, and a shattered vodka bottle.  
"Eden… Crystal… bitches." Sahara hissed, and stood up. She quickly realised she was lying on the wall, entangled in her sheets, with lipstick and mascara smeared on them. Sahara quickly grabbed a shard of the mirror, and saw that she looked like a hooker, with thick black mascara, ruby red lipstick, yellow blush and glitters all over her face.  
"Frick!" Sahara shouted, and stood up, though she struggled with this part. Quickly, she gathered up the balls containing Nutty, Aqua and Smash, put her jacket on, which was rather torn, and scrambled out of the roof, into the hallway of the Pokemon Centre. Sahara had some faint memories about the past days: most of them involved her being in pain, though she recalled Xavier and Vanessa bringing her into the centre, where she had collapsed from exhaustion. Whenever Jaki came out, it drained all of Sahara's energy, and seemed to give it all to Sahara and Crystal. They got stronger and more powerful, and Sahara just got weaker and weaker.  
She stumbled down the hallway, keeping her head low so no one looked at her. The bathroom should be up ahead, like most Pokemon Centres, and felt her way using the wall. Suddenly, she collided with something, and nearly fell over, but someone caught her.  
"Woah, sorry about that… SAHARA!" And the person shrieked girlishly, and Sahara did fall to the floor this time.  
"Ow…." She groaned, and looked up, trying to make out the person. "Hello… Mason?"  
"I thought you were dead!" Mason exclaimed, and helped her up.  
"Why did you think that?" Sahara grumbled. "Just because a building collapsed on Crystal doesn't mean I'm dead." She joked, though Mason didn't laugh.  
"You really shouldn't be here… Oh, let's go see your grandfather!" And Mason pulled her down the hallways, leading towards a room near the medical rooms.  
"Why's he here?" Sahara asked, disgruntled about being dragged down the hallway  
"During our research into space, we discovered something important, and he decided to come here." Mason explained. He stopped outside a door and opened it, and Sahara followed cautiously inside. Two men were inside the room, which was bare except for a long table. Two men stood in there: one was Professor Rowan, the other was a shorter man, with light grey hair, sun damaged skin, and was wearing a red shirt, brown trousers and a lab coat. Sahara recognised him as Professor Oak, the top Pokemon Professor in Kanto, but she wasn't sure why he was here. But her grandfather thrust some papers under his nose, looking very grim.  
"Look at these statistics, look at the evidence!" Rowan was booming. "These prove there is a rift in the continuum." Professor Oak frowned at the facts.  
"Yes, this is very disturbing news." He sighed at last. "Any number of Pokemon could be causing this."  
"I told you the story about Sahara's friend, didn't I?" Rowan said, and looked for a piece of paper.  
"Charles isn't my friend." Sahara growled. Rowan and Oak turned, and Rowan dropped the papers he had been holding. He ran over, and Sahara opened her arms and the two embraced. Mason stepped aside, letting the two be with each other.  
"I have been so worried." Rowan whispered. "We tried looking through the rubble, but no body was found. We presumed you'd be blown to pieces."  
"A missile can't stop me." Sahara said quietly back, and Rowan laughed.  
"That's my girl!" He boomed, and stood up straight, looking a bit teary. "We will have to call your mother, she'd want to know."  
"Do I have to?" Sahara groaned.  
"Your mother has the right to know." Professor Oak said, and he stepped forwards. "I may have been married to your great aunt for some time, but we have never actually met."  
"I have heard Agatha talk about you, she is always complaining to Bertha." Sahara giggled, though stopped as the two professors pursed their lips at the mention of the ex-wives. "Oh, sorry."  
"It's fine, it's fine." Rowan sighed. Mason and Sahara exchanged looks, smirking.  
"Mason, get a paper towel so she can clean her face." Oak ordered. Mason didn't look happy about being ordered by another professor, but he rushed off to grab them for Sahara. She walked forwards, and stared at some of the papers. There were pictures from space, showing different stars and planets, graphs with squiggly lines, and pictures of different scenes she had seen on the news: huge storm clouds over Johto, smoke rising from Sootopolis City, explosions occurring from the Goldenrod Radio Tower, and an avalanche around Cerulean Cave.  
"What are you guys researching?" Sahara asked curiously. She looked, and saw Rowan and Oak tense up.  
"We are looking for the legendary birds of Kanto." Oak said quickly, and looked wide eyed at Professor Rowan.  
"Oh yes, yes we are." Rowan said, nodding. Sahara raised an eyebrow, as she knew they were lying, but decided not to press it.  
"Can I come with you on your research? I don't know where the others are." She asked. Rowan and Oak looked a bit uncertain, but Sahara put on a pout, and the two folded.  
"I suppose we can catch up." Professor Rowan mumbled.  
"Excellent! I can tell you everything that's happened over the past few weeks!" Sahara cried happily. Professor Rowan nodded, and began to put papers back in their boxes. Oak pulled a small black device out of his pockets, and tapped away at it, looking a bit grim. Sahara came over to help with the papers just as Mason returned.  
"Here you go." He said, and passed over some wet towels. Sahara smiled, and began to wipe the makeup off her face.  
"So, where are we off to research first?" Sahara asked. Professor Oak passed over an aerial photograph. It showed an area just outside Eterna City, with a hill in the middle and a giant statue.  
"We are looking at the Dialga statue, as it could give us-" Mason began, but Oak cut him off.  
"It could give us a good view of wheter the birds are in the area." He finished explaining. Sahara raised an eyebrow and smirked: she knew she was being lied to, but she was interested to see how the day went out.

Route 204 (South)

The small route was very quiet, as most people had already entered or left Jubilife City, leaving the route bare. A single car with a holidaying family drove along, and several Kricketot were dancing along the footpath. It had been recently repaired, following Ursilla's attack a few weeks ago, and there was a nice new tarmac.  
And, sitting on the side, was Charles and Roshonda.  
The two had been travelling since fleeing from Sandgem two days ago. When they arrived in Jubilife, they had tried desperately to call Team Galactic, but the number had once again been blocked. The two tried to take their minds off things, and looked around the city. But it was very depressing: the Global Trade Station was still closed, and there was a gaping hole where the Poketch Company Headquarters had been. Giving up all hope, the two made their way down the route.  
After a rough night's sleep, the two had managed to rob several trainers, but hadn't got very much.  
"Shouldn't this dicks carry more food?" Roshonda snarled, and angrily threw away some bacon sandwiches. Charles whacked her on the shoulder.  
"We need the food if we are going to walk all the way back to Veilstone!" He snapped. His stomach then let out a growl, obviously agreeing with him.  
"I keep telling you, we just have to get to Eterna, there is a small base there." Roshonda sighed.  
"I know, but we aren't in uniform, they might not recognise us." Charles said. The two of them stared huffily at each other: being stuck on the road, with little food, no money, and no possible end in sight, the two were very tense and angry. Charles cradled the supplies he had brought with him: his six PokeBalls, a change of clothes, and his PokeDex: it was a blue touch screen model, which he had received from Professor Elm at Christmas. He didn't really use it that much, but it kept him connected to his old life: his friends, his family, his Pokemon, and Lyla especially. Charles wanted to be back with her, even if it went battling Giovanni. But he was stick in a bush, with a moody Galactic grunt at his side.  
"Does this spot look fine to you?" A new voice had suddenly appeared, disrupting the silence of the route. Roshonda and Charles stuck their heads out of the bush, and saw that a hot pink VW Beetle had pulled up, and two people had gotten out: one was female, wearing a purple dress suit, and the second was male, holding a camera.  
"It's picturesque enough." Harrison Maude replied, and Lucinda Large nodded in agreement.  
"I don't even see why we have to cover this stupid story!" Lucinda fumed. "So the road got repaired, big whoop!"  
"Your father is still annoyed about how Vanessa got passed us." Harrison pointed out, as he began setting up his camera. Lucinda pursed her lips and huffed, and clunked down the road in her purple stilettos. Roshonda stifled a gasp, and she pulled Charles back into the bush.  
"They know something about carrot-top!" She hissed. "And they look rich!"  
"I think they work for the SBC, I recognise them from a news report back in Johto." Charles whispered.  
"I don't give a shit about that," Roshonda growled. "They are rich, so they'll have cash, and they can give us information!" And before Charles could stop her, Roshonda leapt out of the bushes, throwing Beedrill's PokeBall.  
"STOP!" Charles shouted, but it was too late. Beedrill burst open, and buzzed above Lucinda and Harrison, who stared at the bug-type, startled by his arrival. Then they looked at Roshonda, who was drawing a gun out of her pockets. The Kricketot that had been dancing on the road now cowered in grass, shocked by what was unfolding.  
"Hello there." Roshonda hissed. "I require the usage of your car and money, so kindly hand over your keys and wallets." Lucinda and Harrison exchanged looks, and they began to reach into their pockets. Charles came out of the bushes, still putting his PokeBalls in his pockets, and he walked up to Roshonda.  
"You can't do this, these people are influential!" Charles hissed.  
"And?" Roshonda snapped.  
"They could easily report us, and if we stole their car, we'd be followed!" Roshonda sighed, and put her gun down. But it was a mistake.  
"Go Miltank!" Lucinda yelled.  
"Help her out Pidgeot!" Harrison added, and he threw a Heal Ball to join Lucinda's Luxury Ball. With a blast of light, a Miltank and Pidgeot formed.  
"Beedrill, stop them!" Roshonda shouted, and reached for her gun.  
"Mil!" Miltank said, and opened her mouth. An Icy Wind hit both Charles and Roshonda, knocking them backwards. Charles moaned as he fell, and his PokeDXi fell from his hands. Pidgeot flew upwards towards a diving Beedrill.  
"BEE!"  
"PIDGE!" The two Pokemon cried, and both of them fired Air Cutters. There was a blast of energy as they connected, and both Pokemon fell back to Earth.  
"Send someone out!" Roshonda hissed, as she reached for her gun which had fallen away. Charles nodded, and began to pull out Elle's PokeBall, when suddenly there was a gasp.  
"It's a PokeDex!" Lucinda gasped, and stared in awe at Charles' blue PokeDex. Charles quickly grabbed it, but not before Harrison took a picture with a camera phone.  
"So I have a PokeDex, so what?" He snapped. He looked at Roshonda for support, but sae that she looked very grave.  
"Have you two been living in a cave for the past fortnight?" Lucinda scoffed. Harrison pressed several buttons on his phone, and tossed it over.  
"This is a news report form July 13th." Harrison explained, and all four trainers, and the three Pokemon, crowded around the phone. "You may find the report very interesting." Charles was confused, but pressed the play button. A man was sitting at a table, and the SBC six' o'clock news was about to begin.

_"Good evening. Our top story tonight: PokeDexes have been connected to a number of unfortunate happenings over the past few years. But now they are here in Sinnoh. What does this mean for the future of our country? Clarisse Miller reports."  
_The footage changed from the newsreader to a montage of footage, taken from Cerulean Cave, Silph Co, Sevii Islands, Mahogany Town, Goldenrod Radio Tower, Meteor Falls and Sootopolis City. _  
"The PokeDexes are well known devices: invented by Professor Samuel Oak in the mid nineties, they were intended to record details on any Pokemon that a trainer caught. Later sent to Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh, they became the must-have of all trainers.  
However, things began to go wrong about three years ago.  
Team Rocket, a villainous organization that was centred in Kanto and Johto, had a series of plans to utilize the legendaries of the area. However, their terrorist plans were put to a halt several times: several times in Kanto by champion Red, partner Leaf, and the recently deceased Blue. Than in Johto, were six trainers called Charles, Lyla, Duncan, Mina, Kris and Alexis, assisted the champion, Lance, in defeating the team over a two week period. Only last year in Hoenn, two unknown trainers managed to defeat Teams Magma and Aqua in their plans to bring forth Kyorge and Groudon.  
And what do all these trainers have in common? That's right: they have been blessed with the curse of PokeDexes.  
_The footage changed from the montage to a forest area. There was smoking rubble lying everywhere, and Vanessa and Matthew were clearly visible._  
This footage, taken yesterday afternoon, shows the two new trainers, who began their journeys at New Year, scanning their new Pokemon. Matthew Pearl, aged 14, and son of Adrian Pearl, Head of the Sinnoh Pokemon Contest Board, and Vanessa, her last name unknown, and aged 14 also, who won the SBC Showdown two weeks ago, are soon in this scene. This was taken a few minutes after the headquarters of the Eterna Forest Restructuring Project was blown up, in which the two trainers had been involved.  
Investigations by our reporters have uncovered two more PokeDex trainer: Xavier Diamond, 14, son of 'Tower Tycoon' Palmer Diamond, and Sahara Plattina, 15, daughter of well known geologists Deidre and Frasier Plattina. These four trainers are known to have been involved in several incidents with Team Galactic, taking place in Sandgem Town, Jubilife City, the Oreburgh Mines and Valley Windworks, leading to the destruction of the latter two.  
Who knows what Team Galactic are planning. The group is only known for pitiful terrorist attacks, but that's all Teams Rocket, Magma and Aqua were known for as well, before they met the 'Dex Holders.' This reporter would like to issue a word of caution: don't get involved, it could lead to your death. Stay away from Team Galactic and the holders, and alert the police of your suspicions. We can only wait and see what the next disaster will be. Clarisse Miller, SBC News._

"THAT BITCH!" Vanessa roared. She and Matthew were looking at the report from Looker's phone. Matthew looked shocked, but Looker had a similar expression on his face.  
"She has unwillingly endangered all four of your lives." He sighed. "I tried to have the story pulled, but Mr Adiem wouldn't listen."  
"I've heard of him, he's head of the SB-" Matthew began, but Vanessa growled.  
"We all know who he is!" She snapped, and she and Matthew stared angrily at each other. Looker sighed and took a step forwards.  
"Anyway, people now know who you are. And pictures were also released the next day, and the public knows roughly what you all look like." The spy explained. "And, unfortunately, I need to involve you two again."  
"What, so we get more press?" Matthew snapped. "Last time we helped you was when the first footage was taken!"  
"I swear that this won't be like that!" Looker insisted. "Team Galactic rarely uses their base here unless they are planning something big. Both Professors Rowan and Oak are in the city, and I am afraid for their safety."  
"Can't you put them in hiding?" Matthew pleaded.  
"They would find out somehow." Looker grunted. He beckoned them forward, and walked to the end of the street the gym was on. He pointed towards a small forest of trees at the front of the city, covering the majority of a tower, though a yellow circle could be seen to be rotating at the top.  
"That is their base. On the top floor, Jupiter, Saturn and Charon are plotting something. I spied them flying in by helicopter this morning." Looker explained. "I need Silcoon and Cascoon to help subdue the people on the lower levels, and require Piplup to help with some wiring issues."  
"What if I say no, what if I walk away?" Matthew huffed. Looker turned around and grabbed him by the collar.  
"What if they are planning to blow up the entire city?" He snarled. "What if they are planning to go to your house and personally shoot your parents?" Matthew gulped, but Vanessa was beginning to laugh. Looker let Matthew go, and he was beginning to shiver.  
"Are you going to co-operate now?" Looker asked.  
"Y-y-yes sir." Matthew stuttered, cowering under his glare. Looker smiled, and turned towards Vanessa.  
"Of course I'm in." She said before Looker even asked. She wrapped her arms around Looker's and Matthew's and began to skip, dragging them with her towards the tower.

Galactic HQ (Eterna)

Team Galactic, as Roshonda had said, rarely used their Eterna City base. It was more of a safe keeping, used only when major operations occurred west of Mt Coronet. There was spare grunt sleeping quarters there, a small fleet of Jeeps, and a special lab that Charon used on occasions, as well as storage and admin.  
Today, the aging scientist was working away on the top floor, which was dark and gloomy as always. It was a long, wide room, with six rows of desk, covered with papers, laptops, computers, test tubes, and other science equipment. These were near the walls, as a large glass dome stood in the middle of th blue carpeted floor. It was three metres high, and nearly touched the ceiling. Two cabinets and a table were all that was inside, but Charon regularly did experiments in there. Near the staircase, there was a set of silver elevator doors, along with a cabinet, which was fill of spare equipment, chemicals and PokeBalls. Also, the room had very interesting lighting: instead of normal electric lights, the lighting was done by projection. A purple light was reflected off the wall, with foreign letters, Zodiac symbols, and star constellations scattering the wall with golden light. A huge floor-to-ceiling window provided more light as well, though it was still a dark room. A yellow 'G' was rotating between the second and third floors, making creaking sounds as it turned.  
The elevator suddenly pinged, and the twelve grunts all stood up, and they bowed as the doors parted. Saturn and Jupiter strutted out, arm in arm, and followed by Skuntank and Toxicroak. Charon briefly looked up, but went back to working on his laptop. The two admins walked up to him, ignoring the bowing grunts.  
"The helicopter was long and uncomfortable." Jupiter said bitterly. "You'd better have a good reason for bringing us here!" Charon smirked, and pressed a button on his laptop.  
"It is." And he pointed towards the ceiling. The purple and gold had been replaced with a picture: the statue of Dialga. It was eight metres tall, five metres long, and made of black and grey stone. A blue orb shone at the bottom of its neck even in the still picture, and Saturn and Jupiter's eyes twinkled.  
"The adamant orb?" Saturn asked.  
"Precisely." Charon replied, though he didn't have the same interest as the admins. "I have developed a way to obtain it, but I need your Pokemon."  
"Care to elaborate?" Jupiter sighed, and Charon glared at her.  
"Don't interrupt me!" He snapped. "But yes, I shall." And he tapped a button, and an animation played to incorporate his speech. "Skuntank will use multiple SmokeScreen to cover the area. Toxicroak will then pry the orb out, and Magnezone will use his magnetic capabilities to carry it off. The grunts will guard the area, and we shall be there in case things get out of hand." Jupiter nodded, but Saturn seemed to suddenly realise something.  
"The brats, are they anywhere around?" He asked. Charon frowned at this, and tapped at his laptop. Live video footage appeared, showing the Pokemon Centre interior, and then the outside of the Eterna Gym, the PokeMart, and a famous hotel. Stupidly, Charon hadn't put footage up near the Dialga statue, otherwise he would have seen Sahara, the Professors and Mason setting up.  
"There is no sign of them in the usual places." Charon mumbled. "But that doesn't mean they won't show up somehow. All we can do is have our machine guns ready!" As he spoke, Skuntank saw something out of the window. They had a brilliant view of Eterna City, and the large skunk could see almost every inch of it. But there was only a certain section she was interested in.  
"Skuntank, what is it?" Jupiter asked, and stepped forwards.  
"Skun Skun!" Skuntank called, and pointed with her tail. Jupiter looked out the window, staring in the direction of Skuntank's tail.  
There, getting closer to the headquarters, was Looker, Vanessa and Matthew.  
"Their coming!" Jupiter roared, and angrily kicked the window. The grunts began to twitter amongst themselves, and Saturn turned angrily towards Charon.  
"Why didn't you know about this?" He snarled.  
"How would I, I don't have magic seeing abilities! I wear glasses, you moron!" Charon shouted back, and turned towards the grunts. "Grab your guns, grab the PokeBalls, and get your ar-"  
"WAIT!" Jupiter boomed, and everyone fell silent. Her eyes were fixed on Vanessa, and as she looked into her long, wavy hair, memories come flying back to her: the smell of burning wood, the sound of explosions, the cry of a small child, and one horrible, vicious piece of music. Skuntank was feeling the anger and bitterness radiating from Jupiter, and took a step backwards.  
"I don't want any of them to kill her." She hissed, and her voice carried inside the silent room. "I want her to come up here, thinking she is going to win. And then I am going to take away her life, and watched as her eyes turn grey." And then she screamed, and punched the glass. Everyone was exchanging looks, and Toxicroak was raising his hands, ready to protect Saturn if need be. Jupiter wheeled around, and drew a gun from her strange outfit.  
"Get into position, but only fire when I say so." She ordered. "I want to catch up with my cousin before I kill her." The grunts were surprised, but everyone began to move into position, and Jupiter stood where she was, staring at the elevator and waiting for Vanessa.

The Underground

Arthur finished explaining about the news report, and how it had highlighted him as a Dex Holder. Though, as expected, Xavier had barely responded.  
"So you believe I could be killed over a news report?" Xavier asked, after two minutes of silence.  
"Why of course, my boy!" Arthur boomed, and Grotle looked startled. "Not many of the Dex Holders have been killed, but hundreds of people have wanted to!"  
"I haven't met hundreds of people." Xavier replied. Arthur growled and stormed forwards, grabbing Xavier by the collar.  
"Listen here: Team Galactic is planning something big, and I don't want to see someone getting killed!" He growled. "So shut up, keep your head down, and listen to what I have to say!" Arthur was breathing deeply, and felt his chest beginning to hurt, but he looked into Xavier's cold, emotionless eyes, and he backed away, wheezing. "I'm sorry, I don't know where that came from."  
"It is perfectly fine." Xavier replied, and began scratching Grotle, who was bearing his teeth. Arthur managed to calm down, and silence fell back inside their tunnel. Xavier stood up suddenly, and he walked towards the walls.  
"Grotle, come here." He commanded, and tapped the rock. It didn't change, though there still seemed to be glitter under there. Grotle waddled over, and stared at the rock.  
"Use Razor Leaf, I want to see what's underneath." Xavier asked.  
"Grot Grot." Grotle agreed, and his bushes glowed. Leaves nearly rose out, but suddenly Swampert leapt forwards. A blue orb was in his mouth, and they all knew it was Ice Beam.  
"I'd prefer if you didn't dig that way." Arthur said, chuckling slightly. He walked towards the opposite wall, and tapped it three times. There was a slight rumble, and the wall suddenly parted. Grotle wanted to look inside, but the threat of being hit with ice kept him at bay. Arthur reached around the corner, and pulled out two pickaxes. They were about half a metre long, and looked like deadly weapons.  
"I have owned both of these since I began working on the tunnel, and I am always happy to show them off." Arthur explained.  
"Swum!" Swampert growled, and shoved Xavier and Grotle aside, leaving a shiny section of wall exposed. Arthur raised his arm and shut one eye, eyeing up the golden twinkle. He swung his arm twice, and then threw the pickaxe. It stuck itself in the wall, directly on the golden spot. There was a crackle, and rock disappeared from around the glitter. It got brighter, but nothing was fully exposed yet. But they could see the edges of a strange brown stone, a blue jewel, and a green jagged piece of glass.  
"Mild haul." Arthur mumbled, and he lined up his next pickaxe. Grotle and Swampert watched with anticipation, and their eyes followed the blur of metal and wood as Arthur threw it. It embedded itself in the middle of the wall, and it shook, causing the three objects to become dislodged. They fell to the ground, and Swampert scuttled forwards to collect them.  
"Interesting." Xavier mumbled, and tapped another glittering patch on the wall. Arthur smiled, and pocketed the objects.  
"Glad I impressed you." He chuckled, and walked towards the hole in the wall. He grabbed a small metal toolbox and opened it up, and passed over a small hammer.  
"You can start with that." Arthur said, and grabbed his pickaxes. Xavier nodded, and struck the wall with the hammer, causing cracks to appear. Arthur laughed at the force, and began working on another section nearby.  
For the next ten minutes, the two worked along the wall, hammering and smashing the surface. Dust hung in the air, covering the oil lamps, and Grotle and Swampert jumped over piles of dirt and rock, grabbing fallen treasures as they moved. When all the treasures were gone, they all stopped. Everyone was sweaty, dirty, and had dust in their eyes, but there was a collection of objects nearby: different coloured shards, a large pile of jewels, and several strange fossils.  
"This is a much better haul!" Arthur boomed. "Do you want any of it?"  
"No." Xavier replied bluntly. Arthur shrugged, and picked up some of the objects. He and Swampert entered the hole, leaving Xavier and Grotle alone. Xavier slid down the wall, wiping sweat off his face.  
"Why do they keep going in there?" Xavier asked, but Grotle just shrugged. Xavier looked around the tunnel, wondering what was happening. Dust was falling from the rocky roof, the scuttle of feet could be heard in the distance, and shouts of joy echoed down to them from other treasure hunters. Xavier looked at the ground, examining some of the rocks, when he noticed something strange: there were two sets of footprints, and the lamps showed them coming from around the corner. There was always a pattern that looked like someone had swept the ground.  
"Grotle, did you-" Xavier began, but a shout cut him off.  
"Grot!" Grotle cried, and ran forwards. But Arthur was suddenly blasted out of the hole, with purple energy forcing him out. His head hit the back wall, and he slumped to the ground, unconscious. Xavier and Grotle looked at him, but something crunched, and they turned.  
A figure was standing by the hole, holding a long machete. Xavier could tell it was a man from the muscles underneath the tight, black cloak, and by the way he was standing. He was covered entirely with the black fabric, and only deep blue eyes could be seen through his headwear.  
"Stay out of this, boy, or you'll be next." He hissed, and stepped forwards to finish off Arthur.

Galactic HQ (Eterna)

The tower's entrance was designed to look like a typical office block lobby: basic colours of white, cream and pale brown dominating the floor, walls and ceiling, a long reception desk, with two smiling women behind it, an elevator, couches, and a table of bad magazines. A bookcase was at one end, while a huge painting of Eterna Forest covered a different wall. If someone wandered in by accident, two bulky security guards, with growling Houndours, kindly escorted them off the premises. Nothing much happened down there, and they were glad for that.  
However, today that was going to change.  
The phone rang, which it rarely did. The receptionists looked at each other, unsure what to do. They both were wearing green bowl cut wigs, and clunky dresses made from the Team Galactic fabric. The one to the left cautiously picked up the phone, wondering what would happen.  
Then, three trees flew through the window. The receptionists screamed, and the security guards tried to flee, but both were crushed. The receptionists fled from their desk, and one of the trunks smashed through it a second later. Both tried to run for the elevators, but something wrapped around them, and they fell to the floor.  
The trees stopped rolling, and they had successfully smashed the entire front of the building, along with destroying the lights, couches, table, tiles, most of the walls, the reception desk, and scattered glass, plaster, leaves and twigs everywhere.  
Looker was the first to enter, with Gallade by his side. He had sent Gallade out to send the trees flying, and was glad with the chaos caused. As he examined one of the crushed bodyguards, Vanessa and Matthew walked in, with Piplup and Monferno at their sides, and Silcoon and Cascoon in their arms.  
"This is… lovely." Matthew said huffily, staring around the destroyed room.  
"I've seen worse." Looker stated, and turned towards the two. "Are we all certain on the plan?"  
"Of course." Vanessa said, and hugged Cascoon extra tightly. He squirmed, but Vanessa wouldn't let go: despite how she acted, she was very nervous. Meeting Jupiter again after she had destroyed her life was putting her through hell, but she knew it was the right thing to do. Looker nodded and smiled approvingly at her.  
"Alright then, let's get this going!" He cried. Vanessa and Matthew nodded, and they moved into position. Looker brought Gallade back, who turned into energy and was sucked away. Then, Vanessa sent out Staraptor, who was a bit sore from the battle, but willing to fight.  
"You are going to take Matthew and Looker, alright?" Vanessa said. Staraptor was surprised, but nodded, and flew up, soaring over the two men.  
"Good luck." Matthew muttered.  
"Pip Pip!" Piplup agreed. Vanessa's eyes narrowed, but she nodded in thanks.  
"Come on boys, let's go meet my family." She scowled, and walked over the wreckage towards the lift. The others watched her, before turning and walking out onto the grass outside.  
Vanessa stared nastily at the twitching receptionists, and ignored their muffled cursing as she pressed the button for the lift.  
"Are you two ready?" Vanessa asked.  
"Mon!"  
"Cas!" The two replied, smiling happily. Vanessa smiled back, but was still concerned for their safety. But there was a ping, and the doors parted. Vanessa took a deep breath and stepped forwards.  
Once Monferno was in, the doors closed, and Vanessa felt a sensation in her stomach and ears, telling her they were going up. Her umbrella was stored away in her bag, but she sent Luxio out for added protection.  
"Luxi Lux?" He asked, stared at the mirrors for walls. Monferno jabbered away in his language, explaining what was happening. Cascoon stared at Vanessa with his big purple eyes. It was like he was able to see into her thoughts, seeing through her frangipani dress and skin and into her heart, and could tell she was worried, more nervous than she had been in four years. But before Cascoon could ask, there was another ping.  
"Be prepared." Vanessa whispered, and began walking.  
The doors parted, and the first thing Vanessa saw was twelve machine guns pointed at her.  
"Hello everyone." Vanessa boomed, and put on a smile as she stepped out. Monferno and Luxio stood proudly by her sides, and fire and electricity burnt in their eyes. They looked around, taking in what the laboratory looked like, but were mainly focused on the people: the twelve grunts, all wearing the same gender-based outfits, Charon sitting by his laptop, smiling, and Saturn standing to the side with Toxicroak, a smirk of triumph on his face.  
But Vanessa stood straight forwards, past the people pointing weapons at her, and straight at her cousin. Both of them had gotten taller, changed hairstyles, clothing choices and attitude, but they both could recognise their cousin.  
"Vanessa." Jupiter hissed.  
"Jupiter." Vanessa growled back. The grunts could feel the tension, and they backed away to form lines, but still pointed their guns.  
"Interesting dress, it looks good on you." Jupiter said, putting in the false sweetness.  
"Thank you. Yours is alright, it would look better on some overweight white trailer trash- oh wait, you already fit that category." Vanessa snapped back. Jupiter's eyes narrowed, and she reached behind her. There was the sound of a weapon being drawn, and all the grunts held their breath. Jupiter pulled her arms back around, revealing a metre long axe. The blade took up half the weapon, and was made of a sharp, shiny red metal. The handle was silver with red bands, and designed for her grip.  
"I was going to make this pleasant, see if you wanted to catch up." Jupiter snarled. "But it looks like we are going to do this the hard way." Vanessa smiled and reached into her bag, pulling her umbrella out.  
"You know I wouldn't have this any other way." She said with a smile, and held her umbrella in one hand, Cascoon in the other. The two stared at each other, both with their weapons drawn. Skuntank was poised, making a growling sound, as if ready to pounce.  
"So, what now?" Vanessa asked, a single bead of sweat trickling down her face. Jupiter smiled, and nodded down at Skuntank.  
"I thought a battle would be nice, just to fully test your strengths." Jupiter explained. "Whoever wins is allowed to kill the other."  
"Jupiter, wait, you-" Saturn began, but Charon held him back.  
"She will win, just watch." The scientist said. Jupiter smiled, and stood back to let Skuntank take centre stage. Vanessa looked at each of her Pokemon and nodded.  
"I'll choose Cascoon." The grunts all gasped and began to whisper, but Saturn and Jupiter began to roar with laughter.

"Your send your stupid little cocoon up against my beast of a Pokémon?" Jupiter snorted, and nearly fell over. But Skuntank and Charon looked a bit concerned: why had she chosen Cascoon instead of Monferno and Luxio? But Cascoon tucked his spikes in, and flipped out, spinning through the air and landing on the tiles, facing Skuntank.

"You send first." Vanessa said, smiling. Jupiter stopped laughing, realising Vanessa was serious, and began to scowl. The admin quickly recalled all information she knew about the bug type, and smiled.  
"Start off with Night Slash!" Jupiter ordered.

"Skun!" Skuntank shouted, and ran forwards. Her left claw glowed black, and she jumped up, ready to fight.

"Spinning String Shot!" Vanessa yelled. Cascoon tucked his needles in, and then leapt up, flying over Skuntank.

"Of course!" Charon exclaimed. "I was saw part of the Eterna Contest on the news last night. That Matthew boy used it during his appeal with his Silcoon." Skuntank landed on the ground, and looked up at Cascoon. He was spinning around, firing String Shot from every pore of his body. However, none of it hit Skuntank: it struck half of the grunts, wrapping around their faces, upper bodies and legs. The spinning motion caused them to flip, crashing into the ground or each other, and their guns flew away across the room.

"IT'S A TRAP!" Charon yelled, and grabbed his hand gun. Vanessa smiled, and nodded at her Pokemon.

"FERNO!"

"LUX!" The two shouted, and fired an Ember and Spark each. One grunt was struck by electricity, and was blasted off his feet. The Ember hit several computers, blowing them to pieces. Jupiter was shocked, but she ran forwards, axe raised.  
"Bring it!" Vanessa yelled joyfully, and as the machine gun fire began, the two women ran towards it each other, their weapons raised, and ready to fight to the death.

Eterna City

While the battle began inside the tower, the rest of the city was calm and pleasant. The sun shone, the Starlys chirped, people wandered around, and Sahara led the way towards the Dialga statue.  
The statue was towering over everything in sight, and the concrete eyes of the lord of time managed to stare at every single person that walked by, sending shivers of excitement and fears down people's spine. Shadows were cast down the left side of the hill, so people were viewing the great artistic masterpiece from the right side, snapping pictures, climbing the legs, and reading the ancient script.  
Sahara was happy about seeing the statue: she had had little chance to actually look at the different attractions of the different cities, as she was either being shot at, fleeing for her life, or trying not to touch water and electricity. Even though the statue looked creepy, Sahara was looking forward to a normal day… by her standards, at least.  
"Hurry up you lot, we don't have all day!" Sahara shouted, and turned towards the three walking behind her. Even though it was meant to be an outing, Professors Oak and Rowan had brought their research with them, which Sahara found very strange. Though neither of them were carrying them: Mason, with help from Solrock and Lunatone, was trying to carry two hefty boxes.  
"We are going as fast as we can!" Oak grunted.  
"You are young and fit, we are old and worn out." Rowan moaned.  
"Yes, but I've spent two days technically unconscious." Sahara pointed out, and continued to skip on ahead. The statue was getting closer, and thankfully the others were finally catching up. A picnic basket hung over Lunatone, and it deposited it onto the ground.  
"Fi-na-lly!" Mason puffed, and collapsed to his knees. Rowan and Oak turned around in shock, but Mason hadn't dropped the boxes. Sahara wandered over to them, and patted Solrock and Lunatone.  
"Thanks for brining the food!" She said with a beam, and began to unpack the blanket and several sandwiches. The men crowded around, and each of them randomly grabbed a sandwich, leaving Sahara with a rather soggy one.  
"Thanks." She muttered, and left it on the plate. Instead, Sahara looked up the hill towards the statue, which now loomed directly over them, casting a long shadow near them.  
"It truly is a magnificent piece of work." Rowan said, as he too stared at in with awe. "I am trying to find out some of the history to it."  
"That would be a fascinating read." Mason said happily, but everyone gave him a look, and he turned blushing towards his Pokemon. Professors Oak and Rowan began discussing the statue, and Mason was too embarrassed to talk, leaving Sahara sitting on her own, watching everyone else having fun around her.  
"I think I'll let the others come and see this." Sahara mumbled to herself, and pulled her three PokeBalls out and threw them across the lawn. With a burst of light, Nutty, Aqua and Smash all formed. The professors stopped talking, and turned to examine the Pokemon. Smash stretched to full height, looking rather sore and stiff, and his long body blocked out the sun completely.  
"Smash, your blocking out our light!" Sahara called, chuckling slightly.  
"ON!" Smash boomed, and coiled up to give them some light. Sahara stood up and stroked his head, while Nutty began chewing at the grass, and Aqua sniffed the soggy sandwich uncertainly.  
"What a nice collection of Pokemon." Professor Oak said approvingly, and he stood up to get a better look at them. Nutty hadn't noticed the new figures, and looked up in shock at the tall stranger.  
"Pachi!" She whimpered, and ran behind Aqua. The Floatzel, sensing she was shocked, stopped up and wrapped his tail around her reassuringly. Sahara ran towards the two, and picked Nutty up and hugged her.  
"She can be a bit shy at times, especially if I don't introduce people first." Sahara explained. "Nutty, Aqua, Smash, this is Professor Oak. You've all met Mason, and Smash, the guy with the moustache is Professor Rowan, my grandfather." Aqua and Smash both nodded, and extended their tails for the professors to shake. But Nutty still looked very frightened, and with a loud shout, she jumped out of Sahara's arms and ran towards the statue.  
"NUTTY!" Sahara yelled, and ran after her. Aqua and Smash turned, exchanged looks, and rushed after as well.  
"Shall we go as well?" Mason sighed. The Professors nodded, and the three men, Lunatone and Solrock joined the chase.

Route 204 (South)

The video stopped, and Charles nearly dropped it in shock, but Harrison quickly caught it. His eyes were wide with horror, but not at the mention of Dex Holders or terrorist groups: after all these weeks, he had forgotten about his friends: Duncan, Kris, Mina and Alexis. Those four had helped him and Lyla out on numerous occasions, and he probably wouldn't be alive if it hadn't been for them, yet he had simply forgotten about them as if they had meant nothing.  
But his train of thoughts were interrupted by a loud squawk. Charles turned, and watched as Harrison's Pidgeot fell to the ground, glowing purple. It seemed Beedrill had continued the battle while the trainers were distracted.  
"Hey, no fair!" Harrison huffed as he ran towards his fallen Pokemon.  
"Well you've upset Charles, so you deserve it!" Roshonda snapped. "Beedrill, finish off that Miltank with Twineedle!"  
"Rollout!" Lucinda yelled. Beedrill dived towards the ground, his needles glowing white. However, Miltank curled up into a ball and began rolling across the ground. It was obvious she wasn't aiming for Beedrill, but it wasn't clear what she was…  
"THE GUN!" Charles shouted. Roshonda gasped and tried to grab it, but Miltank was too quick: her hefty body ran over the weapon, turning it to pieces.  
"Bitch!" Roshonda roared.  
"I'm not being a bitch, just saving my own ass." Lucinda sneered. Charles and Roshonda looked at each other, smirking, and Lucinda blushed slightly. Harrison stood forwards, ready to protect his friend, and pulled out another Heal Ball.  
"You aren't going to rob us. If you think you can take us, then bring it on!" He yelled, and threw the ball. It was inside a ball capsule, so when it opened, pink bubbles emerged from the light. They all joined together, and with a loud pop, a Vaporeon formed. Miltank stood rolling, and stood along side.  
"Elle, come on out!" Charles cried, and threw one of his PokeBall's. There was the usual burst of red light, and his Eevee formed alongside Beedrill. The four Pokemon and trainers stared at each other, wondering which moves to use.  
"A tag battle… this should be fun." Roshonda said deviously.  
"I haven't had a decent battle in ages." Lucinda smirked.  
"I may have won against that Pearl kid, but the battle was far too easy." Harrison added, and the two laughed to each other. Charles raised an eyebrow, and looked over at Roshonda, but she hadn't made the connection between 'Pearl' and Matthew Pearl. Meanwhile, the four Pokemon were edging closely towards each other, waiting for the right moment to initiate their attacks. But as Elle and Vaporeon walked towards each other, they froze. The two stared into each other's eyes, unsure about what they were seeing. Then, they both put one foot forward, and slowly approached each other, their eyes getting more and more shocked as they moved.  
"EVE!"  
"VAPOR!" The two cried, and suddenly they charged. The trainers all turned, expecting to be battling, but the two were nuzzling each other, and did a sort of high-five with their paws.  
"Why are they acting… nice?" Roshonda said with disgust, as if the concept was foreign and disgusting.  
"There is nothing wrong with them being nice to each other." Charles said, but he did think it was strange. The two Pokemon moved up side by side, their tails touching, and then all of them noticed something: when their tails touched, their seemed to be a heart pattern. One half was a white mark on Elle's tail, while the other section was a dark shade of blue scales on Vaporeon's.  
"Is that natural?" Lucinda asked. Elle and Vaporeon nodded, and stood very closely to each other.  
"Maybe they are related, maybe even twins!" Harrison suggested. Elle and Vaporeon nodded, and everyone looked very shocked.  
"Can Pokemon even be twins?" Lucinda said, puzzled. Everyone else shrugged, but Elle and Vaporeon were nodding, and Miltank and Beedrill nodded as well.  
"Well, know that you mention it, I think Lyla's Chikorita was a triplet…" Charles mumbled. But no one was paying attention, as they were all very shocked about the fact that there were twins. Charles and Harrison got down on their knees, and they hugged their respective Pokemon.  
"I feel like we're on some sort of Pokemon version of Desperate Housewives!" Harrison said, tears streaming down his face. Though as they fell off his chin, they became absorbed inside Vaporeon's body, and she shivered slightly. Elle chuckled slightly, and Vaporeon hit her with her tail, and the two laughed.  
"Awww, how sweet." Lucinda said, wiping away her own tears, and Miltank blew her nose loudly into her arm.  
"Yeah, too sweet." Roshonda snorted. "Beedrill, NOW!" Everyone turned, and watched as Beedrill dived down, using Twineedle, and jabbed into Miltank.  
"Mil!" She cried, and toppled over. Lucinda gasped, but before she moved, Roshonda spun around, and used a roundhouse kick to sweep Lucinda's legs, and she landed in a pile on Miltank.  
"Stop her!" Harrison shrieked at Charles, before grabbing his camera. Roshonda ran forwards, just as Harrison threw the hefty black object, trying to knock her over. But Roshonda merely smirked and caught it, and then thrust it into Harrison's stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

"Vapore!" Vaporeon shrieked, and tried to fire an Aurora Beam. Beedrill spun down and opened his mouth: purple sludge shot out, colliding with the rainbow coloured beam. Frozen purple sludge was sent flying, and Charles covered Elle for protection. Something grabbed his collar, and he felt himself being dragged forwards.  
"Get in!" Roshonda cried in his ear, and thrust Charles into the passenger seat, before sliding over the bonnet with Beedrill. Elle squirmed and shouted, trying to get back to her twin. Charles wasn't sure what to do: he really wanted to find some good food, and sleep in a proper bed. But Elle had just found her twin, and it wouldn't be fair to pull them apart so suddenly.  
"Charles, hurry up!" Roshonda shouted. Lucinda had left the keys in the car, and Roshonda had already started up. Charles looked between Roshonda and Elle, and reluctantly, he sat down in the seat.  
"EVA EVE EEVEEEEE!" Elle screamed, and tried to get out. But Roshonda had already stepped on the accelerator, and the pink VW sped away towards the Ravaged Path. Charles put his belt on over Elle, and looked apologetically at her.  
"Sorry." He whispered, and stared sadly at the window, feeling his life drifting even further away. If he couldn't even be nice to his best friend, what hope did he have?

Eterna City

It had been two days since the Eterna Forest fire. Workers had gone in and recovered charred bodies of Pokemon, and two that belonged to two thieves called Marcel and Darren. A lot of trees had been destroyed, though it had actually cleared the route, making it easier for the trainers that had nearly died to be found or flee. Thousands of Pokemon no longer had any homes, though many were now hiding out in the remains of the Old Chateau. The rest were now overflowing Route 205, though some were brave enough to keep on travelling.  
Two of those that had taken to the skies were a Misdreavus and Murkrow. The two were good friends, and had sticked together forever. They had even been kidnapped by Marcel and Darren, but had thankfully been freed before becoming toasted. The tree they had shared with a friendly family of Butterfree had been destroyed, so the two friends were searching for a new place to live.  
"Murk Krow Murk Urk?" Murkrow said, pointing towards an appealing office block.  
"Misdreavus Misdre." Misdreavus replied, shaking her body in disagreement.. Murkrow nodded, and the two continued onwards.  
But suddenly, something shot right, moving at alarming speeds. The two gasped, and looked around, searching for the object, but there was no sight of it. Instead, they looked towards what had caused it. A blue office block, hidden by several trees, was the only thing nearby. The two squinted, and they could see some of the glass had shattered on the top floor.  
"Vus Mis?" Misdreavus said, and Murkrow nodded. The two flew towards the building, wondering what was happening. As they got closer, though, they realised that another, much larger bid was there: a Staraptor hovering near the roof. A man in a trench coat and a blue wearing mainly blue were on her back, and Misdreavus excitedly jabbered at Murkrow.  
"MIS DREAV!" She cried, and stared pointedly at the boy. Murkrow was puzzled, but then it clicked: he was the boy who had helped rescue them from the car. The two tried to get close, but more things flew past them, and they dived behind the trees, and stared through the class to see what was happening.  
Inside the top floor, Vanessa and Jupiter were furiously duelling, the sound of clashing metal ringing inside the room. Grunts tried to fire at Vanessa, but she and Jupiter were moving so fast that they were afraid of hitting the admin. Meanwhile, Monferno and Toxicroak were battling it out on the computer tables, and Luxio and Skuntank were exchanging long-range attacks. Cascoon merrily fired String Shot, tying guns to the grunts arms, or causing them to trip up.  
"Die you bitch!" Jupiter yelled, and swung her axe.  
"Not bloody likely!" Vanessa shouted back, and deflected back with her blade. The two continued to spin, swing and block, and sparks began to fly from their swords. A stray Ember flew over them, but the two women hardly noticed.  
"So, how's living on the streets been?" Jupiter snarled.  
"Ten times better than when I lived with you." Vanessa replied with a smile, and slashed down. Jupiter jumped backwards, but the sword slashed through the middle of her outfit.  
"Oops, my mistake." Vanessa laughed, and went to hit again. Jupiter let out an angry cry, and instead of swinging her sword, she suddenly did a back flip. Vanessa turned her head to avoid her legs, and Jupiter came back around, and whacked Vanessa in the jaw with the axe handle. Vanessa fell backwards, landing alongside a shocked Cascoon. The grunts all sneered, but none of them had their guns: Cascoon had disarmed them all. Jupiter walked slowly forwards, her axe raised above her head. Saturn and Charon smiled viciously with glee, and stared towards Vanessa, lying on the ground, blood trickling from her mouth.  
"Are you ready to bow down and accept death?" Jupiter jeered. Vanessa simply replied by spitting blood up, hitting Jupiter's face. The purple haired admin scowled, and prepared to jab down. Vanessa smiled and leapt up, the axe smashing into the tiles. She raised her umbrella, and everyone saw the sword had been replaced with a long, black thing that looked familiar.  
"That… that looks like Ursilla's energy gun." Saturn whispered.  
"She's been inactive for the past two days." Charon gasped.  
"Of course she's been, I watched as the snake drag queen was beheaded." Vanessa explained, and all members of Team Galactic gasped. Toxicroak and Skuntank froze battling, horrified, but this allowed Monferno and Luxio to Mach Punch and Thunder Fang them.  
"W-w-who killed her, with what?" Jupiter asked quietly.  
"Jaki did, y'know, one of Sahara's wackjob personalities." Vanessa explained, laughing slightly as if this was normal. "Anyway, she produced some sort of black sword, cut her head off. I then stole the gun and used it to save my ass." Everyone gasped once again: not only was Ursilla dead, but Sahara had somehow survived the explosion, and Jaki had come out. Vanessa was enjoying their misery, and decided to prove it by pulling a trigger in the handle. The infamous powerful ball of energy shot out, and it moved with the speed of a bullet. Jupiter screamed and jumped, and the energy soared over her shoulder. But it kept on going, and the only thing left to hit was the dome. Vanessa grabbed Cascoon and jumped, just as the energy hit. There was a bright explosion, and suddenly hot glass was sent flying across the wide room. Monferno and Luxio dived under a desk, and the grunts and admins all yelled, trying to avoid being cut.  
The sound of the shattering glass and the flashing light had been reflected outside, and Matthew, Looker, Piplup, Silcoon and Staraptor had noticed. They were flying near the windows, trying to get a good view. It was obvious something had happened, and Matthew looked urgently at Looker.  
"I think it is time to go in, I don't want Vanessa getting harmed." He whispered. Looker looked into the cracking windows and nodded. It might be a bit early for them to go in, but it was necessary if something had exploded.

"Go Staraptor, we need to save your trainer!" The spy announced.  
"Star!" Staraptor replied, and flew forwards. Matthew held onto her feathers tightly, and so did Piplup and Silcoon, as they knew what was coming.  
The glass had finished raining down inside, and it had done it's damage. Computers screens had been cracked, lights damaged, and everyone had cuts except for the Pokemon. One grunt had been impaled in the throat, and lay dying over a desk. Vanessa looked up from the tiles, making sure there weren't any huge chunks near her. She looked around, and caught the eyes of her Pokemon.  
"Lux."

"Mon."  
"Cas." The three said healthily, and Vanessa smiled as she knew they were all safe.  
"Excellent, now we need to-"  
"YOU BITCH!" All heads turned, and Vanessa wheeled around onto her front. Jupiter was walking madly towards her, her outfit and hair badly cut up, and a look of maniacal evil on her face.  
"You… need… to DIE!" She roared, and raised her axe up with her bleeding hands. Vanessa felt for her sword, but it had landed near a moaning grunt. Jupiter grinned with twisted glee, and began to drop her deadly weapon.  
Then everything happened at once.  
The first thing was that a roar emitted from beneath them, shaking the entire floor, and suddenly a stampeding sound could be heard, coming from where the stairs were. Jupiter froze, confused, but this was a mistake: Monferno, Luxio and Cascoon each fired Ember, Spark and Poison Sting respectively, aiming the admin's chest and arms. But before the attacks could hit, the windows simultaneously exploded, sending more glass flying as a blue tornado entered the room.  
"YES!" Vanessa cried, and ran towards her umbrella. Jupiter looked, but all three attacks hit her, blasting her off her feet. Papers and glass flew past her, all being sucked into the twister. Red energy shot out, and then a Lickilicky, Gallade and Jolteon formed alongside. The Twister stopped, revealing Staraptor, a slightly green Looker, and a very dizzy Matthew an Piplup, and an excited looking Silcoon.  
"Oh great, just what we need!" Saturn hissed, and angrily kicked at one of the computers.  
"Patience my dear boy, can't you hear the cries of our comrades?" Charon said, smirking. He pointed towards the stairs, using the confusion of the Twister to buy them time, and his smile grew. Suddenly, about three dozen grunts raced up the stairs, all holding a machine gun. Coming up in the air, alongside, in front and behind were a mass of Pokemon: mainly Zubats, Golbats, a pack of Stunky and Glameow, some angry looking Geodude, and a lot of cackling Gastly.  
"Vanessa!" Matthew shouted, and leapt off Staraptor. "Look at that army!" Vanessa successfully grabbed her umbrella, and turned towards the army, which was running up the stairs and heading into the main part of the room.  
"CLOSE COMBAT, EMBER, SPARK, STRING SHOT!" Vanessa yelled, and activated the Energy Gun on her umbrella. Looker leapt off Staraptor, allowing her to fly forwards and begin attacking the grunts.  
"Gallade use Psychic to clear them all, Jolteon use Discharge on those Zubat, and Lickilicky use Brick Break on anyone!" The spy instructed to his Pokemon, and then turned to Matthew. "Have you Piplup use Bubble to stop those Geodude, and grab Silcoon and Cascoon and go towards Charon."  
"Why, his Pokemon are too strong for us!" Matthew replied, whimpering slightly.  
"Just copy all of Charon's information onto this USB!" Looker snapped, and passed over a black object the size of Matthew's index finger. Matthew pocketed the object nervously.

"I'll do it, I guess." He mumbled. Looker smiled at him, but a bullet shot between them, and the spy pulled a gun out and fired it. Matthew and his Pokemon turned away, but heard a shout of pain.  
"Piplup Pip!" Piplup huffed, but Looker merely shrugged.  
"Had to." He replied. "Now come on!" And he picked Piplup up and ran towards the army.  
"Good luck!" Matthew cried, and Piplup simply glared at him. Team Galactic's army was getting into the centre of the room, though Staraptor and Gallade were using their attacks to push them back. Monferno and Lickilicky fought hand-to-hand against the mass of Geodude, while Luxio and Jolteon fired their electric attacks at the Zubat, and fried some of the other Pokemon in the process. Vanessa swirled her umbrella around, either stabbing grunts or firing more pure energy, blowing holes in the roof and walls. Matthew was horrified by all the destruction, and covered his ears, trying to block out the screaming, yelling and gunfire.  
"Coon Silcoon!" Silcoon cried, and used String Shot to heave herself onto Matthew's shoulder.  
"Hey there. Are you ready?" Matthew asked, though he was talking to himself more. Silcoon nodded, and Matthew smiled nervously. He turned and began to walk, but there was an ominous sound, and he dived behind a computer desk.

Walking into the battle was Toxicroak and Skuntank, both ready to fight, but four new Pokemon followed behind: a Haunter, Cacturne, Rhydon and Scyther. They all looked like they had come out of nightmares, with wicked grins, nasty great claws, and several scars and damages. Jupiter and Saturn were walking behind, Jupiter with her axe, and it seemed that the Pokemon belonged to them. Saturn was holding a machine gun, and his arm was linked with Jupiter's, and they looked happy about entering battle.  
"Disgusting." Matthew hissed, and he began to creep across the glass-strewn floor, trying not to touch anything harmful. The battle was too full-on for anyone to notice him, and Matthew and Silcoon crossed the floor without any trouble. They reached another computer desk, and Matthew peered over the chair. Charon was only a few metres away, typing furiously on his laptop as if nothing was wrong. Silcoon chuckled quietly, and her cute laugh made Matthew smile.  
"Use String Shot, tie him to the chair!" He hissed.  
"Sil!" She cried, and quickly fired the white string from her spikes. Charon was too busy to notice, but suddenly string began to wrap around him, closing off his mouth, and tying his arms and legs to his chair.  
"MAPHEW!" The scientist shouted, and tried standing up, reaching for his PokeBalls. Matthew yelped, and turned to flee, but suddenly something flew past them.  
"COOOOOON!" Matthew and Silcoon looked, and watched as the object smashed into Charon's forehead. The scientist toppled over backwards, landing flat on his back and wriggling like a little Wurmple. The white figure floated back, and they could now see it was Cascoon, hanging from a String Shot.  
"Nice work!" Matthew called, and caught the bug type. Silcoon smiled affectionately, and Cascoon smiled back. Matthew raced towards the laptop, placing both of the Pokemon on the desk, and quickly plugged the USB in. A strange screen popped up, with a gold circle in the centre with the letters "IP" and a motto across it. Information began to appear, then disappear just as quickly, all the files being duplicated. Matthew smiled, glad his role was over, and looked down at Charon, who was struggling to get up. Matthew laughed, and prodded him with his toe.  
"COON!" Matthew's glee was interrupted, and he turned just as Vanessa landed at his feet. Matthew looked down and gasped.  
Blood was trickling from Vanessa's chest, moving like a stream through her outfit. Despite the fact it had remained dry during Rain Dance, the dress was now being stained, turning a light red colour. The wound was small but circular, which could only be one thing.  
"Oh my Arceus…" Matthew whispered, and he fell to his knees. Vanessa was looking pale, and more blood was coming out, going down her side, forming on the floor. "Please no, please don't be dead." He whispered. There was the sound of crunching glass, and Matthew looked up. Saturn was walking forwards, his machine gun raised. It was obvious it had been him that had done it, and know he was going to finish off Matthew as well.  
"Goodbye, scum." The admin hissed, and poised his finger on the gun.  
"STAR-AP-TOOOOORRRR!" The screech was the most horrific thing anyone had ever heard. The gunfire, the explosions, the shouts all stopped, and all eyes turned towards the roof. Staraptor was emitting the horrible sound, her eyes glowing red with rage, and her feathers standing up in her anger. She was looking straight past Saturn, straight towards her dying trainer.  
"STAR!" She screamed again, and began to spin around: not just vertically, but was spinning in a complete circle all over the place. Her rage was making her Twister strong, and soon the blue tornado grew from the wind. It was longer and wider, and everything began to be sucked up. Pokemon, grunts, computers, shards of glass, anything that wasn't too heavy was sucked in. Grunts screamed, Pokemon squawked, by the extra wind caused blocked most of it out. Matthew clung to Vanessa's body, refusing to let his friend go. Suddenly, the Twister struck him. Matthew cried out, and felt himself get picked up. He shut his eyes, the wind stinging them anyway. He clasped onto Vanessa's shoulders, ignoring the pain as her body smashed into his. Then, almost as quickly as he'd been sucked up, Matthew realised he was flying. He opened one eye, staring to see where he would land.  
And then he realised he was heading out the window.

Eterna City (Dialga Statue)

Nutty ran frantically through the crowd, desperate to get away from the scary professor. The small crowd around the statue were shocked at her appearance, as she jumped over bags, ran through legs, and even bowled an elderly lady over.  
"NUTTY, COME BACK!" Sahara cried, and ran up the hill after her. The crowd turned from the Pachirisu towards Sahara, and many of them gave her 'bad trainer' looks. Sahara felt guilty and embarrassed, but this intensified as the ground rumbled: Smash was travelling the fastest way he knew, and was sliding through the muddy grass, scaring the crowd back. Sahara was glad that the judgemental gathering of tourists was parting, but the fact that the ground was shaking scared Nutty even more, and she leapt onto the base of the statue. Sahara came to a halt, and Smash and Aqua appeared alongside.  
"Nutty, please come down!" Sahara called, trying to ignore several appalled children sitting on the base.  
"Flo Float Zel Zel!" Aqua called, wanting to help as well.  
"Pachi Pach Risu PACHIRISU!" Nutty yelled, and pointed with her tail. Professors Oak and Rowan, along with Mason and his Pokemon, were running towards them. Nutty shivered, and leapt onto the statue's body. Sahara sighed, and looked over Smash towards the others.  
"Professor Oak, can you please, like, go away?" Sahara asked bluntly. "Or find a way to apologise to Nutty." Professor Oak looked stunned by this, but looked up at the squirrel, who was crawling towards the head.  
"I am very sorry Nutty, I didn't mean to shock or offend you." Professor Oak called up.  
"Yes, he is very sorry!" Professor Rowan added, trying to put on a friendlier voice.

"Pach!" Nutty cried, and ran up the statue's neck, planting herself on the cold stone head. Sahara let out a groan, and looked towards the others for suggestion.  
"Ummm…." Mason mumbled, and looked at his Pokemon for help.  
"Luna Lu Tone."  
"Sol Solrock!" Lunatone and Solrock explained.  
"Brilliant idea!" Mason boomed. "Why not just get Smash to reach up towards the head, and then you climb up him?"  
"ON!" Smash roared in agreement, and began to uncoil himself.  
"Looks like it's been decided." Sahara chuckled. "Thanks Mason." Mason smiled and blushed, and the two professors exchanged knowing looks. Smash reached up towards Nutty, who smiled at her team-mate. Sahara jumped up onto the middle of Smash's body, and began to climb at as quickly as possible. Thankfully, there were a lot of foot and handholds in-between each of the rough boulders, so Sahara come climb up easily. She wanted to turn and examine the city, but didn't have the time for it: getting Nutty was more important. Within two minutes, Sahara reached Smash's head, with only a few grazes from his jagged body.  
"Come on Nutty, you can come down now." Sahara said calmly, and crawled slowly along Smash's head, holding onto his rock fin. One of his eyes looked was right near her foot, but was twice as big, and Sahara was shocked and amazed by it.  
"Risu Pachirisu!" Nutty complained, and stared down unhappily at Professor Oak.  
"He won't hurt you, he's a Pokemon Professor!" Sahara explained desperately, crawling closer and closer towards the statue's head. There was a half metre gap between Smash's head and the statue, but as Sahara stood up, wobbling uncertainly by Smash's nostrils, she felt certain that Nutty could leap across. Nutty walked along the head, looking towards Sahara, who stretched her arms out.  
"Now come on, please, you can- AARGH!" Sahara had been too busy focusing on Nutty to notice her right foot had slipped. It set off a chain reaction of sorts, and Sahara slipped onto her back, and then slid down the rest of Smash's face and fell, legs first, towards the statue.  
"FLO!" Aqua cried, and leapt upwards, hoping to catch her.  
"Lunatone, Solrock, Psychic!" Mason bellowed, and his two Pokemon looked towards Sahara. But Sahara's flailing arms and legs made contact with the statue: there was a bit that jutted out, and Sahara was able to grab hold of it. The rest of her body began to swing, and the only other bit to hold was a glowing blue orb.  
"I'm fine, I'll be alright!" Sahara cried, and after swinging twice, she grabbed onto the blue orb, leaving her stretched across the statue. The base wasn't far below, so she would be able to drop and grab onto it. Aqua landed on the base, and he extended his arms out.  
"Zel Float Flo!" He cried, signalling he would catch her. The crowd was bunching up below, with two burly men looking ready to help catch her. Sahara took a deep breath, trying to get over the horrific feeling that comes with falling, and began to let go.  
That's when she felt the spark.  
Sahara turned back towards the orb, examining it more closely. Inside whatever material the coating was, bolts of what looked like blue lightning was striking the spot her hand was touching. Scared, Sahara tried to let go, but her fingers wouldn't budge. The crowd began jabbering in shock, and the professors and Mason ran up to the base.  
"Sahara, what's wrong?" Professor Rowan shouted.  
"Th-th-the orb, it's doing something!" Sahara shrieked back, and tried desperately to pull away. But her hand seemed to be frozen to the orb as if they were meant to be together, and to make things worse, her hand was beginning to turn blue.  
"HELP!" Sahara screamed. The yell somehow came out louder than intended, and it made everyone clasp their ears, and Smash recoiled in fear. Something freaky was happening, and Sahara couldn't stop it.  
Than, she burst into blue light.  
Everyone in the area began to scream or gasp with shock, as the teenage girl in front of them began glowing blue. Sahara's hair was whipped up by an invisible wind, and some strange force was pulling her body up.  
"What's wrong, what's going on?" Mason yelled. A horrific screeching sound was emitting from Sahara, and the crowd was beginning to flee in horror.  
"This has something to do with Eden, it must be that!" Professor Rowan boomed. "But the only way to stop it would be to-" But before he finished his sentence, the professor was knocked to the ground. The other two turned, and saw that Solrock had down it. Mason was about to ask his Pokemon why it had down that, when a trash can suddenly flew over their heads. It moved towards Sahara and disappeared into the blue light.  
"She seems to have become a magnet!" Professor Oak gasped. More objects flew over their heads, including tin cans, discarded PokeBalls, car keys, even sections of cars.  
"We need to run and hide!" Mason shouted.  
"Good idea, there isn't much we can do!" Professor Oak yelled back. Lunatone's eyes flashed pink, and Professor Rowan was lifted up. They ran towards a wooden that a lot of the crowd was hiding behind. Aqua watched as they left, and his face twisted in a scowl. But then he turned back, staring towards Sahara, just like Smash and Nutty were doing, all wondering what was wrong with their trainer.

The Underground

The strange masked man walked towards Arthur, his machete held high.  
"We have warned you about disrupting us before." The man hissed in his deep voice. "And now, you must pay the price for your ignorance!" But Arthur had been knocked out cold, and the words meant nothing. The man didn't mind, and he lifted his weapon up. There were shouts and cries coming from the hole, and some purple sludge and white energy shot out. The man ignored this all as well, and prepared to stab.  
Then, all of a sudden, green leaves shot across him, smashing into his arm and weapon. The man yelled out, and the machete was sent flying.

"Good job Grotle." Xavier shouted, and patted his Pokemon on the head.  
"Grot!" Grotle replied, remaining serious. The masked man turned angrily towards him, his eyes narrowed and boiling with rage.  
"How dare you!" He shouted. "We need to punish this man for what he has done, and my boss can't have a brat interfering with that!"  
"Arthur is a nice man, and I don't want you to kill him." Xavier replied. The man merely smirked, and looked towards the hole.  
"I require assistance!" He yelled. The wall rumbled slightly, and suddenly Swampert was sent flying out, smashing into the wall like his trainer. And, following behind, another man stepped out of the hole. He was wearing black robes, just like his partner, but instead of a machete, a samurai sword was strapped to his side, and it seemed to glow in the faint light.  
"This shouldn't take long." The new man snarled, and he clicked his fingers. Two more figures emerged from the hole, but these ones weren't humans: a Swalot and a Qwilfish climbed over the rocks, and positioned themselves in front of the men. Both Pokemon had a nasty look on their faces, and seemed to be looking forward to whatever their masters had planned.  
"You have foolishly messed with our plans, child." The first man boomed.  
"Now, you must defeat us, otherwise feel our wrath." The second man yelled, and it echoed inside the tunnel. Xavier simply stared at them, rather unaffected by their threats, though he was aware at what was at stake.  
"Grotle, Razor Leaf!" Xavier commanded. Grotle looked surprised: both Pokemon were Poison, so the attack would do little. He just wanted to back away, preferring not to get badly beaten, but he also knew they couldn't let Arthur die. Reasonably reluctantly, Grotle let loose the onslaught of leaves. They smashed into Swalot and Qwilfish, but the two hardly even felt them, and smirked to each other.  
"Sludge Bomb!" The first man ordered Swalot.  
"Pin Missile!" The second yelled to Qwilfish. Swalot opened his mouth wide, and a ball of purple slime shot out. Grotle groaned as it hit him on the head, exploding all over his body. And then, Qwilfish puffed up, become twice his normal size, and miniature white missiles were released from his spikes, flying through the cave, and then exploding on Grotle's hard shell.

"GROTLE!" He shouted, and was sent rolling backwards, landing behind Xavier. The trainer bent down and examined Grotle, making sure he was still conscious.  
"Do you wish to carry on?" Xavier asked. Grotle sighed and rolled his eyes, and then shook his head as she struggled to get up. Xavier nodded and reached into his pockets.  
"Very well then. Lapras, Drifloon, take over!" He said, and threw two PokeBalls onto the ground. With a burst of light that lit up the tunnel, temporarily highlighting the rocks, wood and cracks in the ground, before Lapras and Drifloon formed.  
"Floon Flo Drif?" Drifloon asked, looking around curiously.  
_Ah, the Underground. It has been a while. _Lapras thought, chuckling to herself. But then she noticed the masked men and their Pokemon, and the laughter died. _Oh joy, more freaks to battle.  
_"You may have two Pokemon now…" The first man cried, unable to hear Lapras.  
"But we will still defeat you!" The second finished. Drifloon and Lapras were taken aback by these strange men, and quickly looked at each other before nodding, and smiling at Xavier, waiting for instructions.  
"Psychic on Swalot and Ominous Wind on Qwilfish." Xavier told them, and the two Pokemon nodded.  
"Fire Punch Drifloon!" The first man barked at Swalot.  
"And use Water Gun on Lapras!" The second man instructed Qwilfish. Lapras smirked, and willing took the Water Gun. But, to the shock of the men, it simply washed over her, doing nothing. She chuckled, and her eyes flashed pink.  
"SWAAAL!" Swalot cried, as an invisible force sent him flying up into the darkness and hitting the cave roof. Qwilfish gulped, and looked towards Drifloon.  
"DRIIIF- LOOOOOOON!" She cried, and black wind shot out of her, smashing into the fish and send him crashing into the wall. Seconds later, with a loud shout, Swalot fell from the sky, and landed over his fellow Pokemon. The two men were shocked, and stared over at their unconscious Pokemon.  
"May we have Arthur please?" Xavier asked. The men snapped back again, and their eyebrows narrowed together.  
"Not on your life!" They yelled in chorus. The second man pulled his samurai sword out, and began to run forwards, while his partner grabbed his machete and followed after.  
_Get back! _Lapras thought, and she blasted the two backwards, sending them skidding along the sandy floor.  
"Let's move away, it'll be safer until they leave." Xavier said. He sprayed some Potion on Grotle, and the purple slime was washed away.  
"Till Grotle." He said in thanks, and led the way. The four rushed towards one of the crossroads, and began to cross into the next tunnel.  
"Drif!" Drifloon exclaimed, and pointed down the tunnel to their left, promptly dropping her berries. As she began to fly away, the others stared to where she had pointed.  
Moving slowly towards them appeared to be a giant sandstorm. It was just a huge cloud of sand, and only the lights ahead of it were revealing it's progress.  
"That isn't natural." Xavier said, causing more eye-rolling from his Pokemon.  
_I suspect they are some sort of Pokemon, a herd of them, perhaps. _Lapras suggested.  
"Have you seen anything like this before?" Xavier asked, while Grotle chased after Drifloon.  
_I have seen Sandstorm in use, obviously, but not like this. _Lapras snapped back. But their conversation and wonderment was interrupted, as footsteps disturbed the silence. Curious, Xavier and Lapras turned around, and they saw the two men standing up once again, clasping their weapons, and looking ready to throw them.  
"We should keep on moving." Xavier said, and turned towards Grotle and Drifloon, who had become tangled together.  
_Just stand still, I know what to do. _Lapras hissed, and Xavier suddenly froze due to Psychic. Lapras smiled, and then stared down the tunnel. She could hear the men preparing to throw their weapons, but the sandstorm was getting closer. Xavier and his team could make out some shadows now, and it was obvious that a large pack of Pokemon were causing the sand.  
_Here we go. _Lapras thought, and her eyes glowed pink once again. As the men prepared to throw their weapons, they were suddenly blinded as sand erupted in the tunnel. Lapras' Psychic was controlling the sand, and blasting the entire storm down the length of the passage. The men cried out, as they became blinded by the particles.

_Worked like a charm. _Lapras smirked. She blasted a hole through the sand, and was able to see Xavier grasping onto Drifloon and Grotle. She smiled encouragingly at them, but couldn't do anything without the sand being set free. But she was being damaged by it, and Lapras knew they would have to stop soon. There was more rumbling in the ground, and suddenly the herd causing the sandstorm appeared: it was a herd of multi coloured Pokemon, some yellow, others brown with yellow, though they were all the same species.  
"Interesting, it appears to be a herd of Hippopotas, a ground Pokemon." Xavier shouted, his green PokeDex visible through the sand. The Hippopotas herd ran past, glaring up at the team.  
"Hippo Po, Hippo Po, Hippo Po." They chanted, and began running past. The sand began to disappear, as the source began to disappear. Lapras' eyes turned back to their normal colour, and as the last Hippopotas walked away, staring curiously at Xavier as he passed, the sand was sucked away. The change was dramatic, and the tunnel suddenly seemed eerie and very empty. Grotle and Drifloon both exhaled and shook sand from their bodies. Xavier watched the herd as they disappeared, thinking about how they had saved them.  
"I want one." Xavier announced, and he began to walk forwards. The one that had stared at him while passing looked behind, and Xavier reached in to his bag to find a PokeBall.  
"Grotle Grot!" Grotle said urgently, and pushed Xavier backwards, and stared down the tunnel. Xavier saw that Lapras and Drifloon were staring in that direction as well. Xavier turned his back to the Hippopotas, and looked down the tunnel.  
The two men had suddenly disappeared, taking their deadly weapons with them. Arthur and Swampert lay on the ground, both groaning, beginning to awake from their slumbers. But something more shocking stood in front of them.  
It was a person, but was unlike anyone Xavier had ever seen. The figure was wearing a black silk suit jacket, with matching trousers and tie over a white shirt. White cotton gloves covered the person's hands, and smart leather shoes were upon his feet.  
But it was the head that was the most shocking thing: instead of a normal, peach or brown coloured face, the face was a dazzling, ghostly white, with no hair upon his head. And the face was permanently fixed in a twisted smile, a squinted expression that Xavier recognised.  
_It's a mask! _Lapras thought. _One of those old theatre masks: one is happy, and  
_"One is sad." The figure finished. The voice was cold and metallic, sending shivers down everyone's spines. It echoed inside the tunnel, but also inside their minds. The person walked forwards, tilting its head slightly, the permanent smile staring at them.  
"I am afraid it isn't safe for you down here, Xavier Diamond." The person, who they could only presume was male from his deep voice, said, causing more strange echoes. Grotle was backing nervously behind Xavier, while Drifloon wrapped one of her thin legs around his arm.  
"I did gather that from the sword wielding men." Xavier replied, and the strange man chuckled.  
"They are nothing compared to the dangers in Sinnoh at the moment." The man explained. "People are beginning to die, and there is very little anyone can do if they are down here. It makes me feel so… sad." And suddenly, with the sound of a whip cracking, the man's head spun around. Everyone except Xavier gasped, and watched as the happy mask was suddenly replaced with an unhappy, frowning one.  
"You are needed up there, Xavier Diamond, to help your friends." The man continued, his voice becoming reasonably softer. "All of your friends are in danger, and you are able to help them."  
"How exactly?"  
"By going back up." The man replied, and pulled a disc from his pocket. It was glowing purple and had flashing lights, but the man simply examined it (though no one was sure how, as his eyes were covered with mask) and placed it on the ground. White light suddenly engulfed everyone, including Arthur and Swampert.  
_What is this, what is he doing? _Lapras shouted.  
"I am sending you back up, where Sahara, Vanessa and Matthew need you." The man explained. He was unaffected by the light, and seemed to be a giant shadow there. Everyone suddenly began to rise up, and Grotle and Drifloon began yelling out in fright.  
"Thank you odd man." Xavier said, as they all rose up, and the man laughed, his head turning back to the happy face.  
"Just call me Masquerade." He chuckled. "Until next time, goodbye." And with that, Xavier, his Pokemon and Arthur began rocketing back to the surface.

Eterna City (Dialga Statue)

People were trying to flee by cars or bicycles, but the strong magnetic current was holding them back. Tons of metal was being sucked towards Sahara and the Dialga statue, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it. Nutty, Aqua and Smash were firing attacks towards the light, but it was simply sucked away, and the light grew, and began covering the entire statue. Standing near the lime green contest hall, Mason, Professor Oak, Lunatone and Solrock all stared and watched, while Professor Rowan lay on the ground, unconscious.  
"This must have something to do with the orb!" Mason yelled, as there was a whistling sound as wind was sucked towards Sahara.  
"The orb in the statue is the Adamant Orb, the legendary orb that can be used to summon Dialga." Professor Oak explained. "Rowan and I did the same study on it years ago, but there's been recent activity in the Space-Time Continuum, and we think something terrible is about to happen." Professor Oak explained. Mason nodded, though it didn't really make that much sense. Professor Oak saw the confusion on his face and sighed, and looked back towards Sahara. The magnetic pull coming from her was getting worse, and parts of buildings were shaking.  
"Professor, don't you have Pokemon we can use?" Mason asked.  
"I highly doubt any of my Pokemon will be able to stop her." Professor Oak replied solemnly. There was a groan, and Lunatone and Solrock dived down to Professor Rowan's side as he began to stir.  
"Professor Rowan, are you alright?" Mason asked. Professor Rowan simply moaned, and Mason began to feel his pulse, and checked his heads for any bruising.  
"Watch out!" Professor Oak suddenly cried, and pushed Mason out of the way. Metal from the windows and doors of the contest hall flew over them, being sucked towards Sahara and the blue light. The two men watched as it was sucked in and disappeared, and then as electric and water was fired in as well.  
"PACHIIIIIIII!" Nutty cried, and fired a Spark.  
"FLO!" Aqua yelled, and a Water Gun in afterwards.  
"ON!" Smash roared, and thrashed at the ground, trying to make rocks to throw. The three Pokemon wanted their trainer back, and they meant well, but their ideas weren't working, and more and more destruction was being caused. Smash let his rage out on the ground, and angrily smashed at the green and brown floor. Suddenly, the earth began to glow, and began to move, as if it was made of jelly.  
"Onix Ix Onix!" Smash shouted, and moved away. Nutty and Aqua stared at it as well, and slowly backed away, though still firing their attacks.  
Then, Xavier suddenly flew out.  
Sahara's Pokemon all screamed as Xavier rose up, followed quickly by Drifloon, then Grotle, an old man, Lapras, and a Swampert. All six of them looked away as they rose up, trying to see where they were, but then they kept on rising up into the blue light!  
"PACHIRISU!" Nutty bellowed, and ran forwards. She didn't get very far, as suddenly pink bolts of lightning shot out, and the force coming from them made the three Pokemon move backwards. Then, with a loud bang, the blue light disappeared, and the six fell back to the now solid-again ground, along with Sahara.  
"What just happened?" Xavier asked, staring around. Grotle, Lapras and Drifloon all shrugged, and examined Arthur and Swampert, who both looked even more confused. Sahara's Pokemon rushed forwards, and Aqua gave them all a nod, before they all began examining Sahara. She was twitching slightly, and blue electricity crackled through her body, so they couldn't tell if she was fine. There was the sound of footsteps, and Xavier looked up, watching as Mason ran over.  
"I saw what happened, what did you do?" He asked, panting slightly.  
"Lapras used Psychic, and managed to free us. But what is go-" Before Xavier could finish his sentence, there was a suddenly explosion from within the centre, and the tourists around them began to scream. Xavier, Mason and the Pokemon all looked, and stared towards the direction of the explosion. It was behind a row of trees, and a yellow ring glinted in the sunshine, and they pondered as too what could have caused it.

_Back a few minutes…_

Matthew began to scream, and his mind temporarily went blank: he forgot about the guns firing at him, the raging Twister behind him, or the fact one of his friends was dying in his hands. All he could think about was the fact he was beginning to fall.  
"HEEEELLLLP!" Matthew screamed, and watched as the green grass drew closer, the trees began to enclose him in, and the feeling in his stomach became worse….  
"COOOON!" There was a cry from up above, but Matthew wasn't sure how to twist his body to see what it was. But he didn't have to, as suddenly white, sticky string wrapped around his midriff, and Matthew felt himself come to a halt, bouncing a few times. String also wrapped around Vanessa, and her limp body was taken off his hands. Matthew and Vanessa were now suspended from somewhere, dangling over the wreckage they had caused earlier. In the distance, two police cars were speeding towards the tower, obviously having seen the destruction. Matthew began frantically waving his arms, trying to catch someone's attention.  
"HELP, WE NEED HELP!" He screamed. The string was bouncing a bit, and Matthew thought it was going to break. He felt a tug, and was about to yell again, but quickly realised the ground was getting further away, not closer. He looked up, and saw Silcoon and Cascoon sitting by the broken windows, struggling to pull the two up.

"Oh you two, thank you so much!" Matthew called. He saw the yellow G rotating past, and hoped he wouldn't get cut. But then he focused his attention on Vanessa: the blood had soaked a huge line in her dress, and was beginning to drip down her legs.  
"Call Monferno, Piplup or Luxio, we have to put pressure on the bleeding!" Matthew shouted, though he wasn't sure if Vanessa was still alive. After another half a minute, Matthew and Vanessa were pulled up to the window, and Matthew pulled himself up, and then helped a struggling Cascoon heave Vanessa onto the glass-strewn tiles. Matthew, Silcoon and Cascoon were all panting, but Matthew managed a smile.  
"Thank you." He wheezed, and hugged the two. Then, he looked over towards the battle. Staraptor was battling furiously, not caring who she hit, and sent grunts and Pokemon flying, and nearly hit Lickilicky at one point. Looker was expertly firing his gun, aiming for Saturn and Jupiter, who tried fighting the spies Pokemon back as they fought with their own. Matthew tried looking for Piplup and the others, but they were nowhere to be seen.  
"Silcoon, Cascoon, do you know were the other Pokemon are?"  
"Pip Pip!" Piplup jumped out from behind a shattered pot plant, chuckling at Matthew's surprise. Monferno and Luxio were there as well, but they raced over towards Vanessa, who was lying there, her eyes closed and face pale. Matthew grabbed Piplup and Silcoon, and walked sadly towards them.  
"I'm… I'm… I'm sorry for your loss." Matthew whispered, and felt a strangely warm tear streak down his cheek. Luxio and Cascoon were crying as well, and Monferno stood strongly besides them, struggling to keep his emotions in.  
"How cute." Everyone turned, and saw Charon standing there, smirking, while his Bronzong floated alongside. "Thanks to that oversized bird, the String Shot broke, obviously freeing me. My laptop, however, was blown away in the Twister, and whilst looking for it, who did I find but this scum." He then looked down at Vanessa and laughed, before pulling her umbrella out from behind him.  
"That's hers, give it back!" Matthew yelled, making Charon laugh louder, and Bronzong chuckled in a deep boom.  
"Here, take it." And the scientist tossed it over. Matthew quickly caught it, and began fiddling with the handle, but no sword, no energy blaster, no nothing came out. Charon looked at Bronzong and nodded.  
"It's been nice battling you all over the past month, but really, we are all bloody sick of it." He said, and clicked his fingers.  
"BRON!" Bronzong cried, and his eyes glowed pink. The Pokemon all began to react, preparing their attacks, but a wave of Psychic energy blasted them all out the window. Everyone began screaming, and Matthew was annoyed about falling again.  
"MIS!" Almost out of thin air, a Pokemon appeared beneath them. Matthew screamed in fright, but that changed to curiosity as the Midsreavus' eyes changed to a rainbow colour. She blinked, and then rainbow spotlights shot out of her eyes. Matthew, Vanessa and the Pokemon were frozen, and suddenly blasted back up towards the windows. Charon gasped as the humans and Pokemon rose up, and the Psywave carried them onto the yellow G. Matthew was winded as he landed, and the rotating G creaked as everyone landed on it.

"Is everyone alright?" He asked, and a chorus of "Coon", "Pip", "Mon" and "Lux" answered him. "Good, that's good…."  
"You won't be alright for long!" Charon shouted. "SATURN, JUPITER, GET OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!" He bellowed. "And Bronzong, you use Gy-"  
"MUUUURK!" A Murkrow suddenly swooped down, and slapped Charon with a glowing wing. The Wing Attack knocked the scientist backwards, just as Saturn, Jupiter and their Pokemon ran forwards.  
"Damn!" Matthew hissed, when he saw all the Pokemon lining up. Thankfully, the G was taking them away.  
"Mon Mon!" Monferno shouted, and angrily fired an Ember towards them. Jupiter swung her axe, batting it away. There was a strange dying-down sound, and the yellow G stopped rotating. The Pokemon all began to look at each other nervously, and the Misdreavus and Murkrow hovered nearby, looking willing to help.  
"There is no way you can win!" Jupiter yelled.  
"We have you outnumbered, and you can't exactly jump to freedom." Saturn added. Matthew gulped nervously, as did the rest of his Pokemon. Charon smiled, and then whispered something to the admins before leaving with Bronzong.  
"Shall you forfeit, or do you want to have one last disgraceful battle?" Jupiter sneered.  
"Piplup Pip!" Piplup cried, and fired several Bubbles. They didn't make it across, but the message was clear: they were going to fight!  
"Ferno Monfer Fer!"  
"Luxi Lux Oh!"  
"Cas Coon Cas!"  
"Sil Coon Sil!" The two admins looked at each other and laughed, and their Pokemon did as well. Up close, Matthew could see more scratches and scars on Jupiter and Saturn's other Pokemon, as if they had been badly beaten up, but it made them look even more tough.  
"Go across, use Poison Jab, Night Slash and Hammer Arm." Saturn ordered, and Toxicroak, Scyther and Rhydon began running.  
"Follow them, and use Crunch, Needle Arm and Shadow Claw." Jupiter barked, and Skuntank, Cacturne and Haunter began moving. Murkrow and Misdreavus turned around, as the Pokemon began heading for the window ledge.  
"Murk?"  
"Mis?" The two asked, and Matthew realised they wanted to help.  
"Sure thing." Matthew said with a nod, and looked at the Pokemon. They were all standing by Vanessa's limp body, waiting for orders. Matthew pondered, wondering what Vanessa would do, and he had an idea.  
"Aim for their legs and chests, make them trip up." He said. The Pokemon nodded, and all turned.  
"TOXI!" Toxicroak yelled, and he led the Pokemon as they leapt into the air, waving their arms and legs, trying to make up the distance to reach the other side. Matthew realised with horror that they could make it, and looked down at the others.  
"NOW!" He shouted. As the admins Pokemon came closer, Matthew's, Vanessa's, and the two wild ones began to fight back. Piplup, Monferno and Luxio fired Bubble, Ember and Spark respectively: Bubble hit Rhydon in the legs, while Ember and Spark both exploded against Scyther's chest. The two Pokemon yelled out and were sent flying backwards, crashing into the wall before beginning to fall. Misdreavus and Murkrow sped towards Cacturne and Haunter: Murkrow bashed Cacturne with Wing Attack, and Misdreavus fired a Psywave to send Haunter rocketing backwards. As the four fallen Pokemon began to fall, but were brought back inside their PokeBalls by the furious admins, Toxicroak and Skuntank made it across, badly shaking the yellow G.  
"Oh god." Matthew mumbled, and his eyes widened in shock. Toxicroak's face twisted into an evil smile, while Skuntank hissed at them all.  
"DESTROY THEM, DESTROY NOW!" Jupiter screamed. Toxicroak and Skuntank nodded, and they both charged forwards, ready to fight. Monferno and Luxio began firing attacks, but the two Pokemon dived, and the attacks flew over. The poisonous Pokemon raced forwards, and everyone simply covered under their might. Silcoon and Cascoon looked at each other, both of them thinking the same plan.  
"Silcoon Coon Coon?" Silcoon asked.

"Cascoon Coon Cas." Cascoon replied. The two looked at the charging Pokemon, and then their spikes all began to glow. A mass of String Shot suddenly shot out, and the sticky substance wrapped around Toxicroak and Skuntank.  
"Skun!" Skuntank cried, trying to fight it off, but she was being fully wrapped around. Toxicroak's smile was covered up, and he began stumbling. He tripped over, landing onto Skuntank. The two turned, and began tumbling. Jupiter screamed as she was forced to bring Skuntank back, and Saturn did the same with Toxicroak.  
"WE BEAT THEM…. Sort of." Matthew cried, but the Pokemon began dancing and cheering, laughing and pointing at the fuming admins.  
"Great job Silcoon and Cascoon!" Matthew said, and patted the two bug types. They smiled up at him, and suddenly began to glow white.  
"Oh my…" Matthew said, and stopped dancing. Both of the shells began to crack, and more light came out. Suddenly, two wings appeared out of both of the shells: yellow and black from Silcoon, and green with red circles from Cascoon. The light was blinding, but everyone fought through, trying to capture the pure beauty of the evolution. Finally, with one last dazzling blast of brightness, the evolution stopped, and two new Pokemon emerged from the shells. The one from Silcoon had a long nose, big eyes, but a cute small body, while the one from Cascoon had a purple body and strange triangular eyes. Matthew had left his bag at the bottom of the tower, so he couldn't check their species on his PokeDex, but the two bug types fluttered around everyone's heads happily, making Piplup, Monferno and Luxio stare in awe.  
"Beautifly." The ex-Silcoon trilled.  
"Dustox!" Cascoon's evolution called, and Matthew took note of how he was flying lower to the G than Beautifly.  
"Wow, I've got a Beautifly!" Matthew said, and hugged his new Pokemon in delight.  
"Well, I'm glad I woke up in time for this." A voice said, and Matthew shrieked and leapt up in shock. Vanessa was standing next to him, her face about as pale as chalk, whilst her dress was covered with blood. There was a piece of fabric, torn from the dress, taped over the wound.  
"H-h-how are you… I thought you had…. What is going on?" Matthew blubbered, while Monferno, Luxio and Dustox raced past.  
"Oh shut it Matthew, I don't have the time to tell you now." Vanessa snapped, and quickly patted Monferno and Luxio, and gave Dustox a swift hug. But then she turned towards the window, her eyes narrowing as she glared at Jupiter and Saturn.  
"YOU BASTARD!" She yelled. "YOU RUINED MY DRESS!" Saturn and Jupiter began taking nervous steps backwards, and Matthew grasped onto the umbrella, afraid of what she might do. Vanessa looked around and saw he had it. With one swift motion, she punched Matthew in the nose, causing blood to erupt over his lips, and then yanked the umbrella from his hands. In another movement, she turned it into the energy gun, and pulled the trigger. The orange energy shot out, nearly hitting Murkrow and Misdreavus, and flew towards the tower.  
"JUMP!" Jupiter cried, and she pushed Saturn out of the way. The energy flew over them and went further into the lab.  
The battle inside was dying down: Looker had shot most of the grunts, and the rest had been injured by Staraptor's Twister. Lickilicky, Jolteon and Gallade had successfully knocked all but a few of the grunts Pokemon out, while Staraptor flew angrily overhead. Looker was busy looking for the laptop and the USB, and suddenly noticed the energy flying towards the wall.  
"Look out!" He cried, and dived behind a desk. His Pokemon saw what was happening, and they dived as well. The energy hit the lift doors, and with a huge explosion, the back wall was blown to pieces. As plaster rained everywhere, hitting some of the grunts Pokemon, Looker looked around, and noticed something lying nearby: a silver laptop, with a black USB stick.  
"Excellent." Looker said with glee, and rushed forwards. As he pulled the USB out, a figure loomed over him.  
"Give it here." The cold, snide voice said, and Looker looked up towards Charon, who was glaring down at him. But Looker didn't falter under the aging scientists glare, and simply stood up, laughing.  
"Oh please Charon, you know you can't scare me." The spy chuckled back. He reached into his lab coat, and Bronzong moved forwards, worried it could be a gun, but the spy pulled out four silver discs.  
"See you around, Charon." Looker said with a smirk, and threw the four discs into the air. Two joined to the roof, while two scattered across the floor. "NOW!" Looker yelled, and he pulled his gun out, and he pistol whipped the scientist. Charon groaned as he collapsed, and Bronzong let out an angry yell.  
"LICK!" Lickilicky suddenly leapt up, and used Brick Break to smash Bronzong threw a desk.  
"Nice job." Looker said with a smirk. Gallade and Jolteon appeared, with Gallade holding Vanessa's backpack. Looker nodded, and he began to run, and his Pokemon followed behind. Jolteon sprinted forwards, firing one last Discharge to clear the path. Lickilicky tucked up into a ball, and he began to speed forwards with Rollout. Staraptor, who was still screeching near the roof, looking for Vanessa, noticed the spy running, and then saw the silver discs. Figuring that could only mean bad news, she followed after them, hoping to find Vanessa outside.  
"Every jump…. NOW!" Looker boomed, and he leapt up, grabbing onto Staraptor's talons. Jolteon leapt out the window, followed by Lickilicky, and they both headed for the G. Matthew, Vanessa and their Pokemon stared in puzzlement.  
"What are they doing?" Matthew asked Vanessa, but the red haired girl's face lit up with delight.  
"STARAPTOR, OVER HERE!" She cried. Staraptor saw her, and she let out a cry of delight, and quickly gathered speed as she left the window. Gallade leapt out behind her, with Saturn and Jupiter watching with disgust.  
"EVERYONE, GET READY FOR A BANG!" Looker shouted, and quickly pressed a button on a remote-like object.  
Suddenly, the four silver discs exploded. A fist of orange flames and grey smoke poured out of the devices, and quickly destroyed the entire top floor. Flames shot out of the windows, and bits of the ceiling and walls were sent flying. There was a creak and a snap, and the yellow G began to tip.  
"Pip Pip!" Piplup cried, and struggled to hold on. Thankfully, Gallade fired a Psychic, and the G began to fall gracefully towards the ground.  
"Misdreavus, Murkrow, come on!" Matthew screamed, as he fell for the third time that day, with Looker, his Pokemon and Staraptor chasing after. Misdreavus and Murkrow smiled, and the two began to fall as well. However, pieces from the building were falling as well. One of them hit Murkrow, and with a squawk, she was sent flying.  
"Mis Mis!" Misdreavus cried, but Murkrow was spiralling away into the trees. The ghost watched as the G continued to fall, and then she sighed and followed after, knowing she could find Murkrow later.  
The G neared the ground, and Gallade used his Psychic to make it stop, and it began to hover over the grass. Everyone began to climb off, and Staraptor landed, allowing Vanessa to rush forwards and hug her, and her entire team came up in a hug.  
"Well, now that that's sorted,-" Looker began, but Matthew cut him off.  
"What the hell was that? I thought it was just going to be something simple. Vanessa got shot, you just blew up a building, and attracted the entire cities attention!" He shrieked. Looker laughed, and pointed through the trees. Matthew turned, and realised that few people were actually looking at them. Some people had stopped and were staring towards the top floor, but no one had noticed who had just landed.  
"Part of Charon's technology is to create an invisible barrier that distorts what the public sees." Looker explained. "Now, stop complaining, grab your bag, and lets go find Xavier and Sahara." And without another word, the spy brought his three Pokemon back, and then walked towards the trees. Vanessa looked over at Matthew, smiling warmly enough at him, before she and her Pokemon began following him. Matthew was annoyed, but wasn't surprised at this. He looked around at the giant yellow G, the trashed up lobby, and the chunks of roof that were falling around him, and then at Piplup and Beautifly.  
"Just another normal day, I guess." Matthew sighed, and walked over to get his bag. Piplup and Beautifly chuckled to each other, before following after him.

Valley Windworks

It had been nearly two weeks since the collapse of the power station, and the rubble remained. The authorities had roped off the area, but they didn't have the money to move all of the charred concrete away. It would soon be removed, but for now, it simply lay there, with wild electric Pokemon roaming around, clambering on top of the different sections, chasing each other around. The area had become very quiet, and even the Drifloon rarely ventured down into the ghost area.  
The peace and calm was suddenly interrupted as a pink VW raced into the area, ripping the rope in two. A herd of Electrike ran away, avoiding the car as it screeched to a halt. Roshonda opened her door and got out, looking around with disgust.  
"Why did you bring us here?" Charles asked, as he got out as well. Both trainers had brought their Pokemon back inside their balls, mainly due to Elle's annoyance at being separated from her twin.  
"It was the only place I could think of." Roshonda replied, and began walking away. "Besides, we must have left a radio around here somewhere."  
"What if that Looker guy is watching us?" Charles snapped. "Maybe he left a mine hidden here, or a secret alarm that will call the police?" Roshonda simply scoffed and walked past him, looking over an arm snapped off a wind turbine. "Bloody hell Roshonda, I wish you would think for a moment about what could happen, instead of being so stupid." Roshonda spun around so fast Charles couldn't react. She slapped him across the face, causing him to stumble and fall over, landing on the car bonnet.  
"I am not being stupid, I am being practical, you dickhead!" Roshonda snarled. "So pull your head out, get off your high Ponyta, and help me look around!" She mumbled to herself as she walked off, aiming a kick at several Buizel. Charles wanted to shout back, but could understand why she was upset: they were both tired, hungry, and peeved off about being stranded for two days. Deciding it would be best to look than scowl, Charles began searching around the bushes nearby. There was a lot of debris, so Charles reached into his pocket.  
"Mightyena, come on out!" And he threw a Great Ball. With a flash of light, his Mightyena formed alongside.  
"Ena Mi?" He asked, looked around.  
"We need to look for a black radio, if you know what that is." Charles explained, stroking the Pokemon's head reassuringly. Mightyena understood and barked, before running off into the bushes. Charles smiled briefly, and then searched through the piles of objects alongside. Bits of glass, chunks of wall, Pokemon droppings, berries, some electrical wire, but nothing that looked radio-ish.  
"Any luck?" Roshonda yelled out, though Charles couldn't see her.  
"Nothing I can see, I'll see how Mightyena is doing." And the teen ran off towards the bushes. Mightyena's tail was sticking out of one, and as Charles approached, he leapt out, holding something in his mouth.  
"What is that?" Charles asked, and Mightyena let it fall to the ground. It was a piece of white, woolly fabric, probably made from Mareep wool, though it had become rather dirty. Charles picked it up and examined it more closer. Than, he realised something at the bottom: blue lining.  
It came from Sahara's coat.  
Charles dropped the fabric in shock, and his mind began reeling. The piece of fabric wasn't charred or burnt, which meant it had most likely been torn off. But how had it survived the explosion? Fabric like this couldn't have lasted through a missile. That meant only one thing… Sahara must still be alive!  
"CHARLES, CHARLES!" His chain of thought was interrupted as Roshonda ran over, waving a radio.  
"You found one!" Charles cried, grinning widely, though it was more from his discovery than hers.  
"I know, I know, I am already trying to connect." Roshonda said happily. She danced around, her finger on a button, and Mightyena looked thoroughly confused. There was a crackle of static electricity, and then a voice projected out.  
"Hello, who is there?" And both of them recognised the voice as Minerva's.  
"This is Roshonda, calling from the Valley Windworks." Roshonda yelled, and they heard Minerva gasp.  
"We have all- well, I've been worried for you. Is Charles with you?"  
"Yes, I'm here." Charles called.  
"Good, good. Well, there has been an incident at the Eterna Headquarters, so Cyrus is on his way. I'll tell him to collect you two as well." There was another crackle, and the signal went dead. Roshonda grinned, and gave Charles a hug.  
"Let's go wait by the car, come on!" She said excitedly, and danced away. Charles nodded, and he and Mightyena followed after. Charles was smiling, but not about being picked up. He quickly examined the fabric again, and with a sigh of happiness, he put it into his pocket along with his other precious items.

Eterna City (Dialga Statue)

Xavier and Mason had moved Sahara under the contest hall, and were hiding, along with the professors, from the few of the police, as they interviewed a number of witnesses. Other people were searching around the statue, wondering what the cause might be. Xavier had brought Lapras and Drifloon back, and Grotle stood alongside. Arthur and Swampert also sat nearby, but were deeply ignoring the professors. Sahara's Pokemon, along with Lunatone and Solrock, stood besides her, making sure she was alright.  
"Sahara can act very oddly like this." Xavier explained.  
"We've noticed." Professor Rowan replied irritably. He looked at Professor Oak, and the two muttered something between them.  
"We are going to talk to the technicians, see if we can offer some assistance." Professor Oak said. Mason tried to say something, but the scientists walked mysteriously off, avoiding the glaring look Arthur was giving him.  
"How odd." Xavier pointed out.

"Yes…" Mason mumbled, and looked down towards Sahara. She was growling and murmuring, and the Pokemon were all looking fairly sad.  
"BLAH!" Mason yelped, and the Pokemon all looked a bit stunned, and Vanessa cackled loudly as she landed alongside them, Staraptor grasping her shoulders. Monferno and Luxio were riding on the giant bird, and Dustox was fluttering alongside.  
"Congratulations." Xavier said, staring at Dustox and unfazed by her sudden landing.  
"Cheers mate." Vanessa said with delight. "I saw Pro Ro while flying overhead, so we fly over here." She then looked down at Sahara. "Why is she unconscious now?" As Mason began explaining, Matthew and Looker walked over, followed by Piplup, Beautifly and the Misdreavus.  
"That is terrible!" Matthew said in shock as Mason finished explaining. Looker just nodded, and quickly called someone on a cellphone.  
"I know, I wasn't sure what had happened or what was going on!" Mason said sadly. Vanessa nodded sympathetically, and then toppled sideways slightly.  
"You alright?" Matthew asked.

"I am fine, probably just need some blood." Vanessa sighed irritably, as if getting cured was an issue.  
"I think we should all go to the medical centre nearby." Looker said, as he hung up his phone. "I'll take you all there, but then I have to go. I need to hand the USB in to my superiors, and apparently there is an issue with the Cycling Road bridge I might have to look into."  
"Alright, let's go then." Xavier said, and he and Grotle led the way. Lunatone and Solrock used Psychic to lift Sahara up, who continued to sigh and groan. Mason rushed forwards, and the Pokemon all chased after. Vanessa let Staraptor grab onto her, and they flew off above them. Matthew and Looker began following them, but the Misdreavus flew in front.  
"Mis Mis Dreav!" She said sadly. Beautifly flew up to her, and the two had a quick conversation.  
"I really want to know where she came from, and where her friend is." Matthew said, looking at her sadly.  
"Piplup Pip!" Piplup said, and leapt onto Matthew's bag. She reached in, and pulled a Great Ball out from one of the pockets.  
"A ghost type, that could be a nice addition to your team." Looker said wisely. Matthew was surprised, but smiled and grabbed the ball from Piplup.  
"Come on Misdreavus, you can join my team, if you want!" Misdreavus looked a bit surprised, but she nodded happily, and flew forwards as Matthew threw the ball. Xavier and Grotle looked back and watched as Misdreavus was sucked in. One shake… two shake… three shake.. the ball stopped, and Misdreavus held. Matthew cheered, and hugged Piplup and Beautifly.  
"Sweet." A voice grunted, and Xavier looked, and saw Arthur standing alongside.  
"I am sorry you got knocked out." Xavier said, but Arthur shrugged.  
"I don't really care that much." He mumbled back. The explorer reached into his pockets, and pulled out four miniature 3-D cones. "I want you to have these, and give them to your friends."  
"What do they do?"  
"Lets just say, you can have your own hole in the wall." Arthur said with a wink. He laughed roughly and patted Xavier on the back. Swampert and Grotle exchanged nods, and they all began moving, following after the others.  
No one noticed as a helicopter headed towards the Galactic Tower….

Galactic HQ (Eterna)

The entire top two floors of the building had been destroyed by the explosion. All of the grunts and their Pokemon had been killed in the explosion, and several scientists and technicians had been injured on the floors below. But Bronzong had acted quickly, and had moved on top of Charon, using Heatproof to protect him, and then used Psychic to protect Jupiter, Saturn and the laptop.  
The three admins were now down in the lobby, sitting on one of the trees. Cyrus was pacing in front of them, a scowl on his face. Charles and Roshonda sat on a different tree, a bit nervous. Everyone was waiting for Cyrus to explode and start firing random shots.  
"So, let me have this straight." Cyrus said at last. "Ursilla has been murdered?"  
"Correct." Saturn said.  
"And she was killed by Jaki, meaning Sahara is still alive?"  
"Correct." Jupiter whispered.  
"And Looker has managed to scan all of our files?"  
"On the money." Charon said sarcastically. Cyrus stopped walking, his eyes shut. Than he roared and lashed out, kicking one of the trees.  
"THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!" He boomed. "Those fucking brats have been ruining my plans for the past month, and I am SICK OF IT!" His voice echoed inside the lobby, and everyone was on edge. "I won't accept this any longer. We must act, and prove to this pitiful world what we are truly made of. I want everyone to head up to the helicopter waiting on Level Two's remains. Saturn, call Draco and Mars, and tell them we are instituting the end of Phase One within the next week, and that Operation TRAIN will begin straight away. Jupiter, I want you to organise the recruitment team, we need move grunts."  
"What is going on?" Charles asked, and Cyrus turned to him.  
"You'll find out in due course, child. Just go to the helicopter, now!"  
"Let's go." Roshonda muttered, and she dragged Charles towards the staircase. Jupiter and Saturn scuttled after, not wanting to be yelled at more, leaving just Cyrus and Charon.  
"Now sir, I really think you should calm down a bit." Charon was saying, as he slipped his laptop into a coat pocket.  
"I don't care what you think. Just go and grab your plans, and meet us up by the helicopter in two minutes." Cyrus snapped, and he turned and stalked off after the others. Charon rolled his eyes, smirking, and moved towards a bookcase. Making sure no one was around, the scientist pulled an orange key out of his pocket. He inserted it into the spine of a physics book, and the bookcase swung back.  
Inside was a mini lab: three tables of supplies, test tubes, computers and papers, a shelf of chemicals, and lots of mini machines that Charon created. The walls, floor and ceiling were white, and it only needed one bright light. Charon found the room irritating and cramped, but it was the only place he could come to escape all of the drama.  
"Papers, papers…." He muttered, and began searching through a pile of blueprints. Suddenly, there was a crackling sound. Charon froze and looked around. The crackling happened again, and Charon's eyes bulged. There was more crackling, and it appeared to be coming from under a desk. Eagerly, Charon rushed forwards, and looked under. A lawnmower was under there, looking very old and dirty. But the thing that was crackling came from behind.  
"It is you!" Charon gasped, and he reached into a coat pocket. A Master Ball was inside, looking a bit scratched and dirty, but otherwise fine.  
"It is time you fully returned to me, Rotom…."


	14. The Unnatural Cycle Part One

**This story will be split into two parts due to it's really large length.**

**The Unnatural Cycle**

_February 10__th__ 2007_

_Route __207_

_It was a cool winter's night, one of the last of the year. It was only a few hours before dawn, so the moon was still out, but it was partially covered by clouds. Snow and frost still covered nearby trees, while piles of the soft white substance was piled high in piles alongside the road. It was beginning to snow lightly, and a Noctowl was forced to lead her Hoothoot children towards a tree for the night. The majority of Pokemon would be glad once the season was over ,and would be looking forward to a proper rest once Spring began. _

_The pleasant peace was interrupted by several loud horns, cutting through the night air like a knife. The restless Noctowl stared out of her pine tree, searching for a source of the disturbing noise. Light suddenly flooded the route from a nearby building, and lit the way for two people.  
They were both male: one young and one a few years older. The younger one was fit and had slick black hair, a clean shaven face covered with acne, and a hole in his left arm where he had been shot. The older man was fatter, with a thick black beard, long hair disguised by a bandanna and was wearing sunglasses despite the fact it was night. Both men were wearing black leather jackets: the fatter mans one was tatty, while the younger mans was a bit longer and more cloak-like, but both of them had a patch on the back. It was circular, and had the words "The Slayers" in blood red, stitched over a scythe covered in blood. _

_The Slayers were a motorbike gang, infamous for accepting clumsy and idiotic members, but being skillful in gun fights and drag races. While most of Sinnoh didn't bother going near them or bothering with them, those that had dealt with them knew they could be deadly._

_Especially when it came to vengeance._

"_General, he said he was going to head this way!" The younger man shouted, and began sprinting off to the left. His thick leather boots made huge prints in the snow, but the man wasn't worried about making tracks. A biker was missing, and they had to find him: loyalty was an important part of the Slayers, so finding him was necessary. _

"_You go ahead, make sure the path is clear!" A gruff voice shouted, and the older man going by General paused, catching his breathe. His younger counterpart rolled his eyes, and sprinted off ahead. Mt Coronet was casting spooky shadows across the snow, and a shiver went down the young man's spine. But, as he got nearer, he found himself going slower, as the snow was turning into a small mountain. It was difficult to walk through, and the dim light wasn't helping. _

"_Armstrong, I'm not climbing that!" The General shouted from the bottom, and the man called Armstrong turned around angrily._

"_We need to find Spike, so hurry up and-" Armstrong began to snap, but suddenly froze. He could see something glowing out of the corner of his eye, and he slowly turned around._

_A motorbike was lying there in the snow, half-buried inside the soft substance. The moon was reflecting off the metal rims of the wheels, lighting it up like a blue-white spotlight._

"_I've found his bike!" Armstrong shouted, and he rushed towards it, as the General began climbing the hill of snow. The bike was partially dented around the engine, the seat was torn and one handlebar had snapped off. Armstrong examined the bike more closely, and saw something else in the moonlight. A long black feather, with a slightly reddish tip on the end, was sitting on the torn seat. It didn't look like it had simply fallen there, and Armstrong suspected it had been placed, possibly in a mocking manner. _

"_A feather… THAT BITCH!" Armstrong hissed, and he angrily kicked the motorbike. He wasn't expecting it to do much, but suddenly the beaten up machine tilted backwards and slid down the snow bank, crashing into some rocks below. _

"_That's odd…" Armstrong pondered, and got down onto his knees. There was a lump in the snow, and the bike seemed to have been teetering on it. There was a puffing sound, and the General finally reached the top, wheezing and sighing._

"_Where's the bike?" He panted._

"_It fell over, but I think there is foul play involved in this!" Armstrong replied, and got up to the lump. He began pushing snow aside, and was glad he was wearing his warm biking gloves. After half a minute, a dark coloured rock was revealed, and it looked alien-like amongst the pure white, glowing snow. Armstrong pushed the rock aside, and let it roll down towards the bike. Something else was underneath, and now it was clear that someone was mocking them: the rock had been covering up a Slayer patch._

"_How dare they!" The General snarled, but Armstrong ignored him, and grabbed the patch. He pulled, and the patch came up, along with the jacket it was stitched to, and the body wearing it. Armstrong and The General exchanged horrified looks, before turning the body over._

_Spike had once been attractive: his blond hair and blue eyes always attracted the attention of the ladies they dealt with. But now his face was badly bruised and cut, the once clean hair now covered in blood, and his throat had been slit, as an ugly afterthought. The blood had reached the end of his jacket and plain white singlet before it stopped, and both were now badly stained. His left arm was twisted at an odd angle as well, and there were more cut on his jeans._

"_How…who… I only saw him an hour ago, saying he was going for a drive." The General mumbled, looking down at the corpse. "Who would have done this?" Armstrong had been staring sadly down at his old friend while the General had been speaking, thinking back to some of their old journeys on the road. But his last words brought him back to the real world, and he wheeled around._

"_I think I know who." He hissed, and held up the black feather he had found. The General looked at him quizzically, and Armstrong growled. "VANESSA!" He yelled out, and shook the feather angrily. The General froze, and then he burst out laughing, which seemed out of place beside the dead body._

"_Vanessa, that little red headed girl?" He chuckled, doubling over with laughter. "How could she do something like this?" _

"_I don't know how, but it has to be her, just look at the feather!" Armstrong shook the feather again, and the General held it up to his eye._

"_You think it could from her Staravia?" He asked, still smirking. "Impossible, it is much too long, and there is the red tip at the end: only a Staraptor could produce this."_

"_Maybe the bird evolved, I don't know, we just need to find her!" Armstrong bellowed, and it echoed across the quiet route. The General stared at the feather for a few seconds, holding it above Spike, and seemed to be getting lost in thought. Armstrong waited impatiently, crossing his fingers and hoping that his superior would call out the order to bring Vanessa down._

"_The Western Warriors specialize in knife base killings, it is most likely them." The General mumbled, and he dropped the feather, letting it float slowly down onto Spike's mutilated neck. _

"_But sir-" Armstrong began, but The General held up a finger, instantly silencing him._

"_I'll head back to camp and begin planning our retaliation against them. You collect the bike, and I'll send someone to help you bring it to camp." And with that, the General turned and began walking briskly but solemnly down the hill of snow. Armstrong's jaw dropped, and he looked down at Spike's pale corpse. He knew it was Vanessa, it had to be her! But there was no point arguing with the General, unless he wanted to be buried as well._

"_I'll find you Vanessa," Armstrong hissed, as he walked down the snow. "And once I do, I'll make sure you admit what you've done. And then you'll wish you'd never crossed the Slayers! I hope you are waiting in fear for us to find you…."_

January 26th 2010

For the eighth day in a row, Vanessa was bored.

She was seated at a table in the Eterna City Pokemon Center, right in the corner of the complex, away from the around one hundred trainers, coordinators and other Pokemon people filling up the city. Vanessa was trying to focus on a magazine she had found, but could barely concentrate with the loud buzzing caused by the chatting crowd.

"I wish they would just shut up, no one cares about their useless shit!" Vanessa hissed.

"Raptor Stat." Her Staraptor was sitting in the seat beside her, pecking at the stuffing in the armrest. Across the table Monferno and Luxio were snoozing in their seats, their tails twitching as they dreamt. And fluttering above them was Dustox: he was enjoying his new, though not very powerful, wings, and was hovering above the table. Some paper flew across the room and hit Vanessa in the face, and she pulled her umbrella out from under the table.

"Can't they hurry up and finish building that fricking bridge!" Vanessa growled as Staraptor patted her to calm her down.

Since Sahara/Eden's magnetic outburst last week, the supports on the Cycling Road Bridge, the fastest way out of town, had been badly bent, and the bridge risked collapsing. The authorities had declared it unsafe, and were now working on repairing it. But travelling by the bridge was the easiest way for trainers: it went straight down towards Mt Coronet, and then into Hearthome. The only other options were travelling back through Eterna Forest to Oreburgh, or go through the equally as tricky caves at Mt Coronet.

But Vanessa had decided to stay put: Xavier, Sahara and Matthew were staying as well in order to challenge Gardenia, and there were still areas of the city to explore, and the time could be used to make more outfits. Besides, she didn't want to go on such an unnecessarily long journey.

_But isn't this whole journey unnecessary? _A voice in her head whispered. _You never really needed to go on a gym quest: you could have gotten the money another way._

"No, it has to be morally right!" Vanessa snapped angrily. Staraptor looked at her quizzically, and Dustox stopped fluttering and stared at her.

"Dust?" He asked, looking a bit concerned.

"Oh, I'm fine!" Vanessa replied, and began flicking through her magazine. Staraptor and Dustox just shrugged at each other, and went back to what they were doing.

"Did you see the paper this morning about that explosion?" Vanessa growled again, and looked up from the current article she was reading. Two businessmen were walking through the crowds, handing out flyers to some of the trainers. They were walking towards the table, but didn't seem focused on her: they were heading towards the seats opposite her, as if they wanted to sit down.

"I know, it is just appalling all the stuff that's been happening lately!" The second man sighed, and stopped by the table. "Alright you Luxio, move aside!" The electric tiger opened one eye, and growled in response. The man sighed, and bent down to shove him out of the way. Suddenly, something silver and glowing appeared under his face, and he backed away. Vanessa had activated her sword, and hadn't even looked up from magazine.

"Don't harass my Pokemon, go away." Vanessa hissed, and held her umbrella firmly. The two men looked at each, and the man that wasn't being threatened walked forwards, and pushed the umbrella aside.  
"Listen girlie, we just want to sit down, and-" He began, but Vanessa just sighed and clicked her fingers. Luxio brushed his tail against Monferno's face, waking him up, and then leapt onto the table. Dustox floated onto his head, and Staraptor to be besides them.  
"Monfer Mon!" Monferno screeched, and jumped to the right of Luxio. His fist was glowing white, and Luxio began crackling with electricity. Dustox began to stare at them shiftily, his eyes turning rainbow coloured, and the men stood backwards.

"Alright, we'll go, no need to-" But than the men froze, as they heard a screech from above. The noise in the center died down a bit as people turned around, wondering what it was.  
"MUUUURRRRRK!" Suddenly, out from ceiling, what looked like a black ball of feathers soared downwards, and began angrily pecking at the men.

"What the hell is a Murkrow doing here!" One of them squealed, and tried batting the Darkness Pokemon away. But the bird just kept pecking at them, and even pulled at their hair.  
"MUURKROOOW! MURK MURK KROOOOW!" Murkrow squawked, and whacked them with her batting wings. The men turned and sprinted away, to whispers, jeers and looks of concern from the watching trainers. Vanessa simply applauded, while Monferno, Luxio and Dustox all laughed. Murkrow smiled, and flew over and rested on Vanessa's arm rest.

"Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!" Vanessa laughed, and patted Murkrow on her witch-hat shaped head. Staraptor looked down at its fellow flying type, and she stared at her with an intimidating look. Murkrow recoiled slightly, but gulped and puffed her chest out, trying not to falter under her superior's glare.

Last week, the group had spent two days in the medical center on the towns outskirts. Vanessa was treated for her bullet wound, and Sahara recovered from the strain of the magnetism effect Eden had caused. Once they had all recovered, they left to begin exploring the city. This involved exploring the remains of the Galactic building, so they could piece together what might have been their plan. There, Matthew's new Misdreavus found her Murkrow friend hiding in a tree. Vanessa decided to battle and capture it, as it looked sad in the tree by itself. But Staraptor wasn't pleased with having a new bird around, especially as she was getting a bit old, and didn't like the idea of being replaced. Vanessa was even wearing a Murkrow inspired outfit today: a witches hat, a black leather jacket adorned with feathers, black jeans ending with frayed edges.

"Staraptor, play nicely!" Vanessa scolded. The Starling Pokemon just rolled her eyes, as her team mates continued to laugh besides her. Than, Staraptor pointed forwards, and Vanessa turned around.

"Did you have a run in with those men running away from the building?" The dull tones of Xavier Diamond asked. He was flicking through a Sinnoh guide book, and not paying attention as he walked towards the table.

"Murkrow just taught them a lesson." Vanessa replied, and moved aside so Xavier could have her seat. He simply nodded, and put his bag down on the floor, and continued to read. Vanessa's Pokemon found Xavier a little odd, and moved down the table to avoid him.  
"Just get inside your PokeBalls!" Vanessa sighed, and pulled out three PokeBalls, one Net and one Great. Monferno, Luxio and Staraptor were sucked inside the PokeBalls, while Murkrow turned blue and went inside the Great Ball and D

"The battle went rather well, none of my Pokemon fainted." Xavier began explaining suddenly, his book lying closed in front of him. "Lapras' Blizzard froze the entire field and knocked out Roserade and Cherrim, and made it easier for Ponyta smash things up and defeat Grotle. That extra practice we did beforehand against my Grotle greatly helped things."

"Good to hear it, and it seems like bringing your Pokemon over really helped." Vanessa nodded. Xavier, Sahara and Matthew had all contacted their parents (though Sahara spent a tearful hour with her mother, who had also thought Sahara had been killed in the explosion) and each received Ponyta, Seviper and Milotic respectively to aide their battles.

"Where have the others gone off too?" Vanessa asked.

"Sahara and Matthew are healing our Pokemon." Xavier explained. "Sahara did alright, as Seviper had a type advantage, especially with her Flamethrower. But Roserade used Rain Dance, which allowed her Floatzel's Swift Swim to activate and win the match." Vanessa nodded, though she was getting a bit bored with listening to him. "Matthew did worse: his Beautifly knocked out Cherrim, but got defeated by Roserade, as did Piplup who attempted Peck. Milotic then flooded the field and also froze it, and defeated the other two." Xavier finished explaining. "Now, for the next gym battle, I believe the gym leader specializes in-"

"SHIT!" Vanessa gulped, and pulled Xavier forwards. She began kissing him, much to Xavier's surprise, and wrapped her arms around his neck. As they did so, someone walked past: this boy was wearing a long black trench coat, had black sunglasses on to hide most of his face, but Vanessa had recognized his tatty leather outfit and greasy looking hair. Emerson was in Eterna City, and she had no intention of seeing him.

"Vanessa, why exactly are you kissing me?" Xavier asked, and his face looked twisted as he became confused. Vanessa ignored him a few seconds, and continued kissing him as Emerson walked past, and headed outside. Once he was gone, Vanessa broke away, and wiped her mouth on her feathery sleeve.

"I guess my hormones just went into overdrive." She responded with a beam. Xavier simply raised an eyebrow, and opened his book up again. Vanessa chuckled, and she looked around the center. Sahara and Matthew were rushing towards her with a tray of PokeBalls, and both of them looked appalled.

"Was it just me, or were you just making out with Xavier?" Sahara asked, sounding horrified. She slipped into her seat opposite Vanessa, and Matthew sat down beside her. Vanessa sighed, and quickly explained about Emerson. As Matthew and Sahara had both met Emerson, they could understand why she had chosen to avoid her.

"He does seem a bit greasy, doesn't he?" Matthew smirked, as he pocketed his PokeBalls. "But, I don't think that kissing Xavier is really the best option to disguise yourself."

"What else could I've done, my hair isn't exactly easier to hide!" Vanessa snapped, but her angry disappeared and she smiled deviously. "Would you have preferred if I'd kissed you?"

"What! Of course not, that is inappropriate!" Matthew shrieked, and Sahara and Vanessa exchanged knowing looks.

"Have you ever kissed anyone _properly_?" Sahara asked. Matthew froze at this, and his cheeks went bright red.

"Anyone want to do some training?" He mumbled, and Vanessa erupted in laughter.

"Oh my god!" She jeered, and her face turned almost as red as her hair. Sahara stifled a laugh, and Matthew glared at them.  
"I think I'm going to go to the bathroom. Could I borrow that magazine to read?" Matthew asked, but Vanessa snatched it up.

"No, I think there are a few too many attractive women in there for your wondrous eyes to look at." She replied sweetly. Matthew was puzzled, but then got what she meant, and quickly scurried away, leaving Vanessa and Sahara to roar with laughter in their seats.

Galactic Headquarters

"Let's try and ace this, so Swift and Stone Edge, now!"

It was early morning, but Charles had been up most of the night. He had barely slept a wink the past week: since the destruction of the Eterna base, they had been training extremely hard. All Pokemon were being taught new moves, while the grunts had to go through rigorous training regimes, exercises and new physical challenges. Charles had no idea why, but he just did as he was told.

His current challenge was a simple test of moves. Charles stood inside a small, windowless room, and there were currently only two lights: one over Charles, and one over a row of six wooden dummies. Besides him, Elle and Gligar were poised, ready to attack.

"Eevee Eva!" Elle shouted, and opened her mouth. Glowing stars shot out of her mouth, and managed to two of the dummies at the right end to splinters.

"Gligar Gli Gli!" Gligar shouted, and he smashed his tail into the ground. A tornado of small stones and rocks flew up, surrounding the bat-like Pokemon. "Gar!" He cried, and swung his claws around. The rocks went flying, and joined together to form bigger stones as they did. The stones hit three of the remaining dummies, obliterating them into tiny chips of wood. The one that remained looked strange amongst the piles of destroyed wood, but Charles smiled anyway.  
"Great job you two!" He said, and gave both of them a hug.  
"Eve!"

"Gli!" The two replied, and smiled. Suddenly, all the lights in the room were turned on, and the three reacted badly to the sudden change. Out of the corner, Draco walked forwards, his lips pursed beneath his curtain of greasy hair.

"You didn't destroy the one in the middle." He growled. Charles rolled his eyes and stood up, clutching Elle and Gligar.

"Does it really matter, they did do a really good job!" Charles pointed out, and Elle and Gligar nodded their heads in agreement. Draco sighed, and stepped forwards. Charles and his Pokemon didn't enjoy being this close to him: Draco had a strange odor around him, about twice the normal amount of acne, and you could almost see the individual particles of grease in his hair.  
"I'm in charge here, and what I says goes!" The commander hissed. "Now head outside, and send Addison in for her test." Charles reluctantly nodded, and he turned and heading towards the door. Gligar flew up and turned the knob for him, and nearly dropping the small fang it had been holding for a while.  
"Thanks Gligar." Charles said with a smile, and Gligar beamed happily, before leading them outside.

It was absolute chaos.

Every single grunt that worked for Team Galactic was at the moment battling. Moves of every single type were flying around the room, as nearly one hundred double and tag battles went on. Lights smashed, holes formed in the roofs, giant crates blasted over battlers asides, and about three people were at that moment being blasted into the sky.

"Bloody hell!" Charles cried, and stayed close to the wall. The huge area he was in was one of the large training warehouses located at the back of their Veilstone City tower. No one would be able to hear or notice a thing, which Charles did think was a little dodgy. But he could barely think at the moment, as a Thunderbolt smashed some of the panels behind him.  
"Can you guys see Addison? I think she's with Roshonda!" Charles shouted. Gligar hovered upwards, but dived down again to avoid an astray Ice Beam.  
"Eevee Eva!" Elle cried, and hoped out of Charles' arms, and ran along the wall. Charles and Gligar followed after, and a few seconds later, they had come across another battle. Roshonda nodded at Charles as he approached, but then looked back at the fight. She looked purely wild: her hair was hanging around her face, and looked frizzy and maniacal. Her face was twisted in a furious expression, and she had fists clenched, the veins in her arms about to blow. The reason she looked so twisted was because she was losing her battle: despite Beedrill and Cradily's best efforts, her opponent had sent out Ledian and Victreebell, and was using a great combination of moves to win.  
"Aerial Ace and Leaf Storm now!" A woman's voice said, and Charles turned. A figure was standing in front of him, wearing the female grunt outfit and had her hair was tied in a ponytail. It was mainly black, but there was were three streaks of dark red twisting around.

"Ummm, Addison?" Charles asked quietly. Roshonda looked angrily at him, but her opponent froze, and slowly turned around.

Addison was one of the most beautiful girls Charles had seen. She had an oval shaped face, but it was thin and well shaped by her hair. Her eyes were a dark green, and looked like they could represent some sort of enchanted forest. Addison was taller than Roshonda, though a few centimeters shorter than Charles, and looked healthy and thin, and she managed to make the tacky grunt outfit look good on her. Charles had passed her by several times before since she joined last week, but had never had the chance to properly examine her.

"Hello there, Charles, isn't it?" Addison asked, and extended a tanned hand.  
"That's right." Charles replied, nearly blushing. Elle's eyes narrowed below him, while Gligar tried to stop sniggering. "Errr, anyway…. Umm…." Addison giggled, and Charles began to fully blush. Roshonda rolled her eyes at him, and that snapped Charles out of it. "Draco wants to see you, it's your turn to be tested." Addison smiled and nodded, and looked over at the battle. Beedrill and Cradily had fainted, with Ledian and Victreebel exchanging high-fives. Roshonda was looking thoroughly annoyed, and Charles was expecting her to catch on fire.

"Come on, it's time to go." Addison instructed, and began walking gracefully forwards. "Thanks for the battle Roshonda. And I'll see you around Charles." She added with a wink. Ledian and Victreebel giggled as they passed, and Charles blushed again.  
"Eva Eevee Eve Eva!" Elle huffed once Addison had gone. Roshonda brought her Pokemon back, and then marched towards Charles furiously.  
"I hate that little madam, she thinks she's better than me!" She hissed, and stamped her foot in her anger.

"I dunno, I think she's alright." Charles mumbled. Roshonda raised an eyebrow, and then slapped him hard across his right cheek. Charles stumbled and collapsed to the ground, clutching his face.

"Don't you ever compliment her again!" Roshonda snorted.

"Gli Gli Gli!" Gligar laughed, and pounded his claws against the ground. Elle even managed a giggle, and Charles glared at the two of them. There was the clunk of high heels, and the four of them turned. Minerva was rushing towards them, wearing a plain green dress and matching high heels, and her blonde hair caught up as she ran. Her Leafeon was trotting along beside her, looking at the battles.  
"Roshonda, that wasn't very nice!" Minerva scolded once she reached them, and extended a hand for him. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, thanks for the lift." Charles replied, and used her hand to help hoist himself up. Roshonda was breathing deeply besides them, and was staring over at the door into the testing room. Minerva raised an eyebrow, but Charles shook his head, not wishing to explain.

"I was just on my way to see Cyrus: I'm heading up a mission, you see!" Minerva explained brightly. "We need to complete the job we should've done last week, but, as you know, other things got in the way."

"A mission, that sounds pretty cool." Charles replied. "Roshonda and I haven't been on one since we planted the bomb, d'you think we could come along?"

"Of course, the more the merrier!" Minerva beamed. Her Leafeon was brushing past her, and walked towards Elle, and began circling. Elle didn't look very happy with this, especially as Leafeon was beginning to sniff at her. Minerva's eyes bulged open in shock, and she quickly leapt forwards.

"So, there will be an announcement of when to assemble, Draco will be giving me a list of other grunts soon." She explained quickly, and began walking away, clicking her fingers at Leafeon. "Leafeon, come here! Well, bye!" Leafeon stared at Elle with a look of longing, but than turned and ran towards Minerva, who began power-walking towards the other end of the hall. Charles watched her leave, wondering why Leafeon had been sniffing Elle, and why Minerva didn't like that.

"That woman has always seemed strange to me." Roshonda commented. "Anyway, want to get some extra training in before this mission?"

"Sure, why not!" Charles shrugged. Elle and Gligar happily leapt forwards, and the two trainers laughed as they got ready to fight.

Up above them, a metal walkway went around the entire warehouse, so that people could stare down at the battles taking place. At the moment, Cyrus was watching his minions at work, tapping his fingers against the metal bar that stopped him from falling into the fights. Next to him, Charon sat on a metal bench, tapping away at his laptop, as usual.  
"Are all your calculations sorted?" Cyrus asked, while staring down at Charles and Roshonda. Charon made a sighing sound, which Cyrus took to mean yes. "So, shall we go ahead with Phase Two of Operation Terror?"

"If we don't, than we will be falling far behind." Charon replied back in a snappy tone.  
"And Minerva can go through with Operation Double Trio- Phase One?"

"For the last time Cyrus, yes!" Charon shouted back, and Cyrus wheeled around, his eyes filled with fire as he stared at his chief scientist.

"Very well then." Cyrus said through gritted teeth. "Assemble the grunts we're taking and get the tankers ready. We'll depart in an hour." And with that, Cyrus turned and walked away, though still watching Charles' battle out of the corner of his eye.

Eterna City

After things in the Pokemon Center got a bit dull, the group decided to head outside and do some much needed training.

"Blizzard."

"Brick Break!"

Sahara and Xavier stood at opposite ends of the field outside the Contest Hall. Lapras and Aqua were between them, having a practice battle.

"Zel Zel!" Floatzel exclaimed, and jumped into the sky. His fins dimly glowed red, and he soared towards Lapras.  
_This shouldn't be hard. _She smirked, and bent her neck backwards. Aqua aimed for her now exposed throat, but an icy-blue ball formed inside Lapras' mouth. It burst open, releasing a white cloud of snow and ice, bombarding the water type from close range. He flew backwards across the field, and skidded to a stop at Sahara's feet.

"Xavier, I only battled you to test Aqua's new move!" Sahara huffed, and then sighed as she looked up: Xavier was reading his book while battling, and didn't seem to notice her queries. Lapras smirked, and Sahara's eyes narrowed.

"Brick Break again!" She snapped.

"Floatzel Zel!" Aqua cried and ran forwards.

"Sahara, you could always join my training session!" Vanessa shouted, and beamed widely at her. Sahara just gave her a look, and looked back at her battle, while Vanessa laughed.

Over the course of the week, Vanessa had taken a break from making new outfits in order to work on her umbrella. She wanted to make things more powerful, but was having trouble sorting out a new contraption: it was meant to fire balls of fire, but she hadn't been able to produce the flames yet. Instead, it now fired large rubber balls into the sky.

"Ok everyone, here are the rules!" Vanessa shouted. On either side of her, there were two teams of Pokemon: Grotle, Staraptor, Smash, Beautifly and Dustox on one team, while Drifloon, Luxio, Monferno, Murkrow and Nutty were on the other. "I'm going to fire three balls into the sky. The first team to get two balls to their goals," and at this point, Vanessa pointed towards two wooden spi8kes at opposite ends of the field "wins the match and some berries!" The Pokemon all looked excited at this and tensed up. Staraptor muttered something to her side, and the other four nodded. Vanessa turned the top of her umbrella, and it opened up to produce a thin pipe.  
"Alright, go!" And she pulled the trigger. Three tiny balls shot out of the pipe, and inflated as they got into the sky. Like a flash, Staraptor and Beautifly shot upwards, along with Drifloon and Murkrow.

"DRIIFFFFFFFFLOOOOOON!" Drifloon exclaimed, and fired out a powerful Ominous Wind. Beautifly nearly got blown away, but Staraptor flew in front, staring angrily at Murkrow, and spun around herself. A Twister formed, sucking up the Ominous Wind, and Drifloon and Murkrow got sucked in as well.  
"Fly Beauti Tifly!" Beautifly teased at her trapped rivals, and quickly fired a String Shot, which split into three. The rubber balls became enclosed, and Beautifly soared downwards with them. The Twister stopped, and Staraptor flew down and grabbed one of the orbs while the other flying types were distracted. Beautifly tossed the third one to Smash, who caught it in his mouth.

"Grotle Grot!" Grotle yelled at them, and his bushes glowed green. A barrage of Razor Leaves were fired, distracting the opposing team. They all charged forwards, just as Drifloon and Murkrow flew down.  
"LUXIIIII!" Luxio shouted.

"PACHIII!" Nutty cried as well. Both electric types fired Sparks from the smoke, flying towards Staraptor and Beautifly. Onix dived forwards, taking half of the attack and deflecting it. However, the Butterfly Pokemon was blasted out of the sky, and flew towards the ground. Dustox dove forwards, and catching her on his back. The ball fell forwards, and Grotle and Monferno stared at each other, and then ran.

"FERNOOO!" Monferno shrieked, and used the speed of his Mach Punch to get him to the ball first. He then opened his mouth, charging up an Ember.

"ONNNNN!" Smash dived forwards, and smashed straight into Monferno. The rubber ball bounced away as thr Onix took Monferno underground as part of his Dig.  
"Tox!" Dustox yelled happily, and flapped his wings: a Gust was formed, picking up the rubber ball. But than Drifloon and Murkrow flew down, and the two of them looked annoyed. Nutty and Luxio were focusing on Staraptor behind them, who was trying to avoid their Spakrs, flying the other three Pokemon to those two.  
"MUUUURK!" Murkrow shouted, and flapped her wings, releasing a blinding white smoke, while Drifloon exhaled wind. Their Haze and Gust combination blasted Dustox asides, causing him to crash into the ground. Murkrow flew forwards and grabbed it in her mouth. She flew towards their goal behind Grotle, and even hit him with a Wing Attack as she went.  
"BEAUT!" Beautifly huffed, and fired a String Shot. Drifloon got in front, and her string-like arms became entangled together. Murkrow beamed, and dropped the ball inside the pegs. Staraptor saw this, and was annoyed that she'd been outsmarted.

"STARAPTOR AP STAR TOR ARAPTOR!" Staraptor squawked, and dived down. Nutty looked and Luxio and whispered something to him, and they both nodded. Drifloon and Murkrow began flying forwards to get the second ball, but before they could move a metre, Beautifly flew in front, and fired more String Shot at them.  
"FLOOOON!" Drifloon huffed, and tried to wriggle out of them. But Dustox swooped down, and Tackled Murkrow into her. The two flying types, unable to stop themselves, began falling to the ground.

"Grotle Till!" Grotle shouted, and began running forwards, firing Razor Leaves as he went. They hit Luxio, but Nutty leapt up into the sky, trying for a Quick Attack. Staraptor twirled and used Aerial Ace, her wings batting Nutty downwards.

"Pachirisu Su!" Nutty shouted, and hit Luxio. The two rolled backwards, looking rather still. The ground began rumbling, and Vanessa forced her umbrella into the ground to balance herself. Everyone watched as Onix shot out, sending Monferno flying into the sky. Nutty and Luxio were blasted out of the way, and chunks of earth flew around as well.  
"OOOONNNNIIIIX!" The Rock Snake roared, and spat out his rubber ball. Staraptor caught it and dived down, now holding two rubber balls in both talons. She stopped flying an inch from the ground, and dropped both between the pegs.  
"TEAM TO MY LEFT WINS!" Vanessa shouted, and Staraptor, Grotle, Onix, Beautifly and Dustox cheered. Xavier and Sahara came over, with Aqua and Lapras close behind.  
"That was a really amazing type of battle!" Sahara said, and picked up Nutty, who looked rather unhappy.

"Yes, interesting. Good job Grotle." Xavier mumbled, as his Pokemon assembled round him. Vanessa reached into her yellow bag and pulled out a big bag of berries she'd brought from the city. She reached in and tossed them around, making sure the winners got more berries.'

"FINALLY!" All three trainers and twelve Pokemon turned around, and stared towards the hall. Matthew was rushing out from the right of the hall, with Piplup running behind, Misdreavus floating overhead and Milotic moving snake like through the grass.

"Finally, I think I've come up with a great combination move!" Matthew said excitedly. Everyone looked at him blankly, and even his Pokemon looked slightly confused. The teenager rolled his eyes, and turned to them. "Demonstrate!" And he took a step backwards. Milotic looked at Misdreavus and nodded, and then moved into position. Her entire body glowed a pinky-white, and seemed to be reflecting the light.  
"That's Mirror Coat!" Matthew said happily.  
"I never could have guessed that!" Vanessa said sarcastically, making Sahara smirk. Matthew's eyes narrowed, and then he nodded at Piplup.

"PIP PIP!" She exclaimed, and fired out a large array of bubbles. The BubbleBeam circled around Milotic, beautifully reflecting the light from Mirror Coat. Matthew turned at them and bowed, and then waited for reaction. Nutty and Drifloon began whispering to each other, Grotle, Monferno and Luxio exchanged confused looks between them, and Smash looked like he was about to fall asleep.  
"I think Ponyta should bond with my other Pokemon." Xavier said, and pulled a PokeBall out. With a flash, his Ponyta had formed besides him. She froze, and looked at everyone staring at her.  
"PONNNNNYYYY!" She neighed, and hid by Xavier.

"Awww, poor thing!" Sahara said sadly, and grabbed a berry to feed it.

"HELLO, what about my combination?" Matthew yelled irritably. Milotic slid past him to talk to Lapras, while Piplup ran towards Nutty and Misdreavus went to Murkrow. Matthew sighed, and then froze. There was a high pitched giggle behind him, and it sounded familiar. Slowly, he turned around, and saw a slightly familiar face.

The girl standing behind him looked like she was only about ten or eleven. She was much shorter than Matthew, and had a very different hairstyle: her hair was bright pink, and split into two strands. One hung down to beneath her shoulders, while the other one was up in a hoop. She was wearing a white blouse with a pink mini skirt and matching scarf, but she looked very familiar to Matthew.

"Your Mira: the girl who won the Eterna Contest!" Matthew gasped at last, and the girl giggled.  
"Quite right: and your that boy whose Piplup I electrocuted!" Mira chuckled, and walked towards him, smiling widely. "I couldn't help but witness you practising your performance, and I was pleased to see you won't be a threat at the Hearthome Contest."

"What, I'm really good!" Matthew huffed, and looked down at the little girl that mocking him. Mira laughed at this, and pulled out two Luxury Balls from her pockets.

"Very well then, let's see if your friends find my performance better." She smirked, and threw the two balls into the air. "Kadabra and Sandshrew, let's get this party started!" There was a flash, and the two balls opened. Silky purple energy came out of the metal capsules, and formed softly on the ground around her. To Mira's left was the adorable, brown bundle of joy that was Sandshrew, while to her right, Abra's evolved formed, which could now battle properly, Kadabra stood strong and mighty. Mira walked up to Matthew and stood besides him, and he crossed his arms and tutted. He didn't want to get intimidated just yet: he'd only just formally met the girl! She may have beaten him, but he could hold his ground.

"Let's start this off: Sandshrew, Defence Curl, and Kadabra use Reflect." Mira instructed. Sandshrew got into a ball, and flashed white, his skin looking tougher.

"Kada Kada!" Kadabra boomed, and his eyes flashed silver. A wall of glass appeared out of nowhere, and reflected the entire scene behind Matthew: everyone was watching the performance, including all the Pokemon. The glass wall multiplied with a wave of Kadabra's silver spoon, and soon he and Sandshrew were encased inside the walls, making them look very reflected.

"Rapid Spin and Confusion!" Mira commanded. Sandshrew appeared to say something, but was suddenly spinning rapidly on the spot towards Kadabra that no one heard. Kadabra didn't notice him, and his eyes just flashed pink. Sandshrew, including his Reflect, was lifted into the air, still spinning, and stopped a few metres above Kadabra.

"Swiftly use Swift!" Mira added, with a grin. Sandshrew shone brightly as stars shot out of his body, and began twirling and spinning overhead. Kadabra twirled his spoon around, and the powerful psychic energy he possessed allowed the stars to spin around, forming changing patterns and consellations. The trainers and Pokemon clapped, and Matthew was beginning to get annoyed.

"Finish off with Shock Wave!" Mira shouted.

"Abra-Ra-Ra-Ra!" Kadabra cried, and his held his spoon up. It flashed yellow, and then a powerful Shock Wave shot up. It blasted his Reflect apart, and shot up towards Sandshrew. His Reflect was destroyed as well, before hitting the ground type. Due to his immunity, the wave of electricity was rebounded, and shot off towards the stars. Kadabra's eyes flashed pink as the electricity hit the stars, and suddenly the electricity held! There above them was a great big, glowing, sparkling ball of stars and electricity. Matthew's jaw dropped as the stars exploded, and Sandshrew landed triumphantly on the tip of Kadabra's spoon. Everyone whooped and cheered, and suddenly Pokemon ran forwards, cheering and chatting to Sandshrew and Kadabra.  
"Lup?" Matthew looked down as Piplup looked up curiously. Vanessa and Sahara began congratulating Mira, who was blushing, but still smirking wickedly at Matthew.

"Piplup, I think it's fair to say we're screwed."

Cycling Road

The Cycling Bridge had once been on of the most beautiful pieces of construction in Sinnoh: the simple white structure, stretching across a green and brown valley, and it had recently been updated with a flash glass shelter in the centre, giving a view into the luscious route below.

But at the moment, it looked like it was falling apart. There was scaffolding around almost every single pillar holding the bridge up, and the bland gray was making the modern bridge look old and dull. The bridge was heavily titled, and the workers were trying to get it straight enough so the backlog of people could get across.

Yet no workers were in sight.

The bridge was quiet and empty, with a bitter winter wind blowing across the surface. At the top of the bridge, a set of barricades were there, trying to stop people entering. Suddenly, they exploded in flames, and a figure walked through the flaming wood.

"I don't think they're here yet." Emerson sighed. He looked around at the cliffs of Mt Coronet to his left and scoffed: he'd seen much better mountains than that! He strolled forwards onto the road, which people could walk on now that it was closed. Behind him, a Magmortar followed behind, holding his cannon-like arms up. Emerson's Magmar had evolved after some training and trading over the past week, and was now twice as powerful.

"Mortar Magmortar Mor!" Magmortar said, and pointed into the distance. Emerson stopped looking around sulkily, and instead looked straight forwards and tensed up.

At the opposite end of the Cycling Road was a whole line of bikers.

Young and old, male and female, fat and thin, none of that mattered to Emerson: all he could see was a line of angry, jeering, violent looking bikers, with their roaring motorbikes, and guns and knifes glinting in the dim sunlight. One motorbike moved away from the rest, and it's rider was wearing lots of leather, a balaclava and thick sunglasses."

"Step forwards Mr Pierre." The man shouted. Emerson nodded, and walked briskly forwards, with Magmortar moving behind. They kept walking until they got to the middle of the road, where the glass was in between them.

"So, Mr Pierre, we have contacted you because we have an offer for you." The biker who had come forwards boomed. Emerson simply nodded, and kept his hands in his pockets: he was ready to call out his Pokemon if need be. "As your father helped us in a court case all those years ago, we decided we would repay his kind favour by giving you some of the money we won back.  
"How generous of you," Emerson began. "but what exactly do you want from me?" Somehow, despite barely being able to see them, Emerson knew they were smiling at him, thinking his question was funny.

"A few weeks ago, we saw you battle a red headed girl by the name of Vanessa." The lead biker explained angrily, and Emerson suddenly smiled happily: Vanessa had done something to piss off these bikers, therefore making them allies.

"I'm guessing you want me to bring her too you or something?" He asked excitedly, and looked happily at Magmortar.

"More than that: we want you to battle her, and weaken her as much as possible." The lead biker replied. "Once she has lost all three of her Pokemon, we will reveal ourselves and finish her off, and you can leave peacefully with $20,000 in your pocket." Emerson looked at Magmortar and happily hugged his left arm: he was going to be able to defeat Vanessa and get a lot of cash as well! But, in his excitement, Emerson had forgotten something important: last time he'd battled her, Vanessa had used her Cascoon, meaning she had four Pokemon he should know of. But Emerson was too happy that he would finally be able to bring Vanessa down that he didn't care.

"I'll go and find her, she wouldn't be too hard to track down." Emerson beamed. "See you later than, boys… and girls, maybe." There was some angry growls from the bikers, and Magmortar took a step forwards.

"Magmor!" He hissed, and held his arms up. Three black balls of smoke shot of each arm, and they exploded, forming a perfect Smokescreen. By the time the wind had blown it away, Emerson and Magmortar were gone.

"FINALLY!" The head biker shouted, and he pulled his balaclava off. The General's face was revealed, and it hadn't changed a lot in the past three years: he just looked greyer, had a bit of stubble, and a slightly bent nose from a fist fight. "FINALLY, REVENGE SHALL BE OURS!" The Slayers all roared, and they revved their engines as loudly as possible. Another man walked forwards, and the General turned to look at Armstrong, who was now rather scarred and had bristles of hair on his mainly bald head.

"Do you think the boy will be able to defeat her?" Armstrong asked quietly, trying hard not to remember that fateful night three years ago.

"He's the only shot we've got. Besides, if he doesn't, we can easily shoot her and keep that handy twenty grand for ourselves." The General replied with a wink. Armstrong nodded, and the two moved back into the crowd to join in with the celebration.

No one noticed two Pokemon floating behind them: a Dusknoir and Froslass were hovering over the end of the road, watching them as they cheered.  
"Noir Dus Dusk?" Dusknoir asked. Froslass stared at the scene for a moment, and then nodded.

"Lass Fros Froslass." She said with a devilish smile, and the two dived down, disappearing through the gatehouse.

Eterna City

"Razor Leaf!"

"Endure, quickly!"

Sahara and Xavier were having another training battle, this time between Grotle and Nutty. Grotle's bushes glowed green, and leaves began flying out of them.

"Pachi!" Nutty squealed, and glowed a strong white. The leaves smashed into her, causing a lot of damage, but the Pachirisu survived. Everyone was sitting down to watch the match. Smash was lying on his side, so Piplup, Monferno, Aqua, Luxio, Lapras and Mira's Kadabra and Sandshrew were leaning against him. Staraptor stood sulkily behind Vanessa, looking up as Drifloon, Murkrow, Misdreavus, Beautifly and Dustox played with the rubber balls. Sahara had let Seviper out, and she was sliding through the grass, scaring Bidoof and Budew nearby. Ponyta and Milotic whispered amongst themselves, catching up on the gossip about their owners.

"Quick Attack!" Sahara shouted.

"Curse now!" Xavier instructed. Nutty sped forwards at an alarming rate, white streaks of energy forming because of the heavy speed.  
"Grot Grot!" Grotle shouted. He shut his eyes, and suddenly black and purple energy began swirling around him. Once it disappeared, Grotle swayed slightly, but held himself and took the Quick Attack, sliding backwards slightly.

"This is boring me." Vanessa sighed, as she fiddled with her green pen. Matthew, who was sitting a few feet away with Mira, looked at her, always eager to try and get the last word with her.

"If this is beneath you, you could always leave. Better than you whining!" He snapped. Vanessa raised an eyebrow and sat up, attempting to think up a comeback. But then she noticed something out of the corner of her eye and turned.

Sitting at a fence only a few metres away from the ruined Galactic building was Emerson. He was bouncing some dusk balls in his hands, and had his head upwards, though his eyes were obvious focused towards Vanessa. Noticing her looking at him, Emerson appeared to wink, before catching the balls and walking off, his leather cloak trailing in the wind.

"Staraptor Ap Stara!" Her Staraptor warned, sensing what Vanessa was thinking. But the red headed girl jumped up, and adjusted her Murkrow-hat.

"I think I will head off then, per Mr Pearl's suggestion." Vanessa said sweetly. She pulled out her variety of balls, and Monferno, Luxio and Staraptor went inside their Pokes, and Dustox and Murkrow respectively inside their Net and Dusk.

"See you guys later then!" Vanessa said sweetly, and turned and ran off, heading after Emerson.

"Vanessa, wait…. Matthew, do you two have some sort of weird love-hate thing going on?" Sahara snapped. Mira burst out laughing, and Matthew's eyes narrowed for about the millionth time that day.

"We're both just a bit angry with each other, I guess." Matthew explained, and looked up at Beautifly. He could remember when he thought that she, as a Silcoon, had been blown up, and had been forced to flee the area to save himself. Vanessa had been angry with each other since, and Matthew wasn't sure if she'd forgive him.

"Putting all this aside, are you guys done with your battle?" Mira said chirpily, jumping up. "Matthew here needs to practice his double performances."

"I think I've done alright, thanks!" Matthew huffed, which caused Mira to laugh loudly.

"I'm, what, four years younger than you? And I can pull off a performance twice as good as yours!" She sneered, and walked forwards between Nutty and Grotle. "Besides, when I do win that contest, I don't want to win too easily!" Matthew jumped up and walked towards her, as Sahara shrugged and Nutty and they wandered over towards Smash.

"Bring it!" Matthew snapped, and got ready to practice.

Unbeknownst to any of them, Team Galactic was only a few metres away.

Hiding behind the trees that blocked off their old headquarters, Charles, Roshonda and Minerva were staring at them through binoculars. The rest of the field was empty, except for some hikers having a picnic at the Mt Coronet end. Several trucks were behind them, each with three grunts in them, having driven the trucks through a special transporter Charon had repaired following the explosion. They were all wearing bullet proof vests to prevent physical harm, and Minerva had changed into camouflage pants instead of her dress.

"What the fuck are they doing here?" Roshonda hissed, nearly pulling her binoculars apart in rage.

"Don't worry about them, they'll be easy to take care of." Minerva said softly, and stared towards the Dialga statue. The blue Adamant Orb was glinting in the sunshine, and people were avoiding the statue following last week's events.

"How do you plan on stopping the people who have defeated us almost ever time we've faced them?" Roshonda hissed.

"We have some weapons Charon gave us, and our Pokemon and-"

"Sahara…" Minerva and Roshonda looked at Charles, who was staring off into the distance. His binoculars were focused on one person: Sahara, with her long black hair, her fluffy white coat, and her cute face as she laughed at something her Pachirisu did. A whole heap of emotions flooded through Charles' body, as he remembered how she had saved him, only for him to try and kill her a few weeks later. He had thought she'd died, but here she was, living, breathing, and one of the only things Cyrus feared.

"Exactly, they have her as well!" Roshonda huffed. "She killed Ursilla for god's sake!" Minerva pondered for a moment, and looked back at the trucks behind them.

"Alright then, I think I have a plan, and let's-" A crack interrupted her, and Roshonda whipped a gun out. The three looked up, and saw a Heracross was standing on a tree branch, liking an amber coloured liquid off the bark. He paused, and looked down at them staring at him. The bug-fighting type raised an eyebrow curiously, and then went back to enjoying the honey.

"Anyway, we'll drive through the trees, and Roshonda will lead half the grunts towards the statue to blow it up. Charles, the other grunts and I will hold them off." Minerva finished explaining. Roshonda nodded, and pulled her PokeBalls out to aide in the fight. Charles wasn't sure about fighting against Sahara, mainly as he wanted to talk to her.

"Where's Vanessa?" Roshonda asked, as the grunts got ready to plough through the trees.

"I think Jupiter arranged for her to be taken onto the bridge." Minerva shrugged.

"What is happening on the bridge?" Charles asked. The rest of Team Galactic had driven of in more Jeeps and six large fuel tankers, and they knew they were going to the Cycling Road bridge.

"Something big, I guess, no one told me." Minerva replied. "But whatever is happening, I think Jupiter wants to use the opportunity to kill her once and for all."

"Good!" Roshonda hissed, and passed her balls to Minerva. "Can we go now?"

"Yes!" Minerva shouted, and gave the drivers the thumbs-up, before running forwards between the trees. Charles sighed, and followed after.

"Is it just me, or can you guys hear car engines as well?" Sahara asked back in the field. Everyone paused, and they looked around, trying to see the source. There were no cars nearby, making the noises even more suspicious. Matthew then remembered what was nearby, and looked in the distance.

"Galactic Headquarters!" He shouted, and pointed at the tower where he'd nearly been killed. The destroyed top floors were very visible, with the jagged remains of the walls looking like the bottom jaw of a vicious Pokemon.

"This can't be good…" Sahara mumbled, as she turned her direction towards some shaking trees.

"They've noticed!" Charles hissed to Roshonda, as he looked to see where Minerva had gone. Roshonda checked through her binoculars and nodded.  
"Our time to shine then! Everyone move out!" And with that, Charles had to move forwards, as the three Jeeps sped forwards. As they moved, the front bumper of each of them moved up inside the car to reveal sharp, swinging axes. Charles disappeared into the trees, a few metres behind Roshonda, and could hear the trees being cut. There was a shout, and the Heracross from before leapt in front of Charles, looking mournfully as his tree was cut up. Charles felt sorry for him, but had to move past, and soon found Minerva, standing by the edge of the fence.

"Cover me." She mumbled, and threw two of her own PokeBalls. "Leafeon and Venusaur, brighten this place up!"

Sahara and Matthew tensed up as two PokeBalls flew through the air. Kadabra and Sandshrew stood by Mira, who was thoroughly confused by all of this. Xavier stood up, and looked at his Pokemon, waiting to move. The two PokeBalls burst open, and the energy formed about five metres away from the group. A Leafeon formed in a sitting position, looking curiously at the others, while a Venusaur formed with a thud, and the fully evolved grass starter from Kanto looked grouchily at them. Behind the Pokemon, several trees fell to the ground, followed by three Jeeps that screeched to a halt. Two people were running towards them: a blonde woman wearing a thick vest and camouflage pants, and then….

"Charles!" Sahara gasped.

"Hello…" He mumbled in response, not sure what to say. Sahara felt like he'd pushed her over the railing all over again: seeing him was bringing back memories of losing Virus, and the nasty things he'd said to her.

"Pachirisu Risu Chiru!" Nutty said comfortingly, and Sahara smiled at her. Seviper slid forwards, hissing slightly.

"It is time the world sees Team Galactic for what it truly is!" Minerva shouted. "My name is Minerva, and I've been with this team for many years. And now, you must all be punished now, and save yourself from later torture! Sunny Day and Solarbeam!"  
"Feon Leafe!" Leafeon snapped, and swung her head. The others could only watch as the leaf looked like it was on fire, and then Leafeon looked at the sky. A ball of light rose up into the sky, where it burst open, releasing waves of sunlight. Venusaur than smiled, as a ball of glowing green energy, untangled with flames, formed in his flower.

"RUN!" Matthew shouted.  
"VEEEEENUUUUUSAAAAUUUR!" The Seed Pokemon roared, and the ball exploded, turning into a powerful beam of light. The Solarbeam shot forwards, and Sahara and her Pokemon jumped out of the way just in time. The attack blasted a deep crater in the ground, sending Earth and grass flying everywhere, and then made a two metre trench in the ground.

"Jesus Christ!" Charles gasped, shocked at the power of it.

"I've specially trained both of these guys to abuse Solarbeam!" Minerva said with a beam, and looked around at the chaos. Matthew and Mira had fallen to one side, while Sahara and Xavier had landed on the other.

"Both of you use Solarbeam, and aim for opposite sides! And you send out Tauros and Gyarados, I'll need them!" Minerva barked. A ball of light formed on the leaf on Leafeon's head, and she fired hers towards Matthew and Mira, while Venusaur fired at Xavier and Sahara. People and Pokemon jumped and fled, trying to escape the powerful attacks.

"How are we suppose to stop them?" Matthew screamed, as Leafeon and Venusaur absorbed in more sunlight. The harsh sunlight was making everyone hot, and Sahara was glad she'd taken her coat off. Charles was fumbling with a PokeBall and Safari Ball, unsure wheter to send them out or not.

"There has to be something we can do…." Sahara mumbled.

_My god, are you people that moronic! _Lapras snapped. _It's sunny weather! Look at Ponyta! _Xavier and Sahara stared towards the fiery horse, who was backing away cautiously. The fire on her body had grown, and looked more powerful and strong.

"Of course, sunny weather boosts the power of fire type moves!" Sahara gasped.

"S-s-s-s-s-s-Seviper?" Seviper hissed, and smiled deviously.

"That's right! Use Flamethrower, now!" Sahara roared.

"Ponyta, use Flamethrower as well." Xavier ordered. Seviper and Ponyta moved forwards, and both opened their mouths up. Minerva's haw dropped, and watched as two powerful jets of fire were sent towards her. Venusaur acted quickly and fired his Solarbeam, which collided with Ponyta's: there was a harsh explosion, causing another crater, but the grass separating the two sides burst into flames, creating a fence of flames between them. Seviper's Flamethrower managed to hit Leafeon, knocking her aside.

"Charles, NOW!" Minerva screeched.

"Oh right… Tauros and Gyarados, out you come." Charles said half heartedly, still staring towards Sahara. Tauros formed alongside him, causing a loud thud and shaking the Earth as he landed. Gyarados soared up into the sky, surrounded by stars, and looked down at his opponents.

"The fire should be able to hold them off!" Sahara shouted. "Smash, dive underground and wait for my call!"

"ONNN!" The Onix roared, and smashed his head into one of the craters, his long, rocky body following him down. Minerva began to tend to Leafeon, while Venusaur moved forwards, planning to continue fighting.

"Milotic use Ice Beam, and Beautifly use String Shot!" Matthew ordered. Milotic nodded, and a ball of bright blue, icy energy formed in her mouth. She shot it at Venusaur, pushing him backwards, while Beautifly shot her String Shot, wrapping it around his flower. There was a loud bang behind them all, and everyone looked towards the statue, where wispy grey smoke was rising up.

"I'll go and investigate." Xavier decided, and Grotle gave him a leg up onto Ponyta's back. Her flames twisted around Xavier's hands, turning into makeshift reins.

_I'll clear the way for us. _Lapras said, and turned into water, disappearing through a crack in the Earth. Xavier nodded at Sahara and Matthew, before Ponyta began galloping towards the statue. Minerva gasped as she saw them go, and turned to Charles, leaving Leafeon to get up on her own.

"Send your Tauros th-"

"FLOOOOOON!"

"AAAARRGGGH!" Drifloon had swooped down before flying after Xavier, and had fired a Gust: the wind blasted Leafeon into Minerva, who then bowled them over. Charles and Tauros ran forwards, and helped the two get up.

"Giga Impact, now!" Charles instructed. "And Gyarados use Flamethrower!" The sun was still shining brightly, so Gyarados opened his hideous mouth and fired a jet of flame the same colour as his scales. Everyone flocked to avoid it, but Beautifly was hit, and fell unconscious and sizzling out of the sky.

"Beautifly!" Matthew gasped, and he ran forwards, catching her before she landed.  
"Poor Beautifly!" Mira moaned. "Let's avenge her!" And Matthew and her Pokemon shouted. Kadabra fired a Shock Wave, Sandshrew spun and used Swift, Misdreavus used Psywave, and Piplup and Milotic fired BubbleBeam and Ice Beam respectively. Gyarados roared as he was blasted backwards, his long tail nearly hitting Tauros as he charged forwards. Sahara could hear Tauros grunting, and she quickly realised where he was heading

"Aqua, Brick Break, quickly!" She exclaimed. Nutty and Seviper continued firing attacks at Gyarados and Venusaur, making more fire form on the field, and it was beginning to block Sahara and her Pokemon off from the others.

Tauros was gaining speed, energy engulfing him and helping him run faster. But Floatzel are very speedy Pokemon, so Aqua had no problem in moving through the fire and getting closer to them. Grotle and Drifloon noticed, but decided to leave it to Aqua and focus on getting near the statue.

"ZEL!" Aqua shouted, and he jumped upwards. Tauros didn't notice until it was too late for him: Aqua smashed his glowing fins onto Tauros' head, hitting the source of the energy surrounding the bull.

"TAUROOO!" Tauros shouted as there was a bright flash, and he and Aqua were sent flying: Aqua smashed into the rocks, while Tauros rolled back towards Charles, skidding through the dirt, nearly hitting Leafeon, who was still too weak to stand.

"Tauros, are you alright?" Charles asked, as he and Minerva rushed to his side. Tauros nodded, but was too focused on trying to stand to reply. There was a roar, and they turned to see Gyarados nearly crash into an office block sticking over the mountain, before falling with a loud thud onto the ground. Mira and the Pokemon led a cheer, though Sahara was rushing over to check on Aqua, and Matthew was checking on Beautifly.  
"THIS IS GETTING RIDICULOUS!" Minerva screamed and Charles leapt backwards in shock. Minerva, who usually looked calm and collected, now looked like some sort of demonic hag. She looked at Venusaur, who had been trying to avoid the fire instead of attacking.

"SOLARBEAM THEM NOW!" Minerva shrieked. Venusaur nodded nervously, and began running as fast as possible through the flames, getting closer towards the others.

"Get ready!" Mira shouted. Piplup, Milotic, Sandshrew and Kadabra stood in a line, while Misdreavus floated steadily overhead. Sahara heard the shout from the rocky mountains, and Nutty began jabbering at her and pointing at Venusaur

"SMASH, NOW!" Sahara screamed, making Aqua jump. The ground began rumbling, but Venusaur didn't notice as he ran out of the flames. Suddenly, the earth beneath him cracked, and Smash rose out from beneath him, his hard head lifting Venusaur high into the sky, before he toppled off, now directly above the others.

"SAAAAAUUUURR!" He bellowed, and Venusaur fired the powerful beam of light. It hit the already damaged ground, right between Milotic, Piplup and Mira. The ground blasted apart, forming a jagged hole, and Venusaur kept on firing. Matthew heard it and turned around, bringing Beautifly back inside her Net Ball.

"Everyone, return!" Matthew yelled, and ran forwards, picking up his bag and reaching for the PokeBalls. But Piplup and Milotic were already slipping away.  
"PIPLUP PIP PIP!" Piplup wailed, and lost her grip a second before Matthew reached her. She disappeared inside the Solarbeam, which was now disappearing.

"OH MY GOD!" Matthew and Mira screamed simultaneously, as Mira was dangling inside the hole, Milotic's thrashing tail threatening to knock her over. Venusaur landed on the ground nearby with a shaking thud, and the earth around the hole began to crumble.

"Get out of there!" Sahara screamed, and tried to run forwards, but the fire was forming a barrier. Matthew grabbed Milotic, hoping to calm here, but the earth under his foot disappeared.

"AARRRGH!" Matthew shouted, and Milotic tried screaming, but they were already falling too fast into the hole. Mira looked down, and screamed herself. Her fingers were losing grip, and Sandshrew and Kadabra's combined physical and psychic efforts were failing. The ground crumbled, and Mira fell down, pulling Sandshrew with her. Sahara clasped her hands to her mouth: three Pokemon and two humans had just fallen into a hole to who knows where! Misdreavus and Kadabra looked down, and willing dived down, hoping to find their trainers. Smash looked down the hole, but came out looking confused.

"Excellent, just excellent!" Minerva cried happily. Sahara turned and looked through the fire at her: the attractive yet frightening looking woman, another person brought into Team Galactic and their twisted ways. She looked evil, positively frightening, especially with how she was glad that some people may have just died.

"Pachirisu Pachi Ri?" Nutty asked grumpily, staring towards her Minerva.

"Go ahead!" Sahara hissed. Whenever she got this mad, one of her personalities would come out. But Sahara wouldn't let them: this was her score to settle. There was a flash, and Nuty was suddenly running through the fire at the speed of light. Minerva was clapping in joy, unaware of what was approaching.

"Look out!" Charles gasped. Minerva turned at the last minute, just as Nutty smashed into her legs, bowling her over. Seviper came up alongside, but didn't even need to ask before Sahara nodded.  
"VIPER!" She hissed in triumph, and fired the most powerful Flamethrower she could produce: Sahara felt her skin burn as the jet went past her. It hit Venusaur, who was already injured from falling, and with a ball of flames he fainted. Minerva didn't notice, as she was trying to bat Nutty away, who was biting her with glee. Tauros got ready to move, but suddenly Smash had slid through the flames, and stood proud above them.

"OOOOONNNNN!" He roared, and whacked Tauros with his tail, knocking him out in a single Rock Smash. Charles brought both of his unconscious Pokemon back, and Smash looked down at him, and recognised him from the Windworks.

"Wait, no, don-" Charles began jabbering, but Smash swung his body, and sent Charles flying. The teenager soared right across the fire, and ended up hitting something solid.  
"What the- YOU!" Charles jumped up in fright, and looked down. Sahara's eyes were nearly sticking out of her head, and she looked like she was about to blast him to smithereens. "You tried pushing me into a turbine, you fucking cu-"

"WAIT, you have it wrong, I just meant to give you a tiny push!" Charles protested, but it earned him a hard slap across the face. "Listen to me!" He shouted, and Sahara froze, though he could see the hate burning in her eyes. "Minerva said something a few minutes ago about a bridge, and that Jupiter was going to use the bridge to kill Vanessa. If someone doesn't warn her, she'll be killed in their plan!" Sahara looked at him, unsure what to say or do.

"Thanks for the information, I guess, but your still a douchebag." And she kicked him between the legs, nearly lifting him off the ground. Charles fell backwards, his eyes rolled back inside his head and clutching his crotch in pain. Seviper had been scorching up Leafeon, and only just noticed Charles.

"S-s-s-s-"

"It's fine, let's just go and help Xavier!" Sahara said. "We need to get him and go save Vanessa." Seviper nodded, and began moving forwards. The bright light suddenly disappeared, and the area became a lot darker: there was thick smoke coming from the fire, which was now going past the hole and nearing the contest hall. Sahara looked at Charles, who was still moaning and unaware of the fire getting close to him. Reluctantly, she heaved him up and began dragging him to near where Aqua was. The Floatzel looked angrily at Charles, but Sahara shook her head.

"Leave it, and use Aqua Jet, quickly." Aqua nodded, and sprinted forwards, water surrounding his feet. The grass fire was put out within ten seconds, and only smoke and steam began to rise up.

"Nutty, Smash, let's go!" Sahara cried, and began sprinting towards the statue. Nutty angrily whacked Minerva with her tail, and then jumped onto Smash as he slid past, and Sahara and her Pokemon fled the scene, leaving Charles and Minerva in pain.

A few minutes earlier, there had been the mini explosion they'd all heard.

Roshonda clapped her hands in delight, as a small amount of dynamite was able to destroy the back right leg of the Dialga statue. The nine grunts around her cheered, and their Zubat and Golbat hovering overhead flapped their wings happily.

"Excellent! Now, let's set the other three up with the same amount!" Roshonda ordered. Six grunts rushed forwards, each leg getting two people to attach the explosives too. Roshonda walked towards the other three, smiling happily, and the grunts smiled back. But before anyone could speak, there was a cracking noise. They all turned, tow of the grunts pulling guns out.

A Heracross was walking along one of dozen trees their cars had cut up. He didn't look very happy about it, and was staring angrily at the grunts as he stomped some more branches. Roshonda simply smirked, and clicked her fingers at the bats flying overhead.

"Crush the little bug, and make it quick." She ordered, and the Zubats and Golbats nodded, and dived down. The Heracross looked at them, almost bored, and then his horn dimly glowed white. As the Zubat got close to him, the tough bug whacked them back with Horn Attack, sending many of the Zubat smashing into others.

"HERA!" Heracross shouted, and suddenly sprinted forwards while the bats were distracted. A grunt stood in front of him, but Heracross raised his spiky arms and smashed them repeatedly into the grunts stomach, knocking him over.

"What attack was that?" Roshonda asked, as she reached for her PokeBalls. The ground beneath her suddenly felt funny, and Roshonda looked down at it.

It was water.

Roshonda screamed and leapt forwards as the water rose out of the ground, and joined together to make a shape. There was a flash, and suddenly a Lapras was there, smiling happily at everyone.

_I think that attack was Fury Attack, to answer your question. _Lapras explained. _And this one, just so you know, is called Blizzard. _And Lapras opened her mouth, firing the powerful blast of snow and ice. It soared over Roshonda's head, sprinkling her with snow, and then hit the army of Zubats diving for Heracross. Half of them fell out of the sky, having become ice statues.

"Cross Heracross Ra!" Heracross called to Lapras in thanks, before Fury Attacking another grunt.

"Scum!" Roshonda hissed, and threw her PokeBalls. With a burst of light, Beedrill and Nidoqueen formed in front of Lapras. There was a soft explosion in the distance, and Roshonda turned, and saw Xavier was riding towards them on Ponyta, with Grotle and Drifloon alongside.

"Sludge Bomb and Crunch before her team gets here!" Roshonda hissed. Heracross heard this, and quickly whacked a grunt aside before leaping into the sky. Beedrill formed purple sludge between his pincers, while Nidoqueen ran forwards to bite onto Lapras. But Heracross stood in the way, his double resistance to Dark nearly breaking Nidoqueen's teeth, while he absorbed the full blast of the Sludge Bomb.

_How very noble of you. _Lapras smiled, as she Psychically blasted Roshonda and her Pokemon backwards. Heracross smiled, but suddenly glowed purple and staggered forwards. _Oh no, you've been poisoned! _But Heracross shook his head, and the purple sludge covered his body suddenly began circling around all of his limbs and torso, like they were chaining him up. Heracross stood up, staggering slightly, but looked much stronger.

_Ah, Guts, very handy. _Lapras smirked, before knocking him out of the way as bullets were fired: the grunts who had been setting up the dynamite had begun firing, trying to get them out of the way.

"Razor Leaf and Ominous Wind." Suddenly, black energy and glowing leaves were fired towards them, knocking all of the grunts over. Xavier and his team had arrived, and the teenager was looking as serious as he possibly could.

"Flame Wheel." Xavier said, and suddenly rolled off Ponyta's back, landing on top of Grotle, whose tough shell absorbed the blow. Ponyta began sprinting towards the cars, her mane of flame getting much longer.

"POOOONNNYYYY!" She wailed, and jumped and bent forwards: her mane went around her entire body, turning her into a dangerous circle of fire. Beedrill quickly got out of the way and Ponyta smashed into one of the Jeep Wranglers, going right by the fuel tank. Grunts jumped as the car exploded, blasting Heracross and Lapras backwards.

"I can't let this mission fail!" Roshonda hissed. "Set the timer for thirty seconds, and Twineedle and Superpower! I refuse to look like a fool."

"Well, you do look very foolish." Xavier pointed out.

_Kind of like a robot that's been set on it's hooker mode. _Lapras suggested, making the other Pokemon smirk. Roshonda's jaw dropped, and she angrily looked at her Pokemon, urging them to attack. The wreckage of the car was still flaming, and one of the grunts was horrifically burnt on his back and was screaming in pain. Two other, less injured grunts picked him up and rushed towards a Jeep, while the other grunts finished setting up the dynamite and moving out as well.

"BEEEE!"

"NIDOO!" Roshonda's two Pokemon rushed forwards, Beedrill's stingers glowing along with Nidoqueen's right fist. Grotle and Drifloon moved forwards, while Xavier checked on Ponyta, who was sore after the blast.

"RACRO CROSS!" Heracross shouted, and wings suddenly sprouted from his back. He outspeed a surprised Grotle to Aerial Ace Beedrill, his boosted power knocking the bug out. Nidoqueen was so stunned she stopped running, and Lapras just laughed.

_How stupid. _She laughed, and her eyes flashed pink. Nidoqueen gasped as she was sent flying, smashing into the statue and landing at it's base.  
"NOOO!" Roshonda yelled, and ran forwards, just as the dynamite exploded. There were three tiny bangs, and rocks were sent flying. The Dialga statue, without any supports, began to fall. Nidoqueen was sore from smashing into the base, and couldn't move in time before the body of the legendary smashed onto her back. Her tough skin absorbed most of the blow, but she still roared in pain. The statue smashed as it hit her and the ground, turning into giant pieces of grey rock. Something rolled out of the rubble, reflected in the sunlight.

"That's the thing Sahara touched." Xavier pointed out. His Pokemon all looked towards it, and then saw the excited look in the grunts eyes and knew they couldn't let them have it. Lapras' eyes turned pink, and the orb began to rise up. But suddenly white energy shot out from beneath the statue's ruins, as Nidoqueen fired a Superpower. The attack blasted Lapras backwards, and the orb landed on the ground, rolling towards Grotle.

"Till Grot!" Grotle called, and ran to pick it up. Roshonda growled, and pulled her gun out. She pulled the trigger twice, and both bullets hit the ground in front of him, scaring Grotle backwards.

"The orb is mine!" Roshonda shouted, and pulled out another PokeBall. "Cradily, grab it!" She roared, and threw the ball. It burst open, and her Cradily formed next to the orb, in between the cars, Heracross, Xavier and his Pokemon and the statues remains.  
"Cradi Dilly!" She snapped, and picked the orb up in her tentacles. Behind her, more rocks were sent flying as Nidoqueen stood up, looking sore and beaten, but rushed forwards quickly and picked Cradily up.  
"MOVE OUT!" Roshonda shouted, and fired her gun randomly. Ponyta neighed in fright, and angrily used Stomp. The ground cracked up, and sections of the earth stuck out. Lapras had slumped on the ground nearby, leaving Grotle, Drifloon and Heracross as the only ones left to get it. Roshonda ran towards one of the Jeeps, and both were already turning around towards the tower.

"Razor Lead, Gust and Flamethrower." Xavier commanded. He ran to check on Lapras, and could see Sahara and her Pokemon rushing towards them, though they were still many metres away.

"EARTH POWER AND ENERGY BALL!" Roshonda shouted. Cradily fired a ball of green energy from inside her large mouth, blasting Drifloon backwards and making her hit Heracross. Nidoqueen smashed her feet onto the damaged ground. Yellow light flooded out of it, and suddenly the ground seemingly exploded, sending earth and dirt flying. Ponyta pushed Xavier to the ground, and Grotle stood over him in protection. The dirt bounced harmlessly off his tough shell, but it did serve a purpose: Nidoqueen and Cradily had reached the Jeep Wranglers under the shelter of the explosion, and jumped in as the driver flawed it.

"See you later!" Roshonda cackled, as the Jeeps headed off towards the tower. Xavier stared after them as Grotle climbed off him, while the rest of his Pokemon lay on the ground, very weak following the last attack. There was puffing behind them, and Sahara finally caught up, followed by her Pokemon.

"What were they doing?" Sahara asked, as she pulled some Super Potions and berries out of her bag. Nutty and Aqua took them, and rushed over towards Drifloon and Lapras.

"They got that orb you touched last week. Should we go after them?" Xavier asked.

"No, I don't want to go near that thing again!" Sahara said with a shudder. "Besides, Vanessa may be in trouble, we have to go and rescue her!" Xavier nodded, but quickly looked at the Heracross, who was struggling to stand due to his poisoning. He looked up at Xavier with a pleading look the teenager struggled to comprehend. The Single Horn Pokemon looked sadly over at the trees that had been cut down, and then over at Lapras, and finally back at Xavier.

_My god, he wants to be captured! _Lapras wailed.  
"Right then." Xavier said, and pulled a Great Ball out of his bag. He threw it and it hit Heracross, who turned into blue molecules and was sucked inside. It shook several times, before the button in the middle flashed, signalling a capture. Xavier did his strange smile, and picked the ball up and attached an Antidote to the button.

"So, where are we going to save Vanessa?" He asked.

"The Cycling Road, something bad's going to happen!" Sahara explained, and quickly pulled four PokeBalls out, brining her entire team back inside. Xavier responded by bringing Grotle, Lapras and Drifloon back, and went to bring Ponyta back, but Sahara pulled his arm down.

"We need speed!" She replied. "Here, give me your PokeBalls and I'll make sure all our Pokemon are healed." Xavier nodded, and then walked over to Ponyta. She bent slightly, allowing Xavier to get a leg up, and then helped Sahara get on behind him.

"POONNYYYYY!" The fiery horse neighed, before galloping off towards Eterna, Xavier and Sahara barely holding on.

On a skyscraper opposite the Galactic tower, a woman watched them moved from the shadows. No one would be able to see her even if they looked up from the next building over, and she was glad for the cover. The woman watched Ponyta reached the end of the street, and then turn and canter down the main road.

"He's on the move, so so shall I." She whispered. Then, making sure no one was watching, the woman turned and sprinted, jumping off of the tower and managing to make it into the shadows on the other side, her blonde hair only visible for a second.

Wayward Cave

"Thank you once again, I can't believe I'm going to be working on this project!"

"Trust me, my niece, you are going to do wonders!"

Underneath the Cycling Road and Eterna City, there was a large cave area called Wayward Cave. Half of it was dimly lit, so it was easy to get lost, but many rare Pokemon lived down here, away from all the collectors searching for them, so many trainers came down here to look for them. The cave is metres below Eterna City, so it has a very thick and high roof, with jagged rocks pointing down on those walking.

And only two of them were doing that today: Deidre Plattina and Arthur, the Underground creator who had helped Xavier out.

Winter always made the caves of Sinnoh cold, and this year was no exception: despite the fact it hadn't snowed for a while, there was still a definite chill, and Deidre and Arthur's breath rose in front of their faces in the form of white mist. Their footsteps echoed loudly as they walked through the silent cave, with Deidre's Wormadam floating in front, emitting enough light for them to see.

"Do you think the government will approve an extension of the Underground?" Deidre asked. Arthur was attempting to extend the Underground to connect to all major caves, and to include passages under the oceans towards Iron Island and the Pokemon League. Deidre was helping him plan where the new connections would be for when he spoke to the Sinnoh Council next month. Arthur sighed and shrugged.

"To be honest, I have no idea if they will or not. They need to put the Underground to good use and keep the thieves out, so some construction could help with that." He explained, but didn't want to continue talking, and Deidre respected his silence. They kept walking for a few more minutes, in which time three Geodudes ran past them while playing a game involving throwing rocks.

"Oh, by the way, you mentioned seeing Sahara last week: is she well?" Deidre asked. She had been so relieved when Professor Rowan last week confirmed her daughter was alive and well, after misleading comments from Charles and Roshonda at the beach near Sandgem. Deidre knew the power Eden, Crystal and Jaki possessed, and knew that Crystal would have easily survived an explosion with her telekinetic abilities.

"Well, she had just had some sort of issue." Arthur mumbled. "Something to do with a statue and an orb, I think?" Deidre raised her eyebrows, and stopped walking. There was something she could remember about Eterna City and a statue, but she wasn't quite sure what it was. Suddenly, Wormadam stopped moving.

"Wormy, what is it?" Deidre asked, temporarily distracted. The Bagworm Pokemon stared upwards, and slowly moved away from the cave roof. The two humans stared at her, confused, when suddenly a green beam of light appeared out of nowhere. Rocks were sent crashing down, and the light managed to light up the cave so much that Flash became obsolete. As the strange beam began to disappear, there was a shout.

"PIIIIIIIIIIIIP!" A small Piplup fell out from the roof, travelling at amazing speeds and heading straight for them.

"Worm!" Wormadam mumbled, and her eyes turned pink. A Psychic barrier formed a metre off the ground, which the Piplup landed on. She groaned in pain, and then looked over at Deidre, Arthur and Wormadam. Suddenly, more screaming echoed down towards them, and Piplup jumped off the barrier as Milotic and Matthew fell down screaming, followed by clumps of earth, and then Mira and Sandshrew. They all smashed into the barrier, but Milotic was thrashing her long tail, pushing Matthew off.

"OW!" He huffed, and stood up, wincing and rubbing his back.

"What's going on here?" Deidre asked, rushing forwards. "You, your that Matthew boy, aren't you? I recognise you from Sandgem Town."

"That's right, that must mean your Sahara's mother." Matthew replied. Piplup rushed over to him and hugged him, and Matthew responded by picking her up and hugging her back. Milotic slid forwards off the barrier, and landed coiled up on the floor, and Matthew let her join in on the hug. Then, Kadabra suddenly fell out of the roof, using his psychic abilities to come to a stop, and landed gracefully on the barrier. Misdreavus floated down, staring curiously around.

"Would someone mind explaining what's going on?" Arthur asked. Deidre and Matthew quickly introduced themselves, Mira and Arthur to one another, and once everyone was off the barrier, they sat down on some rocks, with Wormadam providing light.

"So, this Team Galactic, their those people who are causing trouble in Sinnoh, aren't they?" Arthur inquired.

"Yes, they've already done lots of damage across the Eastern part of the region." Matthew explained.

"I heard about them on the news. Would that make you one of those Dex Holders?" Mira asked, as she held Kadabra and Sandshrew's hands. Matthew nodded, and pulled his blue PokeDex out of his bag.

"So, if there is trouble happening overhead, should we go and help your friends out?" Arthur suggested.

"I think we should, especially if my Sahara is up there!" Deidre exclaimed, and she leapt to her feet at once. Matthew looked over at Mira, who was looking nervous.

"Look Mira, I know you don't know me very well, and you aren't use to this sort of thing, but do you think you can help us out?" He asked. "Your Pokemon's skills could really come in handy!" Mira looked at him, still shaking slightly, but Kadabra and Sandshrew whispered at her, and she slowly began to relax.

"I suppose I can travel with you guys, just to get out of this… cave?" She replied, staring around their dirty environment.

"Yes, this is the Wayward Cave!" Arthur boomed. "Quite an interesting history to the place, they first began digging in-"

"SSSH!" Deidre hissed, and stare down the end of the tunnel. Everyone turned around, and Wormadam stopped glowing, so they were hidden in the darkness.

A fleet of cars were driving through the tunnel, their engines roaring and headlights flickering through the dust. They tried counting how many there were, but it was too dark to properly see them. All they knew was that they were heading out of the centre of the cave, and seemed to be going for the exits. Than, Matthew noticed something: these cars were yellow Jeep Wranglers.

"Team Galactic! We need to go and see what they are up to!" Matthew gasped, as the last of the cars disappeared from the end of the tunnel. He turned to look at everyone's shocked faces.

"They way they're going, it's the easiest and fastest way out!" Arthur gasped.

"I don't want to deal with more of these Galactic people!" Mira huffed, and Sandshrew and Kadabra nodded in agreement with their trainer. Matthew sighed, and looked at his three Pokemon. All three of them smiled at him, though they looked a bit uncertain.

"Well, I'm going to investigate! Besides, one of my friends is sure to be out there as well, they always are." Matthew said, and turned and began walking down the cave, though stumbled a bit on some rocks.

"I think I'll go as well: I really don't like Team Galactic, and I don't want them hurting my daughter!" Deidre announced, and she walked forwards as well, Wormadam following her and quickly turned on Flash. Matthew's Pokemon began moving down as well, and Mira and Arthur simultaneously sighed, and began following after the light, with no other option but to face Team Galactic.

Cycling Road

_I never thought I'__d be back here._

Vanessa stepped slowly onto the Cycling Road, climbing over the flaming wreckage that was the barrier, and stared around. It hadn't changed a lot in the past three years, but it still sent a shiver down her spine.

When she'd begun following Emerson, Vanessa had a bad feeling he was going to lead her to this spot. This area had changed her life in ways she had never thought possible, and had been what had sent her down her current path in life. And here she was again, nearly three years after Vanessa had to flee from the only people that had taken her in and cared for her.

She had murdered one of their own, of course.

_I had to do it, it was the only way to stop him. _Vanessa thought, but shook her head, hoping to get these nasty thoughts out of head. Deciding it would be best not to dwell on them, Vanessa turned her attention towards the rest of the bridge. She had seen Emerson enter through the gatehouse, so he had to be there.

And there the leather wearing, smug faced teenager was, standing only a few metres away from Vanessa, an arrogant grin on his face. Standing behind him was a Magmortar, obviously his evolved Magmar, wearing a similar arrogant look on his face. Black smoke was forming a dirty curtain behind them, blocking off the rest of the bridge.

"Hiding something form me are you darling?" Vanessa asked, forcing herself to put on a confident face. Emerson simply laughed.

"Now, what could I possibly hide form you?" He sneered back. "I want a rematch, right here, right now." Now it was Vanessa's turn to laugh at him.

"You really want to try and defeat and defeat me, after you past three losses?" She jeered, and Emerson glared angrily at her. His temper always got the better of him around her, and he wasn't going to give her the satisfaction.

"I just want to test my Pokemon against you." Emerson explained calmly. "Many of them have evolved, as you can see with Magmortar here, so I need to test their skills out." Vanessa thought for a minute. She was very bored, and could use with the happy feeling that came from defeating an annoying person.

"I guess I can spare enough time. And I'll even send first." Vanessa said at least, and pulled a PokeBall out. "This'll be a three on three?"

"Sure thing." Emerson grinned, and pulled one of his Dusk Balls out. The black smoke was starting to get blown away by the bitter wind, and Magmortar turned, and began to produce more. But before the smoke could spread, Vanessa looked behind him. There appeared to be some sort of gathering at the end of the bridge, a huge mass of black.

"What's going on down there?" Vanessa asked, pursing her lips. Emerson looked at Magmortar nervously, who quickly began firing more SmokeScreen.

"I think it's the workers, I didn't want to attract their attention." Emerson replied quickly. Vanessa didn't trust him, but she also wanted to get on with this battle. If it was something more sinister, she could always deal with it when the time was appropriate.

"Alright then: go Monferno!" And she threw the PokeBall onto the ground. Seconds later, Monferno stood before her, and recognised Emerson and chuckled. Emerson didn't like beign mocked by Pokemon, and angrily threw his Dusk Ball. The purple-black energy came out, and joined together on the ground. The Pokemon looked like a large, metallic shell, with nasty eyes glaring at them.

"Pupitar, Larvitar's evolved form." Emerson explained proudly.

"Ah, so your Pokemon go through puberty before you do?" Vanessa asked, and Monferno stifled a laugh. Emerson huffed and snarled, and both Vanessa and Monferno exchanged looks before calming down.

"AncientPower!" Emerson shouted.

"Mach Punch, get this over with." Vanessa yawned. Pupitar's eyes turned brown, and dust from the bridge rose up, turning into large, shadowy rocks. However, before he could fire them, Monferno's fist glowed white, and he sped forwards.

"MON MON!" He shouted, and drove the fist into Pupitar's middle, knocking the Hard Shell Pokemon backwards, and the AncientPower dispersed back into dust.

"AncientPower once again!" Emerson shouted.

"And I guess I'll Mach Punch again." Vanessa said sweetly as she readjusted her hat from the wind. Monferno punched Pupitar from point blank range, before he could even begin to summon up the dust.

"PUUUUUPPIII!" He wailed, as he spiralled across the road and crashed into Emerson, knocking him over. The Pupitar landed on the ground, eyes shut and a large dent in his shell.

"Looks like the first point goes to moi." Vanessa smiled, and gave Monferno a high-five. Emerson sighed, and brought back the weak Pupitar back. He looked at Magmortar, and then nodded: give Vanessa a confidence boost, it will make the win ever more rewarding.

"Congratulations. Looks like I'll need to train him more later." Emerson smiled. "Now, let's keep this going!" Vanessa nodded, and Monferno moved forwards, ready for the next attack. Emerson just hoped the two kept this cockiness up, as then he could watch in glee as Vanessa was brought down to size. Permanently.


	15. The Unnatural Cycle Part Two

Route 206

Down below the bridge, Vanessa was unaware of what danger was lurking below.

Six oil tankers were being driven into the grassy fields, each with a Galactic Grunt at the driving wheel. More grunts were directing them into position, two on either side of the three pylons holding the bridge up. There was already a lot of scaffolding there, from where workers had been trying to realign them. The scaffolding remained, but the workers had either been shot, had their throats slit or were being held hostage if they were fit enough to work for them.

As the tankers were put into position, more grunts were piling out of the Jeep Wranglers, moving to help set up the explosives, or were catching more wild Pokemon. Armies of Geodude, Gastly and Zubat cornered innocent herds of Ponyta, forced Gligars out of the sky, or fired multiple attacks at retreating Kricketune and Baltoy. Many Pokemon were killed when their plans went wrong, so Team Galactic always caught mass supplies of Pokemon during their missions.

In the center of the route, next to rocky cliff faces and towering trees, a container truck was parked. The explosives, itinerary and Pokemon arsenal had been brought inside the container, and it would provide a good shelter for the admins if they couldn't escape in time before the blast. Standing on top of it was Cyrus, and he stared down at what was happening. All of the tankers were being put into place, and grunts were now putting ropes inside the oil, which would then be lit. Bombs were also being set up, as a back up option. His Houndoom lay loyally besides him, while Honchkrow flew around with Weavile, keeping out of sight of the bridge.

"That Vanessa girl is in prime position, sir."

Cyrus looked to his right, and saw Charon climbing up the ladder onto the roof. He pointed up towards the right of the bridge, where Vanessa's fiery hair was clearly visible. To the left of them, the bikers were waiting for the battle to end, before they moved forwards and struck Vanessa down.

"Good, Jupiter will be very pleased." Cyrus replied, and looked down. Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Draco were barking orders at them all. Mars was twirling her whip between her hands, while Jupiter had her axe hanging over her back, the handle in an easy to grab position. Saturn was holding something that looked like a metallic trident, except the middle spike was much shorter, and it didn't look extremely grand.

"We'll get things underway as soon as the bikers have brought Vanessa into the middle." Cyrus told them. Jupiter exchanged a gleeful look with Saturn, and Mars and Draco smiled and nodded. "Alright then, Draco, you go and guard the entrance, and Saturn, you go and block off Wayward Cave." The two men nodded and walked off, and Mars and Jupiter remained, watching the grunts moving around, setting everything up. Cyrus smirked as they moved about, and knew that they would all freeze as soon as he said so. Cyrus had been dreaming of being such a powerful man for many years, and this was the first step to him conquering the world.

Charon didn't necessarily have the same ambitions. The scientist was aging, and was only doing this because he had nothing else to do. And once he reached his old age, he would be able to peacefully retire, under the protection Cyrus would give him for his pivotal role. Charon opened up his laptop, wanting to double check all of his calculations before they set up the bomb. As he waited for it to start up properly, he heard a snap. Charon wheeled around, and found himself looking at the very bottom of Mt Coronet. The mountain towered hundreds of metres above them, but it disappeared into the clouds, so Charon couldn't see the top.

However, he could clearly see the trees right in front of him. They looked like most other trees: tall, green and brown. Charon didn't really care for nature, and was about to turn away, but something else caught his eye. There was a very large bush in between two trees nearby. Growing out of the bush was a curved tree, with a large amount of foliage on top. Charon noticed something even odder: while most of the trees in the valley had no or dying leaves due to it being Winter, this tree had perfectly green foliage. Charon stared at it more closely, and caught the bush shaking.

"It's a fake!" Charon exclaimed, and Cyrus turned around, instantly looking furious. Mars and Jupiter rushed over, and Charon pointed towards the tree in question.

"Houndoom, use Flamethrower!" Cyrus shouted. Houndoom nodded, and ran forwards, before leaping spectacularly into the air.

"DOOOM!" He barked, and shot a jet of red and orange flames from his mouth. The fiery attack headed straight towards the tree, but as it reached the bushes, the flames were suddenly detected, hitting a smaller bush and setting them on the fire. There was an angry roar, and suddenly the tree and bush took off into the sky.

"TROP!" The tree roared, and it looked at the still airborne Houndoom. A beam of bright green light emerged from the tree, and Houndoom howled as he was blasted backwards, smashing across the container and falling over the other side.

"So sorry about that!" Everyone turned around, as a figure suddenly soared down from the skies. The man was wearing the uniform of an environmental ranger: red and black vest and black pants, though a rope was now attached to the man's belt, obviously attached to some point of the mountain. The man landed besides a stunned Charon, and swiftly pulled a knife out, which he used to slash the rope, and then held it to Charon's throat.

"YOU!" Mars roared, and she smashed her whip against the ground, causing the sound of thunder. The ranger looked down, and Mars looked even more enraged as Niles smiled down at her.

"Hello Mars, pleasure to see you again." He said with a smile. Besides him, the disguised Pokemon shook itself, and the fake foliage fell off, revealing a Tropius, looking down at them all.

"Who are you exactly?" Cyrus asked angrily, as he reached for his gun.

"The name is Niles, and I work for the Sinnoh Environmental Department." Niles explained, as he kept a tighter grip on Charon. The scientist coughed, but found himself unable to talk, and looked pleadingly at Cyrus. "I use to know lovely young Mars here, and when I heard she was in the area, I figured I'd stop by."

"You dickhead, get the fuck out of here!" Mars hissed, her face twisted in rage. Niles looked down at her and smiled, and Mars looked like she was about to whip his face off.

"I will go, as soon as I've stopped you all from destroying this lovely environment." He explained. He looked around the route, and saw that nearly every single grunt was looking at him, having stopped their jobs to see what he was going on about. Wild Pokemon were using the time to flee, rushing into the bushes, trees or secret caves. Niles hoped they would be able to escape in time, but his main priority was stopping Team Galactic.

"We've dealt with your sort before, and we have been able to stop you." Cyrus hissed, pulling his gun out, his finger tight on the trigger. "And I'm not letting another good Samaritan try and bring me down!" Behind Niles, Jupiter was unhitching her axe, though staying well clear of Mars, who looked like she was about to shoot laser beams. Honchkrow and Weavile were hovering under the bridge, waiting for the order to strike. Charon was turning purple, and Niles grinned as Cyrus raised the gun up, aiming for Niles' head.

"WHIRLWIND!" Niles roared, and jumped backwards. Tropius flapped his long, leafy wings, causing a powerful blast of wind. Jupiter and Charon were blasted backwards, the latter dangling over the side of the container, and Cyrus' gun was whipped from his hands with a crack. Niles used the wind currents to dodge Mars' gun, and land calmly in the grass.

"Furret, Parasect, out you come!" Niles shouted, and threw two Net Balls out. With a flash, a Furret and Parasect landed alongside, looking around at everyone.

"DON'T JUST STAND THERE, DO SOMETHING!" Cyrus roared.

"WITH PLEASURE! GO PURUGLY!" Mars shouted, throwing the PokeBall as she ran towards Niles. As the large grey cat formed, hissing up at Tropius, grunts began throwing PokeBalls, releasing numerous Zubat into the sky.

"Furreee!" Furret wailed, and began blasting Ice Beams into the sky, knocking the Zubats out one by one. Honchkrow and Weavile were still waiting for the right moment, but Furret was keeping one eye on them. Parasect rushed forwards, dodging a furious Mars, and ran towards Purugly and Tropius, who were beginning to battle.

"Para Rasect Sect!" Parasect hissed, and smashed one of her claws against Purugly, using Brick Break to push Purugly onot her back.

"PURUUU!" The cat hissed, and slashed her claws, but Tropius responded with a vicious Solarbeam. Cyrus shielded his eyes from the bright light, before rushing over to check on Charon.

"I'm fine." The scientist insisted, as he climbed back onto the container. "But I don't think your Houndoom did too well." Cyrus looked down, and saw Houndoom lying unconscious, as Furret duelled single handedly against Zubat nearby. Niles was fighting back grunts, as Mars got ever closer with her whip held like a sword.

"This isn't going well, we need to make sure this man doesn't ruin this." Cyrus hissed. He quickly whipped out a PokeBall and brought Houndoom back, just as several Golbat splatted against the ground. Purugly was sent flying over Jupiter, who was beginning to retreat down the route towards Wayward Cave. Parasect and Tropius moved past, firing more moves at the helpless cat. Her owner was now shoving grunts aside to get to Niles, who had begun firing his gun.

"Mars, kill him if you must!" Cyrus roared.

"WITH PLEASURE!" Mars shouted back, and she cracked her whip against the ground, practically blasting the grunts aside. Niles turned around, and looked at Mars with a wicked smile.

"Hello again, Ari-"

"Don't you even dare!" Mars hissed, her face twisted like a murderous hag that had swallowed a lot of lemons. "You think you can just drop on by and ruin one of my operations?"

"I did warn you about the consequences." Niles snarled back, his calm and cool demeanour fading away. "You know very well that if you want to stop me, your going to have to kill me."

"Gladly." Mars hissed back, and raised her whip. Niles moved swiftly, snapping her wrist back, making the whip fall, before jamming his fist into her face. Niles felt only he slightest remorse as Mars fell backwards: he had a mission to do, and it would involve people getting hurt.

And if he didn't stop them in the next few minutes, many more people would be killed.

Eterna City

The flaming grass had begun to die down, thanks to the chilly wind and Aqua's attacks, but th smoke had managed to attract the attention of emergency services. The sirens of police and fire engines began wailing, and this was the queue for Minerva and Charles to leave. The two ran as fast as possible across the field, heading back the same way they came. However, both of them were still in pain from the attacks, and Charles was practically crawling.

"Hurry up, we need to get out of here before the police get here!" Minerva hissed. She had taken her bullet proof jacket off, hoping to let her blend in more. However, the bottom of her pants were charred and black, and she had several bleeding scratches and dirt all over her face and arms. Charles looked up at her, clearly in pain

"I got kicked in the balls and attack by a rock snake, you selfish cow!" Charles hissed. Minerva froze, and looked down, horrified, at Charles. "Let's see you try and run from the cops if you've suffered the same pain!" Minerva looked a bit hurt by his loud, angry voice, but Charles had little sympathy for her. He was in great, unnecessary pain, he was feeling very guilty about Sahara, and was worried about what would happen to her and Xavier. He didn't even know which way they had gone, as they had disappeared before they'd started moving.

The sirens cried very close by, and Minerva nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of it. She pulled Charles behind a bush, across the road from Eterna Tower. Two fire engines and three police cars came roaring past, sending dust and dirt straight towards them.

"They won't have seen us!" Minerva whispered, trying to sound more affectionate than she had a few moments ago. "I'll help take you across to the tower, and then I'll send you back first on the transporter."

"Sounds like a plan." Charles replied, wincing as he adjusted the lower half of his body. People were now rushing to see what was happening in the field, and Minerva moved back into the shadows of the bush. She looked down at Charles, who was still in pain, and she smiled warmly at him.

"I'm glad to have spent this mission with you, I've wanted to get to know you for a while now." Minerva whispered.

"Why's that?" Charles asked curiously. "We haven't really ever spoken to each other."

"Exactly one of the reasons why I wanted to!" Minerva explained happily. "Because, you see-" But Minerva froze at that moment, and Charles was shocked. Than, the assistant fell backwards, and Charles noticed a small spike sticking out of her shoulder.

"Minerva… what the hell?" Charles hissed, and moved towards her. But Charles was suddenly pulled backwards, and was shoved against the ground. A man leaned over Charles, staring at him as if he could see through his skull and read his thoughts. Charles struggled under the man's weight, but as the man shifted to hold him still, his face was caught in the light.

"Your that Looker man!" Charles gasped. The man hissed, and let go of Charles.

"Yes, I'm Looker. Good memory there Charles." Looker snapped.

"What the hell are you doing here? Do you just spend all your time stalking Team Galactic?" Charles snapped, as he moved away from the man towards Minerva. Looker simply smirked as he pulled a piece of paper out of a pocket.

"Trust me, if I had the option, I wouldn't bother with any of you." He chuckled, and unfolded the paper. "The only I'm talking to you is because I read your file. I managed to scan Charon's computer last week, which contains files on every single person." Charles remembered Draco saying something about reading his file when they first met, and figured it would have to be these ones.

"So you read my file, big deal." Charles scoffed, but he could see Looker smirking and was getting worried.

"Do you know what Cyrus actually has planned for Sinnoh?" The spy asked. Charles paused for a second, and thought it over: Cyrus had destroyed Oreburgh Mine for terrorism reasons, which was probably the same reason why he would destroy the bridge. But why had Charles and Roshonda been sent to put a bomb at the bottom of the ocean? Why did they need to rob the Valley Windworks of power? And that blue orb: what was it's purpose?

"I didn't think so." Looker answered, smiling. "I doubt Cyrus' ability to tell the truth to anyone except for his admins."

"What are you talking about?" Charles asked, as he struggled to make sense that there was something other than terrorism involved in this.

"Just sit back Charles, sit back and relax." Looker said, and he stopped laughing and progressed into seriousness. "And I will tell you how your boss is going to ruin the universe."

Wayward Cave Entrance

Staring out into Route 206, Deidre, Arthur and Mir were horrified by what they were witnessing. There was utter chaos as Pokemon battled against each other, causing multiple explosions and sending earth flying. The main damage was coming from a Purugly and Tropius, who were firing many powerful attacks that kept colliding.

"Pokemon shouldn't be made to battle like this." Deidre whispered, as she stared sadly at the scene of destruction. Matthew was standing behind them all, so use to all of this destruction that it hardly even fazed him.

"I think the best course of action would be to slowly clear the way in pairs." The teenage boy explained, catching the other three's attention. "They are obviously battling someone that is trying to stop them, so they will be able to help us."

"But these people have guns!" Mira whispered, shaking. A few metres in front of them, the Jeep Wranglers were parked all parked, blocking their view to the left of the route. A small pack of grunts were standing there, guarding the cars very closely. A man with blue hair stood in front of them, watching the battle while clutching some sort of pointed staff.

"I may be old, but I don't really want to get shot!" Arthur mumbled, and moved further back into the mine. Matthew sighed and walked in front of the three of them, making sure not to be too visible to the grunts.

"I deal with this stuff nearly every single day! If a fourteen year old is able to battle and defeat criminals, than you should man up and do the same!" Arthur was shocked by this, and Mira was half shocked, half trying not to laugh. Deidre stood up and nodded, and smiled warmly at Matthew.

"I agree with him, if we are going to stop Team Galactic from causing any more harm, we need to do it now!" She said, and walked over to stand alongside Matthew. Arthur looked grouchily at his niece, before sighing and walking forwards.

"If you can't beat them, join them." He mumbled, and stood on the other side of Matthew. Mira was the only one left, and she looked up at the three older and taller people staring down at her.

"I think I'll stay here, as back up." She said nervously. Matthew rolled his eyes, and Mira glared angrily at him.

"Fine, you stay here, we'll go out and actually fight!" Matthew huffed, and pulled a PokeBall out. They had all stopped to heal their Pokemon whilst they'd been moving, and they were all ready to fight. Matthew pressed the button, and with a flash and forming of energy, his Milotic formed besides him, stretching her long, scaly body.

"Out you come Flygon!" Deidre whispered, and threw an Ultra Ball

"You'd better come out too Swampert." Arthur muttered and pulled out a Heavy Ball. With a flash of yellow light, Deidre's Flygon formed out of yellow energy, with stars encircling him as her as she rose up into the cave.

"A shiny!" Mira gasped. Flygon buzzed around them, smiling and showing off her dimly glowing body. Below her, the Heavy Ball landed on the ground with a clunk, and steely grey energy formed into Arthur's trusted Swampert.

"So, what's the plan of attack?" Deidre asked, once Flygon had stopped buzzing around. Matthew leant in close, and Deidre, Mira, Arthur and the Pokemon leant in to listen.

The Galactic Grunts were getting bored. All of the other grunts were either working on the mission at Eterna City, or were setting up the explosives or battling the strange ranger man. Saturn stood in front of them, clutching his trident tightly in one hand and his PokeBalls in another. He was staring at the battle between Mars and the man, and seemed to be gearing up to go and join in.

"Sir, can we please do something asides from this?" One of the grunts moaned. The others all gasped and turned around in shock: they all had similar thoughts, but didn't dare bring them up to an admin. Saturn slowly turned his head, looking like he'd quite like to throw the trident at the grunts head. The grunt backed up nervously to the trucks, as Saturn marched down towards him.

"Our orders are to stay down here!" He snapped, standing only an inch from the grunts face. "I would rather be fighting those irritable peace keepers, but my job is too stay here and guard the trucks! Now shut up and stand still, or I'll shove this so far up your ass I'll pierce your brain!" And Saturn shook the trident in front of the grunt's face, nearly knocking the turquoise wig off of his head. The grunt nodded his head vigorously, and several of the others laughed.

"I'm glad you understand. Now all of you shut up unless you see one of those irritating Dex Holders!" Saturn snarled, and walked back into his position. The grunts all stood perfectly straight, though several of them still had smirks on their faces. Saturn looked back at them, and they all stopped laughing, making Saturn smile. He enjoyed striking fear into the miserable, weak grunts hearts, and it certainly cheered him up as he watched Mars duel it out with the ranger. He liked it so much, Saturn decided to do it again, and turned around.

All of the grunts were frozen.

"What the-" He gasped, and dropped his trident in surprise. Every single grunt around had turned icy blue, with a thin layer of ice covering their bodies. Behind them, the Jeep Wranglers had frozen together, resembling some sort of land iceberg. The grunts working at the support closest to the cave looked scared, and were running away from the scene. Saturn was about to turn, but stopped moving as a Flygon suddenly crawled across the top of the ice. It looked at Saturn and smiled, its eyes looking devious behind their goggle-like coverings.

"Gon Fly Fly!" The Flygon laughed, and opened her mouth weird. She briefly glowed as energy flowed through her body and formed into her mouth, coming into a large, rainbow coloured ball.

"Damnit!" Saturn yelled, and turned to run, but the Flygon fired the ball. It hovered up into the sky, before shaking and glowing, and suddenly exploded, turning into colourful flaming rocks. Grunts yelled as the Draco Meteors blasted them backwards, and even Saturn was sent flying. He landed with a groan besides his weapon, and grabbed it, pressing one of a series of buttons on the handle.

"Take this!" Saturn hissed, and a blast of white energy shot out of the points. Flygon had no time to react, and was sent flying backwards over the ice. Saturn grinned and ran forward, using the grunts to get himself up onto the ice. He stumbled a bit as he got on, but the admin steadied himself, and Saturn began moving across the five rows of cars.

"Swampert, use Superpower now!" An old voice yelled.

"Shit." Saturn cursed, and began running. He could see the white energy forming, and quickly gathered speed. Saturn dug his trident into the ice like a pole vault, just as the Superpower was fired. The ice was torn apart, and the powerful attack, blasted the frozen masses of trucks into singular blocks that rose up. Saturn jumped, using his trident and flying ice as footholds, and quickly soared forwards. A Swampert was standing where he was about to land, and it turned to move, but Saturn just smiled and whacked it with his trident, before landing.

"So, who do we have here?" Saturn mumbled, grinning to himself. There was some shock gasps and murmurs, and as he stood up, Saturn noticed several sets of feet coming together.

"We don't want any trouble!" A familiar voice squeaked, and Saturn turned around to face the challengers. A middle aged woman and an elderly man stood on either side of Matthew Pearl. The teenager looked the bravest of the three, but he was still shaking slightly. The Flygon and Swampert lay besides them, groaning, while a Milotic towered over them, glaring down at Saturn.

"Well well well!" The Galactic admin laughed, and pointed his trident at Matthew's stomach. "It appears you haven't all learnt your lesson!"

"Shouldn't you be dead? I saw that top floor explode, and there's no way you could have survived!" Matthew said, doing his best to stay strong.

"You annoying pieces of scum may think you can destroy us, but we are much more intelligent, much stronger, and have much better battling skills than any of you will ever have." Saturn sneered, and pushed his trident further. It touched Matthew's neck, and he shivered as a drop of blood rolled down his skin. Matthew was about to break down in tears, as he watched Saturn smile with glee, looking absolutely delighted about the prospect of killing him. Deidre and Arthur clung onto Matthew, both of them not use to this and even more scared of him.

"LEAVE THEM ALONE!" A voice shrieked, and everyone turned. A large rock suddenly came flying out of the cave, smashing Saturn in the gut. He made an "oof" sound, before collapsing, dropping the trident.

"ICE BEAM NOW!" Matthew yelled, and leapt aside. Milotic dived forwards, a ball of ice forming in her mouth. As she did, Mira suddenly ran out of the cave, carrying two sharp looking rocks.

"I thought you were going to stay back." Arthur said.

"I'm sorry, would have preferred if I'd let him kill you!" Mira shrieked. Milotic fired the Ice Beam at Saturn's lower body, freezing him to the ground and keeping him away from his deadly trident. Matthew walked stood over him, smiling down as Saturn struggled against his icy confines.

"Sorry about this, but I'm appears that a ten year old is smarter and stronger than you." Matthew jeered, and Saturn simply stared angrily at him.

"Fuck you!" He hissed.

"Language around youth!" Deidre teased, and bent down and slapped Saturn, much to the other's amusement. Saturn hissed at her, and continued to struggle against the ice. But after a few seconds, he suddenly realised something, and Saturn stopped squirming, and instead beamed deviously.

"JUPITER, I NEED HELP!" He screamed as loudly as possible. The four froze, and looked around towards the rest of the route. There was a muffled reply, and they knew Jupiter would be coming with reinforcements.

"What do we do now?" Mira asked, shaking slightly.

"Simple: RUN!" Matthew yelled, and he turned and sprinted off behind the tankers.

"Sounds like a plan." Deidre agreed, and she, Arthur, Mira, Milotic, Flygon and Swampert all turned and strategically retreated to a corner of the route.

Cycling Road

Vanessa was in trouble.

She had entered the battle too cockily, and had predicted she was going to win, based on her previous three victories. But it turned out that Monferno defeating Pupitar had been a lucky break: Emerson had been training his Pokemon well, and was ready for whatever Vanessa threw at him. She watched him as he shouted orders, an arrogant smirk on his greasy face, knowing she'd struggle to counter it. Vanessa was so emersed in the battle, she had no idea what was happening below her.

Monferno had been countered with Machoke, and it turned into a battle of the fists. Mach Punch collided with many Bullet and Thunder Punches, causing small explosions of energy, and weakening both Pokemon. Machoke, however, used a skilful Vital Throw to toss Monferno into the sides, knocking him out.

Vanessa opted with Luxio next, and used a single Thunder Fang to knock out the already severely weakened Machoke. But Emerson didn't care, and simply laughed. Vanessa had expected Magmortar to be sent out at this point, but it remained behind Emerson, laughing as well, and producing more SmokeScreen.

The Pokemon he sent out was one of the ones Vanessa was dreading: Graveler, the large ball of jagged rock hat was Geodudes evolved form. Vanessa's team all had a common weakness to rock and ground types, and Graveler just happened to be both of them rolled into one.

"GRAVEL!" He had roared, and smashed his fists into the bridge, causing a powerful Earthquake. Luxio fell over and fainted, his electricity nullified and no chance of attacking. Vanessa had no choice but to send out Staraptor: Dustox and Murkrow wouldn't stand a chance, and only Staraptor had a fighting move to counter the rock type.

So the glorious had been sent out, and now Vanessa and Emerson were standing perfectly still, putting all pettiness aside for the moment: this was the first time they had both been so close to victory, and it all depended on what happened next.

"Close Combat!" Vanessa yelled quickly.

"Get in there with Rollout!" Emerson barked. Graveler wrapped his arms around himself, and suddenly began spinning extremely quickly. Staraptor had decided not to go airborne, and was waiting for Graveler to come closer.

"STAR!" She shrieked, and began rapidly punching, smashing into Graveler's body. However, the attack failed to halt Graveler, and he slid between her wings, hitting Staraptor in the chest and blasting her backwards.

"Are you alright?" Vanessa asked as Staraptor landed besides her. Staraptor nodded, and flapped her wings, taking off into the air. "Alright, Close Combat again." Vanessa said, but was worried about Graveler, as it turned around her and continued spinning. Emerson showed no emotion, simply following Graveler with his eyes. Staraptor dived down, pointing her wings out like javelins. She smashed them into the side of Graveler, knocking him of course, but his power caused Staraptor to spin, and once again land on the ground, this time on her stomach. Her wings were bent at odd angles, and Staraptor looked like she was shivering

"Get up Staraptor, and use a final Close Combat!" Vanessa said desperately. Staraptor looked up at Vanessa, and tried to get up, but her eyes suddenly rolled into the back of her head. Vanessa seized up, and she felt her heart drop out of her body. Staraptor hadn't fainted: her entire body was just beginning to seize up.

"Wait, stop!" Vanessa tried to yell, but it came out as a whisper. Graveler sped past her, looking stronger than before. Emerson's face lit up, while Vanessa suddenly began to stumble, losing the feelings in her leg. Staraptor simply lay there like a rag doll, and Graveler had no interference as he smashed into her, pushing her upwards and smashing her into the side of the bridge. There was a loud crack, and dust from the bridge up around them. Vanessa stared as Graveler moved away, and her legs gave way. Emerson simply watched as Vanessa fell to the ground, scraping her knees and hands as she collapsed onto all fours.

"No…. no…. not now…." She whispered. Footsteps sounded near her, and Vanessa didn't bother looking up as leather shoes appeared in front of her face.

"Get up." Emerson hissed. "I want to enjoy this win, and the only way I can is by seeing the pain in your eyes. So get up!" Vanessa tensed up, and looked towards her bag, which was only a few inches away, and then towards Staraptor, whose unconscious body was slumped over the fence.

"You should've stopped, she isn't well." Vanessa hissed, sounding purely possessed. But Emerson showed no reaction, simply raising his eyebrows and scoffing. Vanessa couldn't bare look at his smirk, nasty expression any longer, and moved towards her yellow bag. Emerson, Graveler and Magmortar moved with her, and Graveler moved to block her from leaving. Vanessa clutched her bag like it was her life support, breathing deeply and trying to keep her thoughts under control.

_A shadowy figure standing by a tree…. A man grabbing her shoulders, while she screamed and a Staravia flew towards them…. A syringe flying only an inch from her face…. cold, bitter, bitter cold… a bright flash, and a surge of heat and energy rushing towards her…_

"Some friends of yours are here to see you." Emerson jeered. Vanessa looked up at him, but Emerson had already turned around, and was staring towards the rest of the bridge. The SmokeScreen was being blown away by a combination of cold wind and explosions coming from below them. Vanessa didn't care what was happening: she just quickly brought Staraptor back, and then pulled out her phone. She tapped several buttons while Emerson wasn't looking, and just crossed her fingers it worked.

Engines reeved loudly, echoing across the entire valley. Vanessa froze, and all of her thoughts drifted away: she knew the sound of collective motorbike engines, and it wasn't a sound she particularly wanted to hear again. She couldn't look up, she couldn't face what would surely be her death. Emerson laughed beside her, and rubbed his hands with glee.

"You deserve this Vanessa, and I'm going to enjoy watching as they tear you to- What the hell is that?" Emerson turned around, and Vanessa listened to what it was.

Cantering.

"Shit." She hissed, and jumped up, nearly knocking Magmortar aside. A Ponyta was riding furiously down the road towards them, its hooves smashing up the ground as they went. And riding on the back of it was Xavier and Sahara, who were grasping to each other and Ponyta's fiery rein as hard as they could. Sahara smiled as they saw Vanessa, but Vanessa's heart sank further.

"No, this can't be…." Emerson hissed. "Magmortar, Faint Attack!" Magmortar grunted, and suddenly jumped up into the sky. Vanessa looked up, but the sunlight nearly blinded her, and she couldn't see where Magmortar had gone.

"WATCH OUT!" Vanessa yelled out to them. Sahara looked at Xavier, worried about the tone in which Vanessa said it.

"Maybe we should stop, Vanessa seems worried." Sahara whispered.

"We've already stopped though." Xavier replied. Sahara rolled her eyes: stopping to quickly buy some spare medical supplies wasn't what she meant. But before she could reply, a dark figure suddenly shot out of the sky.

"POOOONNNYYYY!" Ponyta wailed, and she reared up, causing Sahara to wail and fall off, followed closely by Xavier. Magmortar twirled as he came down, his long, cannon like arms whacking her head.

"Mortar Mag!" He jeered as he landed, and Ponyta stared at him angrily. As she brought her legs down, Ponyta stomped down on his body, and Magmortar fell backwards, like a giant red log.

"What are you two doing here, get out!" Vanessa shouted, as she clutched her bag and looked around. Sahara and Xavier exchanged looks and moved into a line with Ponyta, while Emerson, Magmortar and Graveler moved backwards, leaving Vanessa between them.

"We have to leave though, we saw Charles, and he said that Team Galactic's planning something!" Sahara explained. Vanessa pondered this for a moment, but than shook her head, shaking the thought out.

"You need to leave, they'll kill you!" Vanessa hissed.

"Who will?" Sahara asked. Emerson just laughed, and pointed behind them. Sahara and Xavier looked behind him, and Sahara let out a moan of shock that made Vanessa force herself to turn around.

Coming fast and steadily towards them were two lines of motorbikes, each one three bikes wide and nearly thirty long. They were all wearing leather jackets, jeans, and thick sunglasses or balaclavas under their helmets to conceal their identity. Two bikes were leading each one, their bikers obviously the two in charge: one had fat hanging over the sides but his jacket had golden lining and thick shoulder pads on it, while the second bike had a much thinner rider with silver lining on his jacket. Their jeering laughter could be heard of their roaring engines, and Vanessa felt like she was about to throw up.

"The logical thing to do would be too leave." Xavier said to Sahara, but he got no response: all colour was draining out of Sahara's face, as she stared at the most likely vicious riders that had the power to kill her. Emerson began laughing, and turned to face them all.

"Better make your last prays, weaklings." He sneered. "Than you might stand a chance of getting into heaven." The rows of bikers were getting closer, and were about to head down other side of the middle section. Vanessa began shaking more violently, and clutched her bag so tightly there was a chance it would split.

"I CAN'T DO THIS!" She screeched, and even Emerson jumped at how loud she was. Behind her, there was a sudden white flash, as if her cry had managed to finally summon her saviour. A golden yellow hand grabbed the collar of Vanessa's jacket, and she glowed white as well.

"WAIT VANESSA!" Sahara shouted, and she ran forwards. Vanessa looked up apologetically at Sahara, a single tear streaming down the red headed girls face. But than there was a brighter flash, and Sahara paused to sheidl her eyes. When she brought down her hands, Vanessa was gone.

"What… what the hell!" Emerson roared, and began running around, looking for where Vanessa could've possibly gone.

"She teleported away." Xavier explained as Ponyta moved closer to him, scared of the loud noise the bikes were making. Emerson wheeled around, and he looked at Sahara and Xavier like an angry Arcanine that had found some pray. Sahara quickly backed away, but Emerson just moved closer.

"I need to get my payment." He snarled. "If I don't have Vanessa for the boss, my head will roll. The only option I see is to at least give them you two!" Magmortar and Graveler looked ready to move, and Sahara quickly pulled a PokeBall out. However, a shadow was suddenly cast over them, and Sahara moved out of the way just as a large figure soared out of the sky.

"GAR GAR!" It cried, and smashed into the ground. The whole bride began to shake, and Emerson and his Pokemon tumbled to the ground. Sahara screamed, and she and Xavier held tightly onto a neighing Ponyta. The motorcyclists all yelled as well, and there was a collective crash ad they all tumbled over.

"Chomp." The figure growled, and stood and turned around. Sahara stared at the figure in shock, and nearly fell over. It was a Pokemon that stood over them, with dark blue skin, a red and yellow chest, sharp claws, and a large amount of fins and different curves made it look like a jet engine and Sharpedo had bred.

"That thing is…. Wow!" Sahara gasped, and Garchomp smiled at her, though it still looked a bit vicious.

"Hello Garchomp." Xavier mumbled, and began stroking Ponyta, not really caring for the beast in front of them.

"You know it?" Sahara asked in shock. "How?"

"Because it's mine." A mysterious feminine voice said behind them. Sahara turned around, and she nearly fainted in shock.

Standing before them was Cynthia Carter, the Champion of the Sinnoh Elite Four. Her long blonde hair and black coat were blowing the in breeze, revealing the black skirt, boots and smart black shirt she wore underneath. Her infamous black headband was also blowing, and Cynthia readjusted it as she walked forwards.

"Hello Xavier." She said casually as she walked towards her Garchomp.

"Hello Cynthia." Xavier replied, and continued patting Ponyta. Sahara stared at Cynthia for a few moments, but than realised what they'd said.

"Alright, how exactly do you know her?" She asked.

"She's my mother's sister." Xavier replied, and Sahara's eyes nearly fell out of her skull.

"And Palmer just happens to be your father. Are you related toe very famous person in Sinnoh?" Sahara asked before staring back at Cynthia, who laughed light heartedly.

"No, only the ones that actually matter." Xavier answered, and Cynthia laughed a little harder. Sahara just sighed and rolled her eyes, and walked towards Cynthia, about to say something, but Cynthia shook her head.

"I'm know who you are, Sahara." The Champion explained. "I have been doing a lot of research, and I know a lot of about you, some information even you might not know." Sahara was surprised for about the twentieth time in the past five minutes, and wanted to ask more, but she noticed Garchomp's face drop, and heard clicking sounds behind them.

"DUCK!" Sahara shouted, and pushed Cynthia out of the way. There was the sound of gunfire, and Garchomp moved in the way, his fins deflecting them backwards. Cynthia cursed, and pulled a small handgun out of her pocket.

"I recommend you two get your Pokemon out." She shouted, and skilfully fired over Garchomp's arms. Sahara just sighed and reached inside her bag.

"When exactly are we not in battle?" She thought aloud, and prepared for their next challenge.

Eterna City

Looker coughed and cleared his throat before he unfolded the paper. Charles wasn't sure what he should be doing: did he really want to hear what he had to say? What if Team Galactic had some really horrible plan lined up that Charles couldn't bare to hear? What if the plan involved killing all of the grunts, or specifically involved Charles and Roshonda? Looker could see the worry in his eyes and smiled.

"Trust me boy, you are going to want to hear what I've uncovered." He explained, and Charles simply nodded, still too sore to really do much. Looker held the unfolded paper into the light and nodded, before facing Charles.

"After we retrieved the contents of Charon's laptop following my assault on the base last week, we analysed as much of the information that we could decrypt." Looker explained. "It appears that Charon has been expecting to be hack, and has since planned his laptop accordingly to prevent sabotage.

"However, we were able to read enough files to understand most of what Cyrus and Charon are planning. They are split things into several major operations, but we have only be able to understand four so far: Operation Terror, Operation Water Veil, Operation Robin, and Operation Double Trio. We also believe that Dialga and Palkia are heavily involved with these plans." Charles looked around at this, and he stared in the direction he had come.

"Wasn't it a Dialga statue that we've just destroyed?" Charles asked, and pointed, snapping several branches as he moved his arm. Looker peered through some of the leaves, out towards the direction Charles was pointing.

"It appears that you have." Looker gasped. "This isn't good… the plans mentioned something about the statues, and we managed to retrieve the words 'Adamant' and 'Lustrous' amongst Charon's plans. Our researchers believe that these are legendary orbs that can be used as part of a ceremony."

"A ceremony? This can't be good." Charles groaned, and went to flop backwards, but he accidentally prodded Minerva in the stomach, making her groan. Looker chuckled at this, and adjusted himself to see her.

"I didn't mean to cause her discomfort, I'll apologise next time we cross paths." He mumbled. "And yes, before you ask, we've known each other for a while." Charles simply nodded, not sure if he should really care about this information.

"So one of these orbs that they stole, it could be used in a ceremony, to do what?" Looker stopped laughing, and his face went quickly from happy to stone cold serious. He moved forwards, and Charles moved closer as well, knowing that this must be important.

"Do you know anything about the Big Bang theory?" Looker asked. Charles briefly remembered it was the big scientific theory about how the world was made, so he nodded. "Well, there are, in retrospect, two theories to this one: one is that our universe rapidly expanded from hot, dense matter, but another theory is that a single Pokemon made our entire universe.

"This may sound strange, but think about it: Pokemon have the abilities to produce immense amounts of heat, gallons of water and can use any part of their body as a deadly weapon, so how could there not be one Pokemon that has the immense power to create a universe?

"I don't know what this Pokemon's name is, but it is believed that it created Dialga and Palkia, the rumoured lords of time and space, to make our universe what it is. This Pokemon was able to control them, but many Pokemon in the wild are lead by a leader, but this disappears once they're captured." Charles quickly realised the horror of what Looker was saying.

"So if Dialga and Palkia were captured or somehow controlled, than their powers could be used for evil purposes?" Charles asked. Looker nodded gravely, and leaned backwards, rechecking the piece of paper he had brought with him.

"Team Galactic is very dangerous." The spy mumbled. "I'm not sure what exactly they are planning, but I think that you should try and take as many grunts as possible and leave that group."

"I think that's up for us to decide." A voice snapped from outside of the bushes, and suddenly a leg appeared through, connecting with Looker's face. The spy groaned as blood erupted out of his nose, and Charles looked through a gap to see who it was. Roshonda stuck her face in, and grabbed Charles by the collar and Minerva by the arm.

"We need to get out of here, quickly!" Roshonda wailed, and Charles helped hoist the limp Minerva up, but struggled to get up himself. He looked over at Looker, who was squirming with pain, and felt guilty for him, but Roshonda was pulling him away.

"I'm in pain, Sahara kicked me in the nuts." Charles quickly explained.

"Well, hobble then!" Roshonda groaned. "I need to deal with Minerva!" Charles sighed, and moved slowly across the road, with Roshonda half dragging Minerva beside him. Police had blocked off the field, but the policemen on guard were explaining things to some cyclists, so Charles and Roshonda escaped into the Galactic Tower area unnoticed.

There was still a lot of destruction caused by the explosion. Chunks from the top two floors were scattered over the grass, along with large pieces of glass and smaller bits of rubble that made it a dangerous zone to walk throw. The trees that had been sent to destroy the lobby lay there, blocking off a lot of the view.

"Come on, we need to get out of here!" Roshonda shouted, and dragged Charles and Minerva inside the lobby. A group of grunts and the Jeep Wranglers were there, next to a large bookcase and large machine. It looked like a saloon hairdryer, but it was twice the size and attached to the roof, with a two metre wide pad underneath.

"Crap, they still haven't set it up yet!" Roshonda hissed, and rushed over towards some grunts fiddling with a laptop. Minerva nearly fell to the ground, but Charles caught her just in time.

"Wha-wha-what's going on?" Minerva mumbled as Charles put her down next to a Jeep.

"You got knocked out, but it's fine now, we're going to be teleported back in a minute." Charles told her, and then stood up and looked outside throw the smashed glass. There was no sign of movement from the bushes, so Charles had no idea if Looker had left or was still in there, bleeding. All he knew was that there were some secrets Looker hadn't fully explained, and these were things Charles needed to know.

His life could depend on them.

Route 207

Only a few metres away from the battle sight was Route 207, one of the most important routes in all of Sinnoh. While it was a rocky and dusty, with very little grass, this valley route link Oreburgh City to the Cycling Road, and therefore allowed the lower half of Sinnoh to connect to each other through Mt Coronet. The giant mountain loomed over the route, and the bitter wind was whipping through here. Light snow covered the main section, along with the tracks heading up a cliff section. It was too cold for anyone or anything to be out, so the route was quiet, except for the occasional howl of the wind.

That all changed in a flash.

In the centre of the route, white energy suddenly formed out of nowhere, emitting a bright light, before quickly forming together into two figures: Vanessa and Abra.

Vanessa fell to her side as soon as she had reformed, and began shivering violently: not from the weather, but because one of the most significant events of her life had taken place on this very route. Abra sat besides Vanessa, too busy sleeping to notice the emotional discomfort she was feeling. But Vanessa preferred it this way: she didn't deserve to be with anyone at the moment, and she didn't want to be as well. She had left two new friends at the possible mercy of some old associates, and Vanessa couldn't bear to think about what could happen.

"I need to heal everyone, that's the safest thing to do." Vanessa muttered to herself. She pulled out all the balls in her bag: the three PokeBalls she'd used in battle, and her Net and Great Ball. She pressed the buttons on these two, and within a few seconds, Dustox and Murkrow had formed alongside her.

"I want you to look for something for me." Vanessa said, looking up at the two. "It's a motorbike, with two wheels, a sidecar, and it's jet black." Murkrow and Dustox nodded, and fluttered off to find it. Vanessa watched them go before reaching into her bag, pulling out the strangely shaped Revives that awoke unconscious Pokemon. She attached them to the buttons of the PokeBalls, where they glowed and dissolved, getting sucked inside. Vanessa then used a series of Potions, throwing the empty bottles away. Vanessa was desperate to heal her Pokemon, and cradled the three PokeBalls like small children, trying not to think about the last time she'd been here.

"Murk Oh!" Vanessa looked up, and saw Murkrow flying and squawking above several rocks. Dustox was using Gust, blowing away snow and causing a tarpaulin to float up into the sky.

"Excellent." Vanessa whispered, and managed to force a smile, before standing cautiously up. Her legs were still shaking, but Vanessa managed to move forwards, desperate to get to where Dustox and Murkrow were.

Suddenly, a grey hand shot out of the ground. Vanessa froze at the hand grasped at her throat and face, and soona wispy, grey body rose out of the ground, looking like a balloon, but with a strange yellow face in the middle, and a weird red eye glaring at her.

"NOOOOOIR!" The creature roared at her, and Vanessa's hat flew off. Vanessa turned to see where it went, but was surprised to see a Glalie and Froslass rising out of the snow, smiling deviously. Froslass moved swiftly towards Abra, who was still asleep, while the Glalie floated towards Dustox and Murkrow, who had moved closer together. There was the sound of smug laughter, and another figure appeared: a teenage boy, coming out from behind a rock, wearing a dark blue trench coat and leather boots.

"I like the outfit, pity your hair is so disgusting." Vanessa remarked, insulting the stranger managing to cheer her up. The boy laughed hoarsely, and he quickly picked up the hat with his left hand, allowing Vanessa to see the strange metal contraption on his arm.

"My name's Draco, and I work for Team Galactic." The boy explained, spinning the hat on his finger. "My job is to train the grunts up for combat, both physical and Pokemon."

"So do I complain to you about the fact they are so easy to defeat?" Vanessa asked, earning her an extra squeeze from the Dusknoir. Draco glared at her, but it quickly turned into a smile.

"You jeer now, but I've recently received a new job." He explained. "Since the loss of our good colleague, Ursilla, we've need a new person to carry out Operation Robin." Draco paused for a second, and he appeared to sniff: Vanessa wasn't sure if it was about Ursilla's death or something else, but she used the opportunity to check on her Pokemon. Dustox and Murkrow had landed, and Glalie was circling around them, exchanging looks with Froslass who was doing the same with Abra. Vanessa's PokeBalls lay only a few feet away: if she could just get to them…

"Anyway," Draco said after a few moments. "I have been given the role of Pokemon Catcher, alongside my other duties as Grunt Trainer. So my job is to capture peoples Pokemon for Team Galactic." Draco lfited his left arm up, showing the metal contraption again: it looked sort of like an oversized computer mouse with more buttons.

"I guess that's meant to capture Pokemon?" Vanessa asked casually, but she was afraid this Draco boy would notice her PokeBalls lying nearby. Draco nodded, and walked towards Abra and Froslass, pressing several buttons. The machine began whirring, and Froslass slowly floated away.

"An Abra, they can always come in handy." Draco chuckled, and pointed his arm at Abra. A ball of red energy formed at the tip, getting bigger and bigger…..

"NOW!" Vanessa yelled. Abra nodded, and suddenly glowed white. He reappeared a second later on Draco's shoulder, his fists both glowing an icy blue. He punched twice: one fist hitting Draco in the jaw, the other hitting the machine. It froze over, a thin sheet of ice appearing. Draco toppled over from the force of the punch, and Abra quickly grabbed Vanessa's hat and glowed again. He reappeared on Vanessa's shoulder next, and used Ice Punch again, smashing Dusknoir in the face.

"Froslass Fros!" Froslass hissed and she moved forwards. Vanessa simply dived down, Abra still on her shoulder, and grabbed the three PokeBalls. Froslass stopped moving as Monferno, Luxio and Staraptor formed, all looking very refreshed.

"Take them down, now!" Vanessa shouted, and ran towards Staraptor, leaping up into the air. Staraptor swiftly took off, and Vanessa landed smoothly onto her back. Froslass hissed, and began floating after them.

"LUXI!" Luxio shouted, and he quickly jumped up. He bit down on her midsection, making Froslass' body to freeze up, and two fell to the floor. Glalie growled at this, and dived down, ready to apprehend.

"FERN!" Monferno shouted, and his fists glowed white. He moved forwards quickly before Glalie even noticed, and punched him as hard as possible. Glalie flew backwards at the speed of sound, smashing into the cliff and nearly knocking Murkrow out of the sky. Murkrow turned to Dustox and mumbled to him, and he nodded in response. The two moved towards Dusknoir, who was chasing after Staraptor and Vanessa as well.

"Dusk Dusknoir NOIR!" He roared at the two, and his two ghostly hands turned yellow and crackled with electricity. But Murkrow smiled, and her eyes turned black. A black beam shot out, faster than Monferno's Mach Punch, and Dusknoir's single eye widened in shock. He too was sent flying backwards, but as he spun in mid air, he saw Abra sitting behind him, still looking like he was asleep. There was a white flash, and Abra disappeared, revealing Draco and his frozen chin.

"Whmm- STMPH!" The trainer tried yelling, but couldn't move with his frozen mouth. Dusknoir whacked into him, and both rolled backwards. Vanessa turned around and laughed as they did, before Staraptor suddenly swooped down.

"Aptor Star!" She said, and came to a graceful stop by the rock. Dustox swooped down at this, narrowly avoiding a renegade Ember from Monferno.

"Thanks for finding this." Vanessa said with a smile, and she rushed off Staraptor's back and behind the rock. A dirty, torn, faded in colour tarpaulin was fluttering in the breeze, wrapped mostly around what was clearly a motorbike. Vanessa began shaking again as she stared at the covered up bike, more memories flooding back. She stared at the black tyres visible at the bottom, and then looked at Staraptor and Dustox. Dustox looked a bit confused, but Staraptor smiled warmly at Vanessa, and this was the only confidence boost Vanessa.

With one swift movement, Vanessa tore the tarpaulin off the motorbike, her heart racing, and she stared at it for a few seconds, allowing happier memories to come in. The bike was a Harley Davidson Softail, the exact year Vanessa wasn't sure, but it was rather dusty and dirty despite being covered with a tarp. A dented sidecar was attached to the side, and Vanessa rubbed her hands across it, remembering all the times she'd spent sitting in it, being driven across Sinnoh…

"OX DUS!" There was a strong gust of wind and Vanessa was blown over, just as a bullet soared over her head. Vanessa looked up, and quickly remembered she was in a battle. Draco had gotten up, his mouth still frozen, but had pulled a gun out and was heading towards Vanessa. Monferno, Luxio and Murkrow were still battling Glalie, Froslass and Dusknoir respectively, with Abra helping to distract them, but Draco was not bothering with them.

"We need to get out of here…." Vanessa hissed, and moved closer to the motorbike. She stared at the machine as another bullet flew over her head: Vanessa had been taught to ride a similar bike three years ago, but she could only remember part of that knowledge. Abra would always be good for a quick getaway, but it would take too long to get them all back, and Vanessa had left her bag back there.

"This is the only way." Vanessa mumbled, and looked at Staraptor for support. She simply nodded again, and Vanessa smiled, and climbed onto the bike. "Monferno, I want you to use that new move I taught you!" She shouted, and Staraptor and Dustox both flew down into the sidecar. Vanessa turned the key, which was still in the ignitio, and the engine began groaning. Draco's eyes lit up in delight, and he began moving forwards. Monferno could see him, and angrily Mach Punched Glalie into him.

"Gla!" The Glalie huffed, as he bowled his trainer over. Monferno just smiled, and began squawking at Murkrow and Luxio. Vanessa kept turning the key, and the engine kept groaning.

"Not now… don't do this now…." She sighed, and gave the key one last hard turn. There was a cough and a splutter, and the engine groaned, but in the way it should be. Vanessa gave Staraptor a high five, before turning the bike and began moving. Luxio and Murkrow began moving forwards, chased by Dusknoi and Froslass.

"Luxio Oh Lux!" Luxio growled, and a Spark formed around him. H threw it backwards as he jumped, and Dusknoir was hitting, crashing into Froslass. The two landed alongside Draco and Glalie, with Monferno standing nearby.

"Monferno FERNO MOOON!" Monferno shouted, and his fists glowed brown. Draco and his team watched silently as Monferno punched the wall of rock as hard as possible. The mountain began glowing brown as well, and cracks began to appear.

"Monferno, get over here!" Vanessa shouted. Luxio and Murkrow were crammed in the side car with the others, and Monferno sprinted forwards, jumping on Draco for extra leverage. He grabbed Vanessa's bag with tail, and than landed in her lap.

"Nice entrance." She laughed. "See you around, Mr Malfoy!" Vanessa sneered, and sped off once again. As they left, the mountain seemed to explode, rocks flying down like a brown, dusty river. Draco's yells were muffled as the Rock Slide came crashing down…

Cycling Road

The bridge was in absolute chaos.

Bullets were flying everywhere, smashing into the road and the sides, sending chips of concrete flying. Xavier and Sahara were standing back, while Lapras, Ponyta, Aqua and Smash all battled. Lots of Koffing, Weezing, Gulpin and Swalot had been sent out, and Lapras was exhausting herself with constant Psychics. Emerson had disappeared into the bikers, who were coming one by one to go up against Cynthia.

It was clear to see why she was a champion: Sahara watched in awe as Cynthia fought hand-on-hand with some of the ugliest, toughest, scariest people she'd even seen, while still ordering her Pokemon. Cynthia used two seven-inch knives, their silver blades glinting as she moved. She twirled and spun like a ballerina, but her used her knives to harm and kill: blood glittered as Cynthia cut the bikers, from their cheeks to torsos, making them collapse to the ground in agony.

Alongside her, her Garchomp fought just as brutally. Using a similar tactic, Garchomp was using his fins like knives, but was using Brick Break. He spun as well, flinging bikers, their bikes and dozens of Weezing back down the Cycling Road. Whenever one of Xavier or Sahara's Pokemon looked weak, Garchomp swooped in, blasting the Pokemon backwards and firing another move to seal the deal.

"This style of battling…. It's mesmerising…" Sahara whispered, her eyes wide with wonder and amazement. Cynthia heard the comment, and Sahara saw her smile briefly before jabbing one knife into a grunt's shoulder blade. There was a burst of fire from Ponyta that nearly set her coat alight, but instead caused several nearby bikes to explode.

"I think we should be doing more to help." Sahara shouted over the explosion to Xavier. Xavier had been watching Lapras and Ponyta intently, both of whom were getting pretty tired.

"I'm not sure how we can help." He replied, and stared with what looked like sadness at his Pokemon, and Sahara could understand why: they had been battling for about ten minutes, and more toxic Pokemon were coming out.

"Should we bring them back, switch them fro the others?" Sahara suggested, and began searching for the appropriate balls. Cynthia suddenly appeared in front of them, wrestling with a particularly large biker with a bad odour.

"Don't withdraw them, you never know when we may need them!" She answered through clenched teeth. The biker laughed, but stoped as soon as Cynthia slapped him, and then punched him twice in the stomach and shoved his moaning figure over. Sahara smiled in glee, and looked up at the champion, seconds from opening her mouth.

_Get down, now! _Sahara and Xavier exchanged looks as Lapras' voice echoed in their minds. Cynthia heard it too, and looked around, stunned. But than there was a unanimous clicking sound, coming from the middle of the bridge.

"NOW!" A voice boomed, and a second later around thirty guns were fired. The combined sound was deafening, and there were a dozen flashes from the deadly weapons. Smash coiled himself quickly around all four other Pokemon, the bullets deflecting with pings off his hard body. But half of the bullets still soared towards the three trainers. Cynthia jumped forwards, pushing Sahara over into Xavier. Sahara screamed as bullets soared over them, their speed and power making her face tingle, and her life nearly flashed before her eyes. They all crashed into the ground with a ground, ripples been sent through their bodies. More bullets went over them, and Cynthia pressed both of them down, making sure none of them were hit. Xavier looked over at the Pokemon, and could see Lapras using another Psychic to try and deflect some of the bullets, but it wasn't doing much.

"I think they stopped." Cynthia whispered as the bridge fell silent. Strange yells and bangs rose up from below, but none of three paid any attention. The only sound they were focused on were several footsteps echoing nearby. Cynthia leapt up and turned around, and Shara and Xavier breathlessly got to their feet as well.

A reasonably fat, aging biker walked towards them, taking off his helmet and glasses to reveal his broad, arrogant grin. He was flanked by two people: one was Emerson, who was staying close to his Magmortar, and the second was a younger man, with a nearly bald head and angry scars. The other bikers were watching them eagerly, their guns pointed towards the five Pokemon.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Cynthia." The fat man jeered, as he bent down and picked up Cynthia's two knives. Cynthia looked shocked, but quickly regained her composure. "As always, it has been a pleasure battling you, but we are really short on time: we need Vanessa, but your holding us up."

"You can't kill us!" Sahara shouted. "Our Pokemon will just fight back!" The man stared at her, and his thinner acquaintance pulled a gun out, pointing it towards Sahara. The man simply laughed loudly, as he got closer and closer to them.

"Little girl, it is best if you don't mess with us." He laughed. "I mean, surely you have heard of The Slayers, the greatest motorcycle gang in all of Sinnoh!"

"I read about you in the newspaper, you must be 'The General.'" Xavier said matter of factly. The General smiled and nodded, and took one last step forwards, holding Cynthia's knives up to her. The Champion showed no emotion: she simply stared eye-to-eye with the gang leader, who was smiling viciously. Sahara was shaking with fright, and cautiously reached into pockets, making sure no one noticed…..

"The time has come, champion, for you to take your final bow." The General hissed, and held the knives up at high. Emerson and Xavier both stared blankly at the them, while the man with the gun turned away from Sahara to stare at the murder.

That's when it happened.

A white flash glowed high in the sky above them, followed by a loud reeving. It was so strange that no one could resist from looking, and many eyes stared at the sky. There was laughter, and suddenly a motorbike erupted out of thin air. It was clearly Vanessa at the front, her long ginger hair blowing in the breeze as she stood up, arms flailing and laughing like old times. Her umbrella was in her hands, and orange energy began flowing out of it.

"GIVE THEM HELL, GANG!" She shouted, and suddenly all six of her Pokemon leapt off the motorbike, diving down towards the gang members.

"HER!" The man with the gun yelled, and he turned and pointed.

"SEVIPER, NOW!" Sahara yelled, and threw an Ultra Ball. Before the man could fire, yellow energy suddenly swirled around him. He froze as Seviper formed around his body, looking directly at him with her malicious eyes. The General looked as Seviper hissed and began biting the man, allowing Cynthia to smash her palm into his nose and causing the biker to spaz. Smash roared and dived forwards, and suddenly attacks of all types were being fired: Monferno began firing Embers, Lapras sent a Waterfall to blast half the bikes over the sides, and Garchomp began throwing bikers into the sky with Brick Break.

"Look out." Xavier warned, and pulled Cynthia out of the way. Emerson jumped out of the way just as Vanessa and her bike landing with a thunk, and she expertly spun it around.

"Back off, these men are mine." Vanessa hissed, and she got off her bike. Sahara called Seviper off, and the snake hissed at the man before sliding away to join the battle.

"Hello General, Armstrong, good to know you've both gotten uglier." Vanessa remarked with a slight smile. The General and Armstrong both hissed, and Armstrong raised his gun. Vanessa smiled and raised her umbrella: she turned the handle, and it suddenly switched into the sword. The General's eyes bulged at this, and he stared at the glinting weapon, dumfounded.

"Oh yes, your weapon has been put to quite good use." Vanessa said, and walked forwards, the weapon raised. Sahara, Xavier and Cynthia budged together, staring in awe as Vanessa held her sword like it could defeat any bullet.

"You nasty little bitch, I'll make you pay for what you did!" Armstrong hissed, and he looked only seconds away from pulling the trigger. Vanessa just shook her head and smiled, and took another step forwards so that the sword was only inches from the General's throat.

"Thanks for helping me out all those years ago, I really appreciated it." She whispered, and the General just stared at her, dumbfounded. He looked at Armstrong and nodded. But in the second he did that, Vanessa threw her sword to the side: the deadly weapon arched like a javelin towards Armstrong and soared into his arm. Blood erupted out, and Armstrong yelled in agony. Vanessa then swung her arm around whilst tugging the sleeves: there was a click and three metal feather-shaped objects came out. The General turned around just in time to see as Vanessa slid them across his throat. Blood instantly began pouring out like a brick removed from a dam, and Sahara and Emerson both gasped in shock.

"You…. traitor…." The General hissed, blood coming out over his lips, and then tilted sideways, dead.

"RETREAT! THE GENERAL IS DEAD, RETREAT!" Armstrong shouted. He pulled the sword out and tossed it aside, whacking Vanessa in her shins. Emerson stared at Vanessa in horror, and then grabbed Magmortar and fled. Vanessa watched silently as all the bikers hoped onto their machines and began speeding off. The Pokemon all fired several last attacks, but it wasn't enough to stop them.

"That was…. Interesting." Sahara said, walking cautiously forwards. Vanessa turned and smiled at her friend, and pulled on her sleeves, bringing the deadly feathers back in.

"I'm fine. It just feels strange to be back on this bridge, with these…. People, if they can be called that." Vanessa looked down at the General's bleeding body with disgust, and Sahara, Xavier and Cynthia all joined in staring at it. Vanessa thought back to her past life, and to how things had lead to this: but the past was for the past, and there was no point in her dwelling on it. With one last look, Vanessa pushed the body onto it's front with her foot, and turned around to the others.

"Firstly, whose Blondie, and secondly, what the hell is going on below us?"

Route 206

The situation underneath the bridge was getting serious.

Cowering in a corner of the route, Matthew, Mira, Deidre and Arthur watched the scene with fear and horror. Team Galactic was still setting up the bombs and the fuel tankers, but the deadly battle happening around them prevented them from doing so.

It was quite clear that Niles, who Matthew had quickly recognised, was battling single handedly against many grunts. He and Mars were in hand to hand combat, punching and kicking each other while dodging gunfire from the grunts. Looker's Pokemon were key parts of the fire: Furret blasted Hyper Voices to distract the grunts, while Parasect threw bits of scaffolding around the place. Tropius was now in an aerial battle with a Honchkrow and a Weavile, dodging their attacks in order to fire Solarbeams.

And Saturn and Jupiter will moving around, trident an axe raised respectively. Toxicroak and Skuntank were jumping around, tearing bushes and trees apart in their search for them, and it was quite clear they were ready to kill. Mira was clinging to Matthew's arm while staring towards the cave entrance as if waiting to move back there, and Deidre and Arthur were whispering urgently to each other. Milotic stared sadly at Matthew, as if she too new they were close to death.

"We need to do something to get out of here." Matthew whispered, peering through the branches. Jupiter was questioning the grunts based at one of the bomb setup sites, and Saturn was only about ten metres away, watching Toxicroak destroy a bush and scare several Ponyta off.

"What exactly do you suggest we do?" Arthur snapped. "They outnumber us by quite a lot, which means they have more Pokemon than us!"

"Exactly Matthew, we can't just blast them with one move and expect to defeat them all!" Deidre sighed. Matthew looked up, his eyes lighting up with delight. He looked at Mira with delight, and she stared at him, confused.

"We can use one move… if we combine them together!" Matthew explained eagerly. Mira looked at him, and then her jaw dropped and she began smiling.

"A combination move, that will be perfect!" She said happily. But than her happiness evaporated as quickly as it had arrived. "To be fair, you aren't that great at combo moves, and I left Sandshrew and Kadabra in the cave, as back up." Arthur grumbled, and Deidre quickly shushed him. Matthew sighed and lay back, leaning against Milotic's long, scaly body. She looked down at him sadly. Matthew began stroking her sadly, thinking about the fact they would soon be killed at the hands of Team Galactic. He thought about his family, his Pokemon, especially poor little Piplup, who would know have no home. He thought about his contest, and how he would never get the chance to prove himself. His first contest had been such a failure, and –

_Wait a minute. _Matthew thought. _Piplup… first contest… combination move…._

"I've got it!" Matthew whispered excitedly, and began reaching into his bag. The other looked at him curiously as Matthew brought all four Pokemon out. "In my first contest appeal, Piplup used Bubble to one really big bubble."

"And?" Mira asked, confused.

"Well, imagine what will happen if one Pokemon can make one huge bubble!" Matthew explained, and he quickly sent his other three Pokemon out. Piplup, Beautifly and Misdreavus stared around, wondering why they were so cramped.

"Alright: Mira, somehow get your Pokemon to distract the others, you two too." Matthew said to the other three. "Now Piplup, I want you to use BubbleBeam, but I want you to focus all of your energy into one single bubble, like for the first contest."

"Pip Pip…" Piplup replied nervously, but she opened her mouth wide all the same. She shut her eyes and tensed her body up, and a large bubble slowly began to rise up. Deidre and Mira opened up PokeBalls, calling into them to contact their Pokemon. The bubble was getting larger and larger, until it was soon twice the size of Piplup's body, and she began looking pained.

"Alright then: Misdreavus use Psywave on bubble!" Matthew commanded.

"Misss!" Misdreavus said, and her eyes turned rainbow. Bright rainbow spotlights were fired at the bubble, and the psychic energy suddenly caused it to expand. Piplup looked surprised as her own bubble began growing over her, and suddenly she was trapped inside.

"Matthew, what's your plan….?" Deidre asked nervously.

"Just jump inside the bubble, trust me!" Matthew said excitedly, and he dived forwards. He moved through the surface like it wasn't there, and landed next to Piplup. Mira wailed as the bubble grew over her, but Matthew just chuckled, earning him a vicious look.

"Why are we inside a bubble?" Mira huffed.

"You'll see." Matthew answered with a wink, and watched as the bubble grew over Deidre and Arthur, and Milotic chuckled and dived in. Beautifly looked ready to go, but Matthew waved his arms.

"I want you to stay out there and use String Shot! Cover the entire thing!" He explained. Misdreavus stopped using Psywave, but the bubble was now big enough to fit one of the Jeep Wranglers. As Beautifly began covering the bubble with the white string, shouts erupted from outside.

"They've seen us!" Mira gasped.

"Misdreavus use Psywave on Toxicroak!" Matthew shouted urgently. "And Milotic, you need to use Ice Beam on the bubble!" Milotic nodded, and began firing the ice blue beam at the bubble. The String Shout on the outside kept the bubble in formed, and now it was being strengthened.

"We'll suffocate!" Arthur yelled.

"Hold your breathe then, this'll work!" Matthew shouted, and he stared through the bubble before it frosted over.

Saturn and Jupiter were running towards them, followed by several grunts, with Skuntank and Toxicroak alongside. Misdreavus was in front, preparing to send the Psywave towards them.

"Like that'll do anything!" Jupiter sneered, and raised her axe high. "Skuntank, go and stop her!" Skuntank nodded, and ran forwards as quickly as forward. The ground shook as she ran, each step countered by one of the earth tremors. Saturn grabbed Jupiter's arm, and stared at the ground.

"This can't be good…." He mumbled. Jupiter looked at the ground, and could see that it was cracking up in front of Skuntank, dirt billowing out.

Seconds later, Saturn was proven correct.

"DIGLETT!" Three Diglett suddenly popped out of the ground, their bald heads smashing into Skuntank's underbelly. The purple Pokemon was sent rolling backwards, and the Diglett triumphantly moved aside. Mira's Sandshrew and Kadabra suddenly came flying out: Sandshrew fired Swift while Kadabra's eyes flashed pink. The glowing stars smashed into the grunts, while Toxicroak was blasted backwards by a combination of Confusion and Psywave.

"Don't let these puny Pokemon stop you!" Saturn shouted, and he raised his trident up, charging up energy. Jupiter began running forwards, her axe in position, ready to cut down onto them.

"SAND!" Sandshrew shouted, and he jumped up, curling into a scaly brown ball. He spun forwards and whacked into Jupiter's head, knocking her over and tripping up Saturn, causing both their weapons to fall out of reach. Kadabra chuckled and raised his spoons up: the two weapons began hovering well out of their reach.

"Excellent!" Matthew laughed as he watched the scene. He beamed at the other, who simply smiled and nodded. It was getting a bit hard to breath, with their lungs straining as Milotic fired more ice into the ball.

"I think we should get moving then." Matthew decided. Milotic stopped firing, and they all stared at the large ice ball they were now trapped in.

"How are we going to get it to move?" Arthur asked grouchily.

"We're going to roll it, like one of those Rattata balls." Matthew replied quickly. The others exchanged confused looks, but Matthew began running forwards, pushing on the front as he did. He kept running back and then running forwards. Mira and Piplup both got it, and they began copying him: when all three of them pressed on the front, the bubble titled forwards. Milotic smiled, and she slid forwards while using Iron Head. Deidre and Arthur shrugged, and all six of them moved forwards at the same time: they all hit the bubble, and the whole thing began tilting forwards.

"Just a question: how are we meant to remain standing?" Deidre asked. Matthew froze, and looked at them with a mix of confusion and apology, just as the bubble rolled. Mira and Piplup both screamed as the bubble rolled over, and then kept rolling, and rolling….

Saturn and Jupiter stared as the bubble began rolling towards them, some of the ice breaking as it gathered speed and moved like a frozen boulder.

"Oh shit…" Jupiter hissed. She and Saturn turned and ran along with the grunts and their Pokemon. Beautifly and Misdreavus hovered overhead, shooting attacks at Toxicroak and Skuntank. Grunts working on the bombs screamed and ran, and soon the ice bubble was chasing after half of the people working on the route.

"We need to keep control of it!" Matthew shouted. The six of them were being tossed around, barely able to remain standing for even a second. "Push on the sides to turn it!" Milotic dived forwards, smashing into the side, and the bubble began turning left, swerving in between two of the tankers. The Pokemon all followed behind, firing attacks at whoever was near.

Cyrus was still standing on top of the container, watching what was happening with a grave face: the grunts were becoming distracted in setting up the bombs, there was a giant battle in the middle of the field in front of him, and there appeatred to be a large ice ball rolling around. Up on the Cycling Road bridge, a white flash briefly caught his attention, but Cyrus was more concerned by what was happening in the route.

"Charon," He hissed quietly, and looked over at the scientist sitting next to him. "I think it is time for us to retreat."

"But things are going so smoothly, why leave now?" Charon said sarcastically. Cyrus look tempted to hit him, but knew it wouldn't help. His Honchkrow flew past, his Weavile struggling to hold off the Tropius' Solarbeam.

"I don't want to end things though." Cyrus explained, his eyes following his Pokemon. "We need to trick them into think we've given up, but I want the bombs to activate after we've left. Can you do that?" Charon chuckled in his mysterious fashion, and reached inside his coat. He pulled something out, but his hand was wrapped tightly around it.

"It better work." Cyrus grumbled, and he stared at the field. "WE'RE GOING, LEAVE EVERYTHING! GET TO THE JEEPS AT ONCE!"

Up on the scaffolding of the nearest support, Niles and Mars had begun fighting their way up. Anyone standing near them probably would've been killed in the crossfire, as the two of them punched, kicked, chopped, swiped and slashed at the other.

"Here that, sounds like your time to go." Niles puffed as he blocked a punch. He smashed his foot into the ground, breaking one of the planks. He swept Mars over with his legs, and than picked the plank up, holding it to her throat. She stared breathlessly at it, before smiling and breaking out in laughter.

"You've never had the guts to harm anyone." Mars sneered. "You're the most peaceful, calm person I've ever met." She lashed out, kicking him in the shins. Niles collapsed onto her, and their faces were only millimetres apart.

"I've heard from people that you turned into a real whore." Niles hissed with a triumphant smirk. "I guess you never really got over me, did you?" Mars slapped him hard across the face, so hard that Niles nearly fell off the balcony. She got out from underneath him and grabbed the plank, holding it like a knife.

"I may have loved you in the past, but I sure as hell don't love you know!" She snapped.

"Deny your feelings all you want, I know you still want me. And that's why we'll never be able to stop each other." Niles replied, rubbing his cheek. Mars hissed like an Arbok, and she raised the plank, ready to jab down. But Niles simply smiled and rolled over, falling off the scaffolding down towards the retreating grunts below. Mars stared over the side in horror, but suddenly Tropius soared down, his long neck catching Niles inches from the ground. Furret and Parasect leapt up, still firing attacks at the grunts below.

"See you around, Ariel!" Niles shouted. Mars roared and gave him the finger, and the ranger chuckled again. Furret smiled at Mars and opened her mouth: an Ice Beam suddenly shot out, hitting the scaffolding beneath her. It froze quickly, and than the metal beams snapped like twigs. Mars screamed as she fell forwards, Tropius flying overhead.

"Puuur!" Mars whacked into something soft: her Purugly stood below her, looking proud at having saved her owner. Mars groaned, and looked up into the sky, watching Tropius fly away with Niles. Then there was a rumbling sound, and Mars looked around: the frozen ice ball was heading straight for her.

"Purugly use Iron Tail!" Mars ordered, before running over towards the container: the other admins and grunts were there as well, while the others had rushed towards the slowly de-thawing Jeep Wranglers.

"UG UG!" Purugly hissed and ran forwards. Her tail unwrapped from around her thick body, and glowed silver and became straight. She leapt up and began swinging, right through Beautifly and Misdreavus.

"DUCK!" Matthew shouted from inside the ball. They ducked down low as the tail smashed through the fast moving frozen bubble: it cracked in half, and the six of them all came flying out as the two halves moved off in opposite directions. Matthew and Mira landed beside each other, only a few feet away from the container. Cyrus looked down at them and laughed.

"Stupid human beings, thinking they can just waltz on here in and stop us!" He jeered.

"Whatever you lot are planning, you won't get away with it!" Matthew shouted. Deidre, Arthur and their Pokemon all moved towards them, nodding in agreement, but Cyrus simply laughed.

"Think what you want, if it makes you feel better." Cyrus replied. "You may have won this round, but don't think you'll when the next. Now go!" Saturn suddenly raised his trident into the sky and pressed a red button. There was a blast of air, and the outer two points of the trident were sent spinning into the air. The two joined together and began glowing a vibrant blue.

"Ice Beam, quickly!" Matthew shouted at Milotic. She raised her head, ready to fire, but it was too late: the two points fired, hitting the frozen Jeeps and the container. It was too bright to see through, and they all shielded their eyes. A few seconds later the flash had died down, and they all cautiously lowered their arms.

They were all gone.

There was no sign of any Team Galactic member, though they'd left their bombs and fuel tankers around. Arthur and Deidre both breathed sighs of relief, but Matthew was still curious: why had they left all these explosives behind? Piplup began dancing with Sandshrew in joy, and Beautifly and Misdreavus flew around in delight.

"Thank god that's over!" Mira said happily. "But how exactly are we meant to get back to Eterna City?" Matthew shrugged, and began looking around for the start of the route, when they were shouts from above. He and the others looked up and smiled: up on the bridge was Xavier, Sahara, Vanessa and what looked like Cynthia waving down at them.

"So, whose ready to leave this hole?" Matthew asked, and all humans and Pokemon cheered in delight.

It took only a few minutes to get everyone up onto the bridge: Smash lowered his long body down, and then easily picked Matthew, Mira, Deidre and Arthur, along with their Pokemon, and brought them up onto the bridge. When they were all up, they were able to see the destruction that had been caused: blood and scorch marsk were all over the badly damaged sides, while more blood, glass and broken chunks of concrete lay over the ground. Aqua, Garchomp and Xavier's new Heracross were throwing damaged motorbikes over the sides, while Cynthia began checking everyone's cuts.

"It looks like you guys had just as much of a fun afternoon as we did." Matthew chuckled nervously, freezing as he got near the large body of the General's.

"Yep, it was a real hoot." Vanessa growled sarcastically, and she and Monferno walked towards the corpse. Mira, Cynthia, Deidre and Arthur watched in shock as the two simply picked up the body and threw it over the side like the motorbikes.

"Isn't that illegal?" Deidre whispered.

"Vanessa seems to be oblivious to the law." Matthew sighed, and went to go say 'Hello' to Cynthia, who he'd met several times before at the Diamonds. As she moved over to Matthew, Deidre looked around and gasped: Sahara was standing by Smash, giving him a hug for his good work.

"MY BABY!" Deidre squealed, and she ran forwards. Sahara only had a second to turn before Deidre flung herself at her, giving her daughter a big hug. "I thought you had died…."

"Hi Mum, why would you think that?" Sahara asked and she struggled to breathe. But Deidre just shushed her, and held her daughter tightly, much to Smash's confusion. Xavier and Heracross finished throwing the last motorbike over the side, and listened to it hit the ground with a smash. The two looked around: Sahara was with Deidre, Matthew with Cynthia, and Vanessa was explaining the situation to Mira and Arthur.

"We shouldn't disturb them." Xavier said respectfully, and he turned back around, staring over the side. Heracross nodded, and copied his new trainer, watching the scene below. The route was now quiet, with most Pokemon still hiding. The smashed bikes lay in pieces at the bottom, along with shattered ice and bits of scaffolding.

"Heracross Racro!" Heracross cried, and pointed over at the bushes. Xavier followed to where he was pointing, and saw the bush was rustling. Suddenly, it burst into flames, the leaves and twigs disappearing instantly. Replacing it was a glowing red figure that Xavier instantly recognised.

"It's that murderous toaster." He told Heracross, though his voice carried on the wind. The others all heard, and came over to see what he'd said.

"Murderous toaster… do you mean that red thing?" Matthew asked, and pulled out his PokeDex. The screen glowed, before it begin blinking red, with the words NOT IN SYSTEM flashing brightly.

"It must be a very rare Pokemon for my father to have not recorded it." Deidre said, and they all looked closer. The red figure didn't seem to notice them, instead looking towards the fuel tankers.

"I don't like this." Cynthia muttered, and she was right to be suspicious: seconds later the figure opened what appeared to be it's mouth, and a blast of fire shot out.

"It'll set the ropes on fire!" Mira squealed. The figure now noticed them thanks to this, and it stared upwards, smiling deviously. It began producing more flames, and twirled around, spraying them like a flaming sprinkler. Soon, all of the ropes were all fire, the flames dancing up the rope towards the fuel.

"Shit shit shit!" Vanessa hissed, and she pulled her PokeBalls out: all five of her Pokemon were instantly brought back, with Abra having long teleported away. Xavier, Matthew, Sahara and Cynthia repeated this, and Mira began whimpering.

"The figure has left the toaster." Xavier announced. Now the familiar spark-looking Pokemon had come out, and was giggling wildly to itself. Thunderbolts began shooting out, being zapped towards must've been the bombs.

"We need to get off this bridge, NOW!" Sahara shouted.

"Way ahead of you Plattina!" Vanessa shouted: she had started up her motorbike, and was staring at the seven of them.

"Is that really safe?" Matthew asked.

"If you want to live it is!" Vanessa snapped.

"Really, is there even enough space?" Arthur asked.

"JUST GET ON THE BLOODY BIKE!" Vanessa yelled, and no one choose to argue with the girl that had just killed a biker. They all reached forwards, trying to find a spot to sit: Xavier got on directly behind her, with Sahara behind him. Arthur and Deidre got inside the side car, and Mira clambered in between them. Cynthia wedged herself between the sidecar and the motorbike, managing to get her arms inside the car to clung onto.

"There's nowhere for me to sit!" Matthew protested. Vanessa smiled, and she slapped her legs. Sahara stifled a laugh, and Matthew's eyes widened in horror, but he quickly realised it was his only option. With a shudder, he sat down on Vanessa's lap and put his arms around her neck.

"Good girl, now let's get out of here!" Vanessa yelled, and they began speeding forwards. Within seconds they had entered the right path, zooming below lamps and over shattered glass. Vanessa swerved to avoid sharper pieces, and the seven all clung onto each other like glue. Suddenly, one of the lights above them exploded, and Sahara and Mira screamed as Rotom appeared. It buzzed at them cheekily, and Vanessa sped up, trying to get away.

"Someone defeat it, we don't have time for it!" Vanessa yelled. Rotom moved alongside at a considerable speed, and simply laughed as Vanessa spoke. It turned around, and then dived inside the motorbike. The bike began moving at it's full speed, and Vanessa fell backwards, nearly knocking Xavier off.

"It's helping us!" Matthew gasped. The gatehouse at the end was getting nearer and nearer, and everyone hung onto some part of the bike, wondering what was going to help. Thirty metres…. Twenty metres…. Fifteen metres… ten metres….

Than the world exploded.

The combined forces of the six bombs and six flaming oil tankers created a near nuclear explosion. They all exploded simultaneously, and definitely went off with a bang: the sound was so deafening that they couldn't hear each other scream. Powerful fists of red, orange, yellow and black joined together, creating one giant force wave. The bridge was obliterated like it was made of match sticks, the entire thing being destroyed in the space of two seconds.

Every bit of nature left in the route was destroyed: all the grass was instantly turned to ash, and all the trees turned into giant flaming poles. A bridge leading across the lake burnt up and sank, as the explosion travelled overhead, not even water stopping it. Rocks began tumbling down Mt Coronet and the cliffs, the force of the explosion tearing everything apart. But the mountains were also containing the explosion: it could grow out, so it had to extend upwards.

The explosion had happened only five metres from the entrance. The bike was still moving at hyper speed as the ground was destroyed below them. Everyone screamed as the motorbike was sent spiralling into the air, surrounded by flying concrete and fire. The sidecar was torn from the bike, and Mira was finally heard as she screamed her heart out, the small bullet-shaped vessel spinning in all directions. Vanessa clung to handlebars for some degree of support, and her three friends all clung to her leather jacket. The Softail began spinning towards where the gatehouse had been only seconds ago: the explosion had torn the entire thing apart, and flaming wood and bricks were soaring towards them.

"BRACE YOURSELF!" Vanessa screamed, and the bike smashed down into the flaming carpet. Sahara was flung off as the bike began cart wheeling, the front tyre being torn from the body. Vanessa let go, and she, Matthew and Xavier flew off in all directions. The hat and force of the explosion was painful, and all of them were unconscious as their heads smashed into the ground.

Around them, the explosion began to die down, to be replaced by thick smoke rising up into the air. Route 206 had become a natural wasteland, everything green and brown now black and dead. Emergency sirens began wailing, echoing around the suddenly quiet valley.

The Softail suddenly began sparking, and Rotom flew out, coughing up sparks. It stared around at the scene it had caused: smoke covering the view for hundreds of metres, the gatehouse turned into flaming rubble. All four of the DexHolders lay before him, unconscious, burnt and bleeding. The sidecar had landed on the ground, and it was so badly destroyed that Rotom didn't know what to think. He looked around again and shock, before frowning and diving into a loose electrical cable sparking nearby.

It couldn't bare to face the horror it had caused.

"That doesn't sound good…."

Charles, Roshonda and Minerva were some of the only ones left at the destroyed tower. They all turned around at the sound of the explosion, and could see the large black smoke rising ominously up in the distant.

"Looks like they succeeded." Minerva said as emergency sirens began wailing around Eterna City. The fire engines and police cars near the statue all began speeding past, heading in the direction of the Cycling Road. Charles felt a pang of guilt in his stomach: did Sahara manage to save Vanessa in time, or did both of them perish in the explosion?

"Anyway, we can all celebrate things later." Roshonda boomed, interrupting his thoughts. She walked over towards the strange machine in the lobby. It was a teleporter, and it had been zapping grunts and the Jeeps away, and Charles presumed they were heading back to base.

"We only have a few minutes to get everyone back there." Minerva said quickly, and rushed towards the three grunts that remained. They were all holding a large metal box that contained the orb, and seemed to be struggling under its weight.

"Why do they need such a large box?" Charles asked. Roshonda simply shrugged and pulled him onto the large mat. The weird hairdryer was charging up, glowing an ominous dark purple above him.

"Your PokeBalls will be sent over separately." Roshonda explain, placing the six capsules into a circular slot on the machine. Charles simply nodded, and Roshonda smiled brightly at him as she pressed several buttons.

"Enjoy the ride." She said, and pressed the button. The machine whirred, and Charles shut his eyes.

He was instantly reminded of when he time travelled.

Charles couldn't see anything except for strange pink light burning his eyelids. His body felt like jelly, yet Charles could also barely breathe as his body was pulled and pressed. He was spinning rapidly around, his brain and head seemingly moving in different directions. Charles had no idea what was going on anymore, but it certainly wasn't fun.

But only a few seconds later, Charles smashed down onto ground, his mind still spinning around. He blinked rapidly, trying to get a general idea of where he was.

"Move out of the way, Mr Golden, your in the way." Charles looked up, and could see a large metal desk in front of him. It had a large piece of protective glass in front, and Charon sat behind it, tapping at a keyboard. Cyrus and the other admins stood behind him, and many grunts were standing in the area as well. Two rushed forwards and helped Charles get up.

"That's a really uncomfortable experience." Charles sighed, and was lead over to Charon as his six different PokeBalls appeared.

"Did you hear the explosion?" Cyrus asked excitedly.

"Yeah, did we cause that?" Charles asked, dropping his PokeBalls in his dizziness. Saturn, Mars and Jupiter all cheered and hugged each other, but Cyrus simply smiled and nodded. There was a suddenly bright flash, and Charles looked around. Grunts were rushing forwards to help Minerva and Roshonda, both of whom looked extremely dizzy.

"Are those grunts ready?" Charon asked. Roshonda simply nodded, and Charon grinned. He began tapping at the controls furiously, and a large plastic wall suddenly rose up from the ground, forming a barrier between the grunts and the machine.

"What's happening now?" Charles asked. Minerva and Roshonda moved next to him, grabbing their PokeBalls. Cyrus just simply pointed at the mat, and watched it intently. Roshonda looked very excited, but anyone's happiness at Team Galactic usually freaked him out, and Charles watched cautiously.

"It's time for things to go our way!" Charon shouted, and he pressed a large red button. The teleporter, which was identical to the one at the tower, began glowing, the pink light almost blinding. Blue electricity crackled a few feet above the mat, the noise seemingly hissing at all of them. More sparks appeared, and distant screams could be heard. Cyrus rubbed his hands together in delight, and Charles decided to take a step backwards. Than, from where the blue electricity was, there was a suddenly forceful explosion. Blood, body parts and metal fragments were blasted out, smacking into the plastic barrier. A blue orb landed on the ground with a soft thunk, while the teleporter caught on fire.

"Excellent!" Cyrus yelled, and the grunts all clapped and cheered.

"What the hell just happened, where are the grunts?" Charles asked. Charon rolled his eyes as the plastic barrier went down, and Mars, Saturn and Jupiter rushed towards the orb.

"That is the Adamant Orb from the statue of Dialga." The scientist explained irritably. "We were simply teleporting through space, not time travelling, so we figured that this powerful part of Time wouldn't appreciate going through Space, and we were right."

"So those grunts got sacrificed to bring this orb here?" Charles asked, and Charon nodded. Cyrus rolled his eyes and stepped between the two, staring down at Charles.

"Charles, it was necessary: if we had brought the Adamant Orb back here by car, than people could have easily stopped us." Cyrus explained. "Especially as I believe you encountered Sahara and Xavier, correct?" Charles nodded, and Cyrus simply smiling, his point proven.

"That detective guy, Lookey or whatever, was there as well, he kidnapped Charles and Minerva!" Roshonda exclaimed. Cyrus' eyes bulged, and he exchanged anxious looks with Charon. Charles smirked triumphantly to himself, and Cyrus raised an eyebrow.

"What exactly did he say, to either of you?" And the boss stared at Minerva as he said this. His assistant began shaking in fair, and Charles raised an eyebrow: why is she so scared, and why did Cyrus look at her, not him?

"I was unconscious, he knocked me out!" Minerva replied quickly. Cyrus' eyes narrowed, and Charles decided to save Minerva the bother.

"He only spoke to me, and he didn't really say that much." Charles replied quickly. Roshonda had no idea what was going on, so she whispered to Minerva and lead her over to get a drink to calm her down. Once the two left, Cyrus bent down so he was at Charles' level.

"Tell me the truth: what did he say?" He hissed. Charles just looked at him with a smile, glad that the cards were in his favour.

"You aren't telling me the whole truth, so why should I?" He replied, and then turned and headed towards the other two. Charles didn't want to play any of their weird, unrevealing games any more: he wanted to know the truth, and when he finally got the answers he deserved, than he'd do as they say.

Route 207

Vanessa awoke with a start.

Her head was throbbing, her mouth was burning, and she felt sore across her entire body. A burning piece of word was only a few feet away from her, along with what looked like a tyre. Sirens were wailing in the distance, and she had no clue why.

"Hello?" She whispered, and slowly began to get up. Vanessa coughed violently and spat onto what looked like carpet, and stared around. Flaming wood was every where, and sections of the carpet were burning as well. The Softail looked like it had been right next to the bomb, and Vanessa felt sad as she thought of the old motorbike.

"Vanessa, are you alright?" Sahara's voice sounded hoarsely from nearby, and she emerged out from underneath from what had been a desk. Vanessa smiled and moved towards her, and managed to see both Matthew and Xavier nearby: both bleeding slighty, but neither of them dead.

"That explosion…. I've never been involved in something so strong." Sahara whispered, and she flung her arms around Vanessa. Vanessa was surprised, having very rarely received hugs over the past few years, and she cautiously patted Sahara on the back. The two stared out into the valley: fires were still burning on many of the trees, but most of the black smoke was going, revealing huge chunks of the bridge laying like broken eggshells across the fields of ash. The two stared down, both of their minds drifting off, feeling nothing as they thought about how close they had just come to death.

"Chomp Gar Gar!" They turned at the first sound of movement: Cynthia's Garchomp was running over bricks, breaking them with his large feet. He moved towards Matthew and Xavier, lending them his fins to help them stand up.

"I think our bags are okay." Matthew mumbled, and checked his: it was a bit burnt, but nothing major. The others began checking their bags as Cynthia, Mira, Deidre and Arthur ran forwards. Cynthia rushed forwards and hugged Xavier, while Deidre and Arthur did the same with Sahara. The other three watched as these family members reconnected, all of them staring at the large route that had been completely destroyed.

"So close…. My life flashed before my eyes." Deidre whispered. Mira was shaking in fear, and Matthew put his arm around her.

"We all fell out of sidecar as it spun, but Cynthia sent her Garchomp and Altaria out and saved us before we fell." Mira whispered. "I'm not hurt at all, but this explosion is so… scary! How can you guys put up with those nasty people?"

"We don't." Vanessa replied, half smirking. "They are just… dickheads, I guess." She finished, and Mira chuckled. High above them there was a squawk, and they looked up as what looked like a cloud came diving towards them: Cynthia's Altaria stopped moving a metre above their heads and gestured towards Oreburgh. The flashing lights of the emergency vehicles were getting closer and brighter, while their sirens wailed constantly.

"Police…" Vanessa hissed. "We need to move."

"Why, don't want to be caught out for killing that man?" Arthur snapped. Vanessa looked angrily at him, and was about to reach into her bag but Sahara stepped forwards.

"It's right, use four should move, quickly." She said. "There are bound to be reporters, and if we get on film, Team Galactic will know they didn't kill us."

"How do you know they wanted to kill us?" Matthew asked, but Vanessa angrily shushed him.

"You four stay here and say you were passing by when the explosion happened, and you recognised Team Galactic as they came out in their Jeeps or something." Sahara explained. She gave her mother and great uncle another quick hug, before pulling an Ultra Ball back. "Take Seviper home, I think she'd rather enjoy playing in the backyard than deal with all of this Team Galactic drama." Deidre began tearing up, but she nodded and took the ball. Matthew and Xavier quickly rushed over to Cynthia, holding two PokeBalls.

"Milotic and Ponyta?" The Champion asked, and the two nodded. "Alright than, I'll take them home as soon as possible."

"If we're going, we need to go, now!" Vanessa shouted. Sahara and Matthew gave quick hugs to everyone, while Xavier waved goodbye. The four of them then turned and sprinted out of the ruined gatehouse. They turned right down Route 207, and began running as fast as possible towards one of the stone staircases. There was no sign of Draco or his Pokemon, and the rocks used in the attack had been reconnected to the cliff.

"We have such easy lives, don't we?" Sahara sighed. The four collapsed onto the staircases, and stared over as fire engines began speeding up the hills towards the disaster site. There were white flashes, and suddenly reporters were being teleported there, being held by Abras, Kadabras, and Vanessa recognised Clarisse Miller being held by a Xatu.

"Sahara, we may not have easy lives, but I'm perfectly fine with mine." Vanessa sighed, and stared around the route. This had been the place where she'd lost all her innocence, where she'd betrayed the only people that had cared for her, but formed a true friendship in the process.

"I'd rather be living in a retirement home than dealing with all of this." Matthew groaned.

"People have their own opinions on how to live their lives." Xavier pointed out.

"Exactly!" Vanessa said with a smile, and she lay down on the dusty ground. A drop of snow landed on her cheek, and Vanessa just smiled. Sahara beamed as well, and she moved up and lay next to her. They all stared up at the sky, wondering about the same things: why had Team Galactic tried to kill them, why had Rotom come to save them, and what would be their next horrific adventure? But there was one thing they all silently agreed on – they were glad to be alive… for now.


	16. Dusk, Part One

**Just stating that this story is split into two parts as it is two different but related storylines. Unlike The Unnatural Cycle, which was split up for easier viewing, "Dawn, Part Two" won't be out until March, so you'll have to wait until then to see what happens next ;) As usual, there is violence and bad language in this story, so turn away now if that upsets you**

**Dusk, Part One**

January 28th 2010

Route 207

It had only been a short while since the sun had disappeared from view, but the feeling of night was already settling in. The numerous cliffs and rock formations around began to cast huge daunting shadows over the area, making it seem darker than it should. The skies above showed a different world: the setting sun had cast fantastic colours across the canvas of blue. Golden yellows, fruitful oranges and candy floss pink were among the colours that were tying day into the night, and these peaceful, pleasant colours had set a calm across Sinnoh. People were heading home or getting ready to go out, whilst the same was happening with Pokemon. The entire region was quiet and peaceful, waiting for the night to roll in.

All except for one section of Route 207.

Following the dramatic explosion that had obliterated Route 206 and the cycling road, policemen, firemen, forensic teams and investigators were searching through the ash stricken land to find clues. Bridge sections were being cleared away to be tested, Pokemon bodies were respectfully cremated and the remains of the oil tankers were being carefully examined in order to see what had led to the blast. There were rumours flying around involving Team Galactic, but the police weren't confirming anything. But they were scouring the area, looking for any suspicious figures that could have been involved. Police cars and helicopters were moving around, searching for anyone and questioning everyone that they passed by. The investigation was beginning to die down, and as night fell the investigation wrapped up for the day.

However, the one noisy section was the only part of the route the police couldn't get to.

After another fight with Team Galactic, nearly been blown up and then being tossed through the air, Vanessa, Xavier, Matthew and Sahara had then rushed away from the scene, avoiding a confrontation with police. They were trapped in the area due to the constant police surveillance and had been forced to find somewhere to lay low. With assistance from Staraptor, Murkrow and Beautifly, they were able to find a small cave hidden away in the cliffs of the route. The four hid out during the day, training their Pokémon up, and then battled at night as they shook off their pains of sitting down all day. And tonight was no different.

"Vacuum Wave on Smash."

"Fire Punch Beautifly now!"

"Dig underground, quickly!"

"Use Aerial Ace on Monferno!"

A double battle was definitely keeping the route awake. Tucked away behind a large rock formation, Vanessa and Xavier were taking on Matthew and Sahara in a training battle. The Pokémon that lived in the area, ranging from rock types like Geodude and Nosepass to Pokémon like Ponyta that had fled from the Cycling Road before the explosion. They had been enjoying watching the new trainers, and today's double battle was no different. They were halfway through the battle, and Sahara and Matthew were getting tired.

"Hera!" Xavier's Heracross spun his arms around, careful not to smash into Vanessa's Monferno standing next to him. Before Sahara's Onix Smash or Matthew's Beautifly could move, a powerful blast of vacuum energy was shot out from Heracross' arms. It struck Smash in the middle, causing him to go flying backwards and smash into the cliffs. Sahara cursed as Smash collapsed into a pile, panting furiously.

" Beautifly Beaut!" Beautifly cried, flying forwards in order to avenge her teammate. Her wings glowed white and extended and she dived down like a bullet towards Monferno. The fire monkey ran forwards, his left fist becoming engulfed in fire. Beautifly slashed across his chest, the flying attack damaging the fighting side of Monferno.

"FERNOOOO!" He shouted, and punched her with his fiery fist before she had time to fly away. The force and the fire sent her toppling back towards the cliffs, her wings catching fire from the burn. Matthew gasped in horror as flames wrapped around Beautifly, and she too collapsed at the bottom of the rocks.

"This is perfect, we can use Rock Slide now!" Vanessa said with a wicked smile. Xavier nodded, and Heracross and Monferno smiled at each other.

"Use Night Slash on Smash," Xavier called, and Sahara and Matthew exchanged horrified looks.

"Errr... String Shot on them!" Matthew said nervously.

"Come on Smash, try and use AncientPower on Heracross!" Sahara shouted. But Smash was looking close to unconsciousness, and Beautifly couldn't even hover above the ground. Monferno's fists glowed a golden brown and Heracross dived down as energy shot out. Geodude's watching the battle from the cliffs ran backwards as rocks suddenly came flying off. Matthew and Sahara screamed and ran out of the way, the onslaught of rocks coming pouring down on their Pokémon. Vanessa and Xavier covered their faces as a strong burst of dust came towards them. It took a few moments for it to settle, and then everyone looked to see what had happened. Heracross' right arm turned black, ready to initiate the Dark type attack, but the Rock Slide had been too powerful: Beautifly was completely buried while Smash's unconscious head was only just poking out.

"Booyah!" Vanessa boomed, and she gave Xavier a quick hug, who just stared at her quizzically. "Great job you two!" And she gave another hug to Monferno and Heracross, who were smiling happily. Sahara and Matthew sighed and brought their unconscious Pokémon back.

"Good try." Sahara whispered.

"We'll get them next time." Matthew added, and the two climbed over the rocks which were already moving back to be part of the cliffs. Vanessa and Xavier brought their Pokémon back, and the four stood there for a few moments, not sure what to say. They rubbed their arms, legs and backs, which were still sore following the fuel tank explosion, and the constant training and sleeping on the hard ground wasn't helping their injuries progress.

"So, I think we may need some more countering moves." Sahara said, breaking the silence. The only noise was coming from the spectating Pokémon turning around and heading back to their homes for the night. The rocks had fully rejoined the cliff walls, and they now had the large dusty pathway in front of them.

"Yes, we should work on that tomorrow." Vanessa added. Today she was wearing what appeared to be a blue dress with large rock-shaped ruffles on her right side. She, Sahara and Matthew exchanged nervous, uncertain looks as they had no idea what to say to each other. Things had been a bit awkward between them all following the explosion: Matthew and Sahara were rather worried after Vanessa had forced them to flee from the police and after she had broken down on the bridge, and the fiery redhead didn't want to explain things to them.

"I might go and sleep." Xavier said suddenly. He never got worried about their emotions and simply got on with his own thing. His Pokémon seemed to be progressing rather well, managing to defeat Vanessa's experienced Pokémon on several occasions.

"Yes, I think some sleep would do us some good!" Sahara said with a forced smile. Vanessa shrugged, and the four headed back towards their cave. Their feet echoed in the tight in area, clouds of dust rising up around them. Xavier was leading the wall, his head away as he thought about over things. Matthew and Sahara had been having private discussions about Vanessa's dramatic collapse and the explosion, something they thought the redhead had noticed as she was walking behind them all, clearly thinking deeply. Sahara had told Matthew not to question her, but the coordinator was getting tired of the tension and wanted to confront it.

"You know what I think," Matthew said suddenly, and Sahara's eyes bulged out.

"We don't know and we don't care." Vanessa said coldly, her sand coloured high heels making the most noise of them all. Matthew turned back and glared at her, ignoring Sahara's horrified look.

"I think that we have been spending a lot of time together lately, which means we've gotten to know each other a lot better." He continued as they reached their small cave, which just had their bags and some sleeping bags out. "So, due to this, I think we should sit down and sort out any issues or problems or secrets we have!"

"Real subtle." Sahara hissed and grabbed her bag angrily. She noticed that Vanessa had picked up her bag, and was ready to use hers for protection as she reached for the familiar handle of her deadly umbrella. Vanessa did pull it out, but she turned and pointed at the sky.

"I think we have company." She said, and she pressed a button. Small rubber balls shot out of the tip, presumably flying into the sky. But they all watched in shock as the balls paused in mid air, hitting something metallic, and came bouncing back towards them.

"I heard a noise while we were walking, and hearing noises when something doesn't appear to be there isn't very good." Vanessa said gravely. Lots of dust and small rocks were being sent into the air, and a jet engine sort of noise was becoming very audible.

"It must be an invisible plane!" Matthew exclaimed. As the burst of wind got stronger and stronger, Vanessa reached into her bag and pulled a PokeBall out. With a flash, her Luxio appeared in front of them, his tail crackling with electricity.

"Luxi Luxi!" He said happily, though shut his eyes to avoid the dust.

"Fire your strongest Spark into the air!" Vanessa ordered. Luxio nodded, and he quickly formed a ball of sparks. The others watched as it soared up into the sky, crackling with energy. The strong winds didn't pass it back, and they saw it explode as it hit the invisible plane. Suddenly, the sky appeared to be full of electrical energy. Matthew and Sahara screamed, but Vanessa just smiled proudly. The electrical energy suddenly disappeared, and there was a brief flash like a hologram before the plane suddenly appeared before them.

"Oh my god!" Sahara gasped, staring at the gigantic plane. It was a perfect circular structure, made entirely out of metal and glass. It was reasonably slim, with large jet engines at the back to push it forwards and several jet engines allowing it to float into the air were built into the bottom. It looked sleek and new, as if it had only been built very recently.

"My mother has a vacuum cleaner that looks just like that." Xavier said as they watched the airship descended. Matthew rolled his eyes, but Vanessa and Sahara had to admit it looked like a modern, self-moving vacuum cleaner. The sleek and silver airship had cut most of its power now, and dozens of metal poles appeared as it began to reach the bottom of the valley. It managed to just fit inside the cliffs, something Vanessa couldn't help wonder if it had been designed to do just that. There was silence for a few moments, and the four used this time to crawl on top of a boulder so they got a better view.

"Something's getting off!" Matthew whispered, and they all watched as a metal gangplank slid out of the ship and hit the dusty path, the clang echoing across the area. Many of the Pokemon that had been watching the battle came out to see what was going on, and the four knew that there were as curious as they were to see who was onboard.

A white shoe appeared out of the ship, followed quickly by a pair of black pants, and soon a solitary man in a very strange outfit, with similarly strange blue hair, began walking down the gangplank.

"Who is that person? He looks familiar for reason." Sahara whispered. The man stood in front of the large opening that lead into Mt Coronet, staring into the darkness very seriously. He than turned around and nodded, and Sahara and Matthew gasped as dozens of Team Galactic Grunts burst out of the airship.

"Of course, it has to be them!" Matthew said, looking petrified. Sahara reached into her pocket and pulled a PokeBall out: a few second later, Aqua had formed behind her, waiting his orders. Luxio jumped up onto the rock, wondering what everyone was staring at, and turned to Vanessa curiously. His trainer was staring angrily down at the scene, watching furiously as the more people headed down the gangplank.

"The blue haired man was at Lake Verity, do you remember Matthew?" Xavier asked, and Matthew nodded as he vaguely remembered the man shoving them out of the way. Sahara suddenly froze as she too remembered the man, a very bad memory rushing back to her.

"He is some high up member of Team Galactic, he has to be." She whispered. "He was the one that abducted Charles." As if he had heard her, Sahara felt a tear form in her eye as Charles came out of the airship, his handsome face visible from up here.

"I don't know his name, he might be that Cyrus person I've heard mentioned a few times." Xavier suggested. "But I do see Mars and Roshonda…"

"I can see Jupiter, Saturn and Charon as well." Matthew added. Team Galactic seemed to be having some sort of serious discussion, with the blue haired man standing with the other admins and addressing all the grunts. Many Pokemon began to flee as a hoard of Zubats and Golbats rose into the sky. The four all watched as the blue haired man sent grunts to guard the ship, and than he took a small group of them, including Charles and Roshonda, into the cave with the other admins. As soon as he had entered, Vanessa pulled her umbrella out and quickly activated her sword.

"Come on Luxio." She said, and jumped up onto the rock.

"VANESSA, what are you doing!" Sahara exclaimed. Vanessa held her sword up and shrugged.

"They nearly blew us up intentionally, so I think that they deserve to die." She replied. Xavier nodded, and there was a brief flash as his Drifloon materialized in front of them all. "Good man Xavier!" Vanessa called, and helped him climb up onto the rock. Sahara and Matthew looked shocked: Vanessa had an impulsive nature, but Xavier always did the smarter option.

"It does seem logical to get revenge on them in some manner." Xavier explained, as if reading their minds. "And if we defeat the grunts, we can access their ship and collect data to discover what they are doing, or possibly call the local police force." Sahara and Matthew were stunned by this, and even Vanessa looked a bit surprised.

"That was totally what I was planning," She said with a forced smile. "Now, let's go!"

"You can't go, you have no plan and only one weapon!" Matthew shrieked.

"Correction, I have four Pokemon and she has five." Xavier said quickly, and Matthew's jaw practically fell off in shock: had Xavier just referred to Pokemon as weapons? Matthew had never viewed his Pokemon as anything other than companions and his aides in battle. He looked around and was stunned that Sahara didn't appear to be at all shocked by this statement. Vanessa looked around at them all and shrugged.

"I'm going, you lot can follow if you want, but don't try and stop me." And with that, Vanessa and Luxio jumped off the boulder and began racing towards the airship. Xavier followed after as well, and Drifloon sped ahead.

"FLOOOOOON!" She cried as a burst of Icy Wind issued from inside her, blasting several nearby Zubat. Sahara sighed and looked at Aqua, who was looking ready to fight.

"Zel Flo?" He said, and Sahara nodded with yet another sigh.

"Sorry Matthew, but it does seem right." She said, and she and Aqua jumped up and disappeared over the boulder. Matthew was still so stunned about what Xavier had said that he had no idea what to do. But a cold wind whistled past, and Matthew decided he didn't want to be stuck here on his own.

"Here goes nothing," he sighed, grabbing his bag and one of his PokeBalls and heading off into the battle.

Mt Coronet- Route 207 Entrance

Even by entering just one section, you could tell Mt Coronet was huge.

This simple section of the mountain caves was meant to be a direct route from Route 207 to Route 208, but there was just so much in between the two cave entrances. It was the southern-most and lowest chamber of the mountain, meaning it was closer to the sea level. Due to this, several sections of the chamber will covered in water, making deep, rocky pools that provided a hassle for many new trainers. Many jagged rocks sprouted out of the ground, while other rocks and boulders looked comfortable enough to sit on. Rock formations, different sections of earths, layers of ground and many miniature cliffs were all over the place, with a huge formation in the middle, providing the fastest, safest way from Route 207 to 208. At the very corner of the chamber, a short climb up a rocky slope lead to a stony staircase heading up further into the mountain. It was a very quiet part of the mountain, with the usual cave dwelling Pokemon hiding in the shadows to surprise passing trainers, but it was very calm except for that.

That was about to change.

"Isn't the mountain just so… wonderful… magical… magnificent?"

Cyrus was leading Team Galactic into the chamber, a broad grin upon his face. He was the happiest he had been in weeks, and many of the grunts were a bit unnerved by his new peppy attitude. He was walking grandly through the dark cave, kicking dust into the faces of Geodudes to keep them at bay. Behind him, Saturn, Mars and Jupiter were marching behind him, each of them cradling their weapon of choice. Charon and Minerva were carrying several pieces of equipment, struggling with the weight of one machine, while Draco was ushering the grunts behind him, who were not sharing their bosses enthusiasm for being inside this chamber.

"It's a bit odd, isn't it, Cyrus being this happy?" Roshonda mumbled to Charles as they walked along the dusty chamber. But Charles' head was away in the clouds, and he jolted slightly at the sound of her voice.

"What?... Oh, yeah, sure." He replied with a nod, but Roshonda wasn't satisfied with his answer.

"What is wrong with you?" She asked angrily. "You have been distant for the past few days. Is something wrong? Are you upset about those slime getting blown up?" Charles looked angrily at her, still a bit tender on the subject of the Cycling Road explosion. He was about to say something, but they felt the presence of someone else and turned.

"Will you two be quiet?" Draco snarled, holding us wrist contraption up threateningly. Charles and Roshonda nodded, and they kept their mouths shut and stood up straight. Draco nodded and went back to usher the other grunts, including the beautiful Addison, into order as well. They had walked up to the large formation in the middle of the cave, and Cyrus had climbed up the stony staircase to talk to them all.

"What happened two days again was just one of the many operations we will be doing over the next few weeks." The boss boomed, and the admins all nodded whilst smiling wickedly. "Today, we begin a fresh. We had the Adamant Orb in our possession now, and those irritable Dex Holders are gone!" There was a cheer from the crowd, and Charles forced a smile and clapped his hands along with the others. But, as he did so, he noticed Charon twitching uncomfortably. The scientist had put the machine he was carrying down, but was now twisting his hands around what appeared to be a purple PokeBall, staring at it guiltily.

_Why does he have a Master Ball? _Charles wondered, having owned one himself in order to hold Lugia. He couldn't dwell on it longer as Cyrus had signalled with his hands, calling for silence.

"There will time for more celebrating when we leave here at dusk, but for now, we need to focus on finding something… something very important, a key part in my final plan!" Cyrus said dramatically, and everyone suddenly looked very tense. "Tonight, the admins and Draco will be searching for the entrance to this place. It may take us a while to find it, so I want the two best grunts to go and search for it as well." Everyone looked tense now, each of the grunts wanting to go on this prestigious mission. "I have chosen Charles and Roshonda to search for it. They have proven their loyalty, strength and determination, so I'm sure they'll do well." Roshonda squealed with delight: she loved getting recognised like this. She gave Charles a huge hug, and the teenager forced and smile and hugged her back. He looked up at Cyrus, wondering what the boss was planning. The middle aged man smiled down at Charles, his eyes full of a joyous gleam. Was Cyrus worried about what Charles suspected or knew? Was he trying to distract his mind from the bigger picture? Charles wasn't sure, and knew that he probably wouldn't know… for now. Cyrus seemed to have finished his talk, because the admins were suddenly moving.

"Alright then, let's get going!" Mars said happily. She interlocked arms with Draco, who suddenly blushed, and than threw her whip over her arm. Saturn and Jupiter silently walked ahead of them, but the two were soon power walking out of sight, disappearing into the darkness, before Mars skipped after them with Draco. Charles stared after them, but became distracted as he heard a voice.

"Here you two go." Minerva said, not looking too enthusiastic. She passed them a map with a route highlighted in red and two walkie talkies. "Just follow the red path: go up the staircase like the others, but turn left when you get up a floor and follow the way the path dictates. Use the walkie talkie to communicate with us and the others."

"Alright!" Roshonda said happily, snatching all three things up. Charles forced another smile, and Minerva nodded before turning around and helping Charon heave the heavy metal contraption up the stairs. Cyrus didn't help them, as he was already heading up the rocky staircase towards the top of the formation. The other grunts all followed up, glaring at Charles and Roshonda as they past.

"Ha, look at that look on Addison's face!" Roshonda laughed. "It'll show that bitch for showing me up the other day!" Charles managed a true smirk this time, pleased that the snobbish Addison was annoyed. Roshonda grabbed his arm and began pulling him.

"So we're going now then?" Charles asked, grabbing the map and examining where they were going. Roshonda just smiled and winked.

"If you want to be the one calling the shots, you'd better catch me then!" She giggled, and sprinted off into the darkness. Charles just sighed: if he wanted to keep his appearances and disguise his new found secrets, it seemed he would have to play alone. He ran off after her, unhitching a PokeBall from his pocket as he ran.

"I really don't like that bitch."

Staring in from outside of the cave, Sahara did her best to not tear up as she saw Charles running after Roshonda. He probably thought (once again) that she had died, and might not even care about her anymore. Despite his tip off about Vanessa's fate, Sahara was struggling to forgive him.

"Don't worry about him, you should go after Mars and Draco." Vanessa appeared behind her, her blood stained sword sliding back inside the umbrella. Aqua, Luxio, Monferno followed them, followed by a very calm Xavier and Drifloon and a rather shocked Matthew, who was now carrying Piplup. Vanessa and Xavier had moved swiftly: Drifloon and Luxio had moved swiftly in defeating the Zubat and Golbat, while Vanessa quickly incapacitated half of the grunts. Monferno's Mach Punch was aided by Aqua's Aqua Jet in stop the rest of the Pokemon and grunts, but the attacks caused the airship to lock down into security mode. They had no choice but to spy on Team Galactic's plans, and Vanessa had quickly concocted her own one.

"Why do I have to chase after Saturn and Jupiter, why can't you?" Matthew complained grouchily, but quickly regretted it once he remembered: Jupiter was Vanessa's malicious cousin and Saturn had shot Vanessa at the Eterna Galactic Headquarters. The explosion had aggravated the injury, and Vanessa didn't like having to think about either of them.

"Xavier, are you fine with going after Charles and Roshonda?" Vanessa asked. Xavier nodded, and Drifloon floated around happily at the chance for adventure. "Alright then, and your fine as well Sahara?" Sahara merely shrugged, and Aqua looked ready to fight.

"I really think we need a bit more of an organised plan…" Matthew protested.

"Pip Pip! Piplup agreed. Vanessa just shot him another foul look as she grabbed her umbrella.

"Are the Pokemon all ready?" Cries of 'Zel', 'Flooon', 'Luxi' and 'Mon Mon' came in response. Matthew looked nervously at Piplup, who sighed and shrugged back at him. "Are all the people ready?"

"Why not…" Sahara mumbled, while Xavier very simply nodded again. Piplup jumped onto the ground behind the other Pokemon, who all smiled warmly at her.

"Alright then: Rock Slide and Swift!" Vanessa shouted as her sword came back out, spotless and shiny once more.

"Combine Will-o-Wisp with Swift." Xavier ordered.

"Aqua Jet," Sahara said and grabbed onto Aqua's fins.

"Water Pulse, I gues…" Matthew mumbled, and they all sprinted into action. Two grunts standing guard cried out as Vanessa appeared, slashing across their chests and causing blood to pour over their uniforms. Monferno followed behind his trainer, his fists glowing brown once again.

"MOOOON!" He shouted and punched the ground angrily. Up on top of the rock formation, Charon, Minerva, Addison and several other grunts had joined Cyrus when they heard a loud rumble.

"What's going on now?" Charon snapped. Cyrus, who had been staring thoughtfully off into space, turned around at the sound of the rumbling. Suddenly, Addison screamed as huge jagged rocks fell from the sky. Cyrus dived down, pulling a PokeBall out as he fell. No one noticed through the thick cloud of dust as the other grunts fell: Aqua, engulfed in water and holding onto Sahara, cleared a path by blasting them aside, whilst Drifloon's balls of blue and purple flame formed with the glowing stars Luxio fired from his tail. A bright explosion of fire allowed Xavier and Matthew to rush off into the darkness, Piplup fired a BubbleBeam to blast some Geodude from their path.

"Alright boys, it's time for us to take action." Vanessa said to Monferno and Luxio, both of whom just nodded. Vanessa nodded at them, and they ran forwards through the settling dust. The rocks were already moving back to rejoin the cave roof, but Vanessa led her Pokemon in a skilful jump up onto one of them. They leapt dramatically up onto the rock formation, landing skilfully and moving into threatening positions.

"So, are you lot ready to fight?" Vanessa said, hoping to sound confidently chirpy, but her voice couldn't help come out very bitter. The dust began to settle, and a number of coughs and growls came in. Two grunts lay bleeding due to being crushed by the rocks, but everyone else looked, unfortunately, safe. Charon's Bronzong had been released, providing a psychic barrier over them all: a large metal machine was left undamaged, and Charon, Minerva, Addison and two other grunts were safe. Cyrus had been struck by the edge of a rock, tearing his jacket, but looked more annoyed than injured as he slowly got up, holding a PokeBall that he had been about to use.

"Who are you?" Addison huffed, brushing dust out of her hair. Cyrus stood up straight, brushing dust off himself, and than smiled broadly at Vanessa. Charon and Minerva exchanged looks as well, though Minerva seemed a bit more surprised than the other two.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Vanessa Bac-" He began, but Vanessa raised her umbrella angrily.

"Don't say my name!" Vanessa snarled, and Monferno and Luxio nodded. "I don't know who you are, but that explosion killed my friends!" She forced a sob at this point, adding to perfectly to her act. "You seem to be in charge here, but that doesn't mean you can act so cocky! I will destroy you!" Cyrus' eyes narrowed: he had been annoyed to see Vanessa here, but was pleased to know the other three were dead. But he definitely didn't like being insulted.

"So, you think you are just going to kill me?" He asked, trying to keep his cool. "Petty revenge won't bring back your friends!" Vanessa smirked, glancing down at Monferno and Luxio.

"I don't it to be that easy: how would that satisfy my craving for blood?" She chuckled. "I want a four on four double battle. As soon as I prove to this people how worthless you are, and when you are left appalled by your dramatic defeat, I will gladly put my sword, slowly… so slowly, through your chest and kill you." Minerva and Addison both looked shocked, and Cyrus had to struggle to keep his shock at bay: all five of his Pokemon were weak to electric and fire, except for Houndoom. He could use his fiery dog to aide him at first, but the Luxio would prove troublesome. But if he backed down, he would look terribly weak in front of his team: how would they obey him after that?

"So, what's it going to be, Mr…?" Vanessa asked, twirling her umbrella.

"The name is Cyrus, and I graciously accept your challenge." Cyrus replied, giving a mocking bow. "Don't think you will be able to win though, my Pokemon are very capable of defeating a considerably new trainer." Vanessa just smirked, and Monferno and Luxio moved forwards, looking determined to stick up for their trainer.

"Careful Cyrus!" Minerva warned as she and the grunts moved aside. Charon said nothing, focusing solely on his large rather bland looking machine. Cyrus nodded at his secretary, and than pulled a second PokeBall out of his pocket. He had a way to outsmart Vanessa and get past the type advantage: he had been training for this ever since Charles had so narrowly defeated him.

He just hoped it work.

It didn't take long for the noises in the Southern Chamber to fade away, and soon Charles and Roshonda were left roaming Mt Coronet on their own. Saturn and Jupiter had headed downstairs, while Mars and Roshonda were investigating small caves. This left the two to head, silently and alone, upwards and onwards. They past Geodude, Zubat, Chingling and roaming Snover, avoided large boulders, broken earth and jagged rocks, and slowly got tired yet colder in the frosty mountain area.

"Finally, a staircase!" Roshonda puffed after they had been walking for a solid fifteen minutes, moving uphill all the way. Charles was fitter than her, so he extended a hand and helped her get up the rocky, imperfect staircase. Roshonda was grasping back a bit tighter than Charles would have liked, so he was quick to pull away in order to grasp a small torch as he examined the map. He did find Roshonda rather attractive, but he couldn't go there with her at all…

He still dreamt about Lyla's look of terror as he had been sucked away into the time-space continuum, and he wasn't sure what had happened to her. With all this stuff Looker had put into his head, Charles had discovered some new found hope: what if he was able to harness Dialga, the lord of time, and go back and save Lyla from Giovanni? Maybe than Charles would never end up in this mess… never joining Team Galactic… never doing such nasty deeds… never meeting Sahara.

_No, don't think about her! _Charles told himself as a tear welled up. He had sent Sahara to the Cycling Road in order to save Vanessa, but what if the two girls and Xavier hadn't made it out in time? What if they got held up and killed in the explosion? It would all be Charles' fault, and he couldn't live with himself if he had caused Sahara to die…

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Roshonda's sharp tongue snapped as she snatched the map and torch from his still body. She must have noticed Charles' desperation to let go of her hand, as she was now wearing a nasty scowl and seemed irritated that he had drifted off.

"Sorry, I just have a lot on my mind." Charles replied, wiping his eyes. The two examined the map by torchlight: the red line was leading them through a narrow corridor, past a rather cliffy section right in front of them, past a raised section of earth and down into an open section, where they would go up a staircase and across a bridge.

"This shouldn't be too hard to navigate!" Charles said chirpily, trying to ease the tension. Roshonda merely shrugged and they began to move forwards. The raised section made the path ahead very narrow, so things quickly became darker and more claustrophobic as soon as they headed in. Charles had been going to send Ampharos out, but Roshonda's torch had provided a substantial amount of light for the cave. But due to th very cramped atmosphere, the torch wasn't going to give Charles enough light to see ahead.

"I'm going to send Ampharos out, give us a bit more light to see by." Charles explained as he fetched around his pockets for her PokeBall. He was struggling to tell the difference between the different ones, and needed light to be able to see the tiny markings symbolizing which Pokemon was inside.

"Bugger, I can't see. Would you cast some light my way please?" Charles asked. However, no beam of torchlight came his way. "Roshonda?" He said curiously and looked up. Roshonda was slowly turning around, her eyes blurry with tears and a furious look on her face. Charles nearly dropped the PokeBalls he had pulled out in surprise: what had brought this on?

"So, not even my torch is good enough for the great Charles Golden!" Roshonda hissed before Charles could ask what was wrong. "You won't tell me what's wrong, you won't hold my hand! Are we even friends, Charles, because lately you've been treating me like scum on your shoes!"

"What! I have not!" Charles protested. "Of course we're friends, it's just…. It's too complicated to explain…" Roshonda growled and slapped him hard across the face, leaving him with a stinging face and in a lot of pain. Charles bent over as he clutched his face in pain, and that was when he noticed it: the floor behind Roshonda was beginning to glow blue.

"Don't lie to me, you bastard!" Roshonda shouted, not noticing the strange blue bubbling happening behind her. "I know why you aren't talking to me. You've fallen in love with that Sahara girl, haven't you!"

"Roshonda, look out!" Charles exclaimed as blue water began to rise from the ground.

"ANSWER THE QUESTION!" Roshonda shouted, and she kicked Charles in the shin in her rage. He cried out and toppled over, his PokeBalls rolling across the dark cave. As he lay on the ground, Charles looked up just as the water formed into a familiar shape.

_I really wouldn't make so much if I was you. _Roshonda turned around and went to scream, but it caught in her throat as Xavier's Lapras' eyes turned a vivid pink: the Psychic attack formed around Roshonda's throat, halting the scream and making the Galactic Grunt gasp for breath as she was raised up into the air. Charles went to grab one of his PokeBalls, but Lapras looked down at him, smirking.

_If you send a Pokemon out, I can easily end this right now. _The icy Pokemon said telepathically, and Charles reluctantly withdrew his hand, avoiding the angry look Roshonda was giving her as she gasped for breath. He had no idea how the psychic Lapras was here, but we even more stunned when the sound of footsteps. Charles turned around as Xavier appeared at the end of the rocky corridor, Grotle and Drifloon following him, all looking unharmed.

"Earth Power." Xavier commanded, and Grotle nodded obediently. His front claws turned a light brown, and the grass type got up onto his hind legs.

"GROOOT!" He shouted, and smashed his claws against the ground. Golden energy suddenly burst through cracks that had formed in the ground, and Charles realised it was a threat to keep him from his PokeBalls.

"What the hell is going on?" Charles shouted as he wobbled on the glowing, broken ground. "How the hell are you still alive?" Lapras smirked as Xavier's face twisted in his slightly confused state.

"Why wouldn't I be alive?" He replied quizzically. Charles wasn't sure exactly what to say, but he pretended to be thinking of a plan as Xavier and his Pokemon moved forwards. If Xavier was alive, was there a chance Sahara was as well? She had rode with him on his Ponyta in order tog et to the Cycling Road, so maybe the two had managed to escape just before the explosion. Xavier didn't appear to be injured, but it was so dark Charles couldn't go surely on that.

"I thought you lot had been killed by the explosion!" Charles said, trying not to look at the struggling Roshonda. "What happened to Vanessa and Sahara, are they alright?" Xavier didn't answer the question as he moved forwards, suddenly getting hit by the golden light: there was a large bruise on his face and he had several cuts on his hands.

_He is trying to distract us, most likely. _Lapras growled. _I imagine he has some secret trick up his sleeve: don't fall for it Xavier! _Her trainer stopped moving and nodded, taking the aged Pokemon's advice.

"Floon Drif Floon Floooon!" Drifloon said and flew down past Charles, picking up each of his PokeBalls that had fallen onto the ground.

"Do you have anything else on you?" Xavier asked as Drifloon hovered back. Charles decided to pass the map over, but he quickly glanced over at Roshonda. She had tucked the torch into her pocket, one of her hands still clamped onto it in case it was needed.

"That's all, they don't supply us with very much!" Charles said, forcing a laugh. Xavier just nodded, and he examined the PokeBalls and map, Grotle and Drifloon eyeing Charles suspiciously.

"We're going the wrong way! My god, this is just like our first bloody honeymoon!"

Everyone froze slightly at the sound of voices coming behind Lapras. Xavier and Charles turned as another beam of light came their way, two figures illuminated by it.

"We aren't going the wrong way! I took the right bridge and we're going the same way as the way map says!" A male voice growled, joining the angry female voice coming from the same place.

_Hang on a minute…. _Lapras thought, and she turned around curiously. Roshonda grasped the torch in her pocket more tightly, waiting to see if Lapras would turn back around. The two figures were getting closer, unaware of the scene in front of them, and the light was beginning to light them up: a long green travelling cloak around the male's brown trousers, an exquisitely tailored purple coat covering the women's designer boots.

"This isn't the right way, this passageway is far too narrow!" The woman shouted, and Charles was left puzzled as her voice echoed: it sounded so familiar, like he knew who the woman was.

_Oh joy… _Lapras snapped, and suddenly the footsteps stopped. The man raised the torch up, shining it in all of their faces. The torchlight and the golden Earth Power was illuminating the two as well, and Charles and Roshonda both looked shocked as they recognised them: the woman they had met but the man was internationally known.

"Hello Mother, Hello Father." Xavier said simply, and Lady Carolina gasped dramatically, dropping the map in her shock.

"Xavier, what are you doing here!" She wailed, and went to run forwards. However, she froze as she surveyed the scene: Lapras using Psychic to hold Roshonda further into the sky, Charles wobbling on the ground as Grotle concentrated on keeping the Earth Power in place, and Xavier holding the map whilst Drifloon juggled the PokeBalls, completely ignoring the tense scene before them.

"I know these two, they work for Team Galactic!" Carolina gasped, pointing at the two. "Palmer, they are the two that led to our boat being destroyed!"

"Oh, really now?" Palmer growled, the Tower Tycoon pulling his PokeBalls out as he walked angrily forwards. "That boat cost us a lot of money, and now it is completely destroyed! I have a right mind to teach you two a valuable lesson about messing with powerful trainers!"

_HA! _Lapras laughed in their heads. _Palmer, I've met Magikarp that are tougher than your Pokemon! How you managed to get the tycoon job I have no idea…_

"Now wait just one minute!" Palmer said angrily. Lapras turned to face him, and smirked as he pulled out an Ultra Ball, holding it threateningly in her face. Xavier was focused on his parents, and Charles was intrigued by Lapras undermining this powerful trainer that he barely noticed Roshonda pulling the torch out of her pocket.

"Grotle Grot!" Grot exclaimed, the grass type noticing as Roshonda raised her arm up. Lapras turned just as Roshonda threw it: the torch spun threw the air and smashed Lapras between the eyes before she could stop it. The Transport Pokemon shut her eyes in the pain, instantly stopping the Psychic connection holding Roshonda up. As she began to fall back towards the ground, Roshonda threw her four PokeBalls across the area. Two of them soared over Carolina's head, causing her to shout out.

"CHARLES, GET YOUR POKEMON!" Roshonda shouted as she landed in a heap on the cracked ground. Charles nodded and turned, without thinking, and jumped towards them. Drifloon's eyes bulged as Charles grabbed onto her, his PokeBalls spilling onto the ground.

"Leave Drifloon alone!" Xavier said, his voice filled with a sudden rage as Drifloon smacked into the ground. Charles threw a random PokeBall behind him as Roshonda's began to form, seconds before Xavier aimed a kick that narrowly avoided his stomach.

"GROT GROTLE TILL!" Grotle roared, and his claws averted back to their normal colours: there was a scream as a blast of golden light lit the rock corridor up dramatically, and earth was sent flying everywhere. Xavier and Charles were blown backwards, the roar of several Pokemon filling the air around them as they fell.

Several floors below, Sahara was walking slowly through a very dark, quiet tunnel. She had retreated Aqua and brought Nutty back out, using Flash in order to guide the way. Stalagmites and stalactites were very frequent in the lower caves, and Sahara couldn't help but think of them as natural jail bars, trapping her inside this awful cave.

"It's freezing down here!" Sahara muttered, and she wrapped her coat around herself tighter. Nutty nodded, her glowing body showing patches of ice surrounding them. "Do you want to get inside, I don't want you to freeze."

"Pachirisu Pachi!" The little Pachirisu wailed and rushed forwards, scuttling up Sahara's leg and leaping into a gap at the top of the coat. Sahara laughed as her coat suddenly glowed: there was less light now, but there was enough for Sahara to continue going ahead. They continued to walk in silence, listening out for sounds of Draco and Mars. Sahara was pleased she hadn't gone after Charles: she didn't think she could handle seeing him.

Sahara was struggling with her feelings for him. She had fallen for him since he literally fallen into her life, and the two had made a quick connection. When he was kidnapped, Sahara had felt crushed. When he pushed her into the turbine, she felt worse. Had Team Galactic morphed him into another one of their foul little minions? Was Charles the same boy she had fallen for: kind, sweet, friendly, longing to return home. He may have warned them about Vanessa's possible death, but that had nearly led to her being blown up again. Sahara just wanted to get him alone and find out what was really going on in his head….

"Risu Pach!" Nutty's voice snapped Sahara out of her thought: the Pachirisu was jabbering quietly and pointing forwards. Sahara walked cautiously forwards as Nutty stopped her Flash, and she was able to see dim light coming from a cavern entrance, accompanied by soft moaning.

"It must be them!" Sahara whispered, and she pulled a PokeBall out of her pocket. "Now!" She hissed into the empty capsule, before peering inside. She was appalled by what she witnessing, but couldn't bare to look away.

Mars had Draco up against the cave wall, kissing each other passionately: on the lips, neck, all over their upper body. Draco's trench coat was lying discarded on the floor, revealing a simple black singlet and track pants that were already around his knees. Mars had unzipped her dress and pulled it down, showing off her slender figure and a see through black bra. Sahara had never seen something like this before: it was like two pale Octillery making out, their large lips glued together and their arms intertwined as they felt up every part of their bodies.

"We should be looking for the pillar." Draco mumbled as he came up for air, leaving Mars to bite the skin around his shoulder. She gave a high pitched laugh at this and tilted her head backwards, thrusting her breast forwards as she did so.

"There is plenty of time for that silly thing, this won't take long…" Mars whispered and then laughed shrilly again. Using her long, sharp nails, she tore his singlet off, revealing his pale, hairless chest. Mars then flipped Draco around and tore the torn black fabric off his back, revealing several marks there. She grabbed her long leather whip from the ground with one hand and held Draco against the wall with the other.

"Now, let's see how you like this!" Mars cackled and readied to strike his back. Sahara and Nutty shut their eyes and looked away, the twisted foreplay not something they wanted to see.

"Hurry up!" Sahara cried desperately into her PokeBall. The PokeBall seemed to growl in response, and a loud rumbling sound echoed from around them. Sahara peered back around as Mars lowered her whip and let go of Draco, staring around in fright.

"I don't like this…" She whimpered. Draco pressed several buttons on his metal wristband, grabbing his trench coat in order to hide his body. Suddenly, the rocky wall beside them was blasted apart: Mars screamed as something grey came out through the hole and curved around, smashing through the wall around them. Sahara smiled as Smash burst in and out of the wall twice more, managing to trap Mars and Draco up against each other.

"What the hell is this!" Draco shouted as the jagged boulders making up Smash's body cut into him. Sahara laughed and walked forwards into the cave, Nutty jumping dramatically out of her jacket as she did so. Mars and Draco both froze in their squirming, staring at her in shock.

"How are you still here, you were supposed to have die!" Mars hissed, looking outraged. Sahara merely shrugged, walking quite happily forwards. "No matter, you'll be dead soon enough! Once we communicate back to base, you'll be sorry!"

"I highly doubt that!" Sahara laughed, and Smash chuckled deeply. "You see, your airship is rather damaged at the moment, and I believe your leader and Charon will be rather preoccupied at the moment with some other visitors." Mars looked outraged, but Draco didn't seem to have heard: he was glaring at Sahara with the filthiest look imaginable, his eyebrows narrowed and his lips as thin as a pencil line.

"So, my dear Galactic friends, I'm afraid you haven't won this one today." Sahara explained, Nutty and Smash both smiling along with her. "Just like how you failed to kill us at Oreburgh Mine, how you failed to crush Crystal at the Valley Windworks, how Ursilla couldn't quite handle-"

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY HER NAME!" Draco roared, his shrill tones echoing across the room. Sahara was a bit taken aback, but tried to hang onto herself in order to keep her persona up.

"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SAY HER NAME, YOU NASTY LITTLE BITCH!" Draco continued shouting. "YOU KILLED URSILLA! YOU KILLED HER MENTOR!"

"I DIDN'T KILL HER!" Sahara roared in response. "I have never killed anyone, only my personalities have!"

"What a lame excuse!" Draco hissed angrily, a single tear coming out from behind his curtain of greasy hair. "You killed her in an awful, disgusting, disrespectful manner, and you think you can just get away with it! I'm going to make sure you suffer for what you did, you horrible little woman!" Sahara was so shocked that she didn't notice Draco had managed to slip his arm in between Smash's coils, and had his metal wristband aimed at her. It began whirring as a ball of white energy formed at the tip.

"PACHI PACHI!" Nutty gasped as the whirring got louder, and she forwards to push Sahara out of the way. Draco just smirked as the ball turned into a beam: Sahara shouted as she was struck in the stomach, blasting backwards and smashing against the wall. She hit the wall with such force that the whole area shook: rocks began to fall down from the roof, and Smash roared as he was struck several times. His hold on them loosened, and Draco and Mars slyly slipped out, staring towards Sahara's limp body.

She was all theirs.

Vanessa's battle wasn't going as well as she had hoped for.

Cyrus had sent out his Houndoom and Crobat to counter Monferno and Luxio. The obvious choice would have been to Rock Slide straight away, but Vanessa had intended to examine Cyrus' battling styles first, see what sort of trainer he was.

That proved to be a hefty mistake.

Since he had lost to Charles, Cyrus had decided to add several new moves to his team. Mainly, he hoped this moves would incapacitate the opponents Pokemon, leaving it easier for him to win. Houndoom had a powerful Will-o-Wisp, whilst Crobat was able to use Confuse Ray and Super Fang to easily subdue opponents.

For about ten minutes, neither plan had gone into effect. Whenever Monferno or Luxio tried to use an attack on Crobat, Houndoom dived in the way, using Flash Fire to absorb fire attacks and took the brunt of electric attacks. Crobat did the same in order to prevent Monferno's powerful Mach Punch from getting to the half-Dark Pokemon. Vanessa's Pokemon did the same though: Luxio would fire Sparks to blast Air Slash attacks apart, and Monferno's skilful Mach Punch and his fire typing allowed him to stop Houndoom in his tracks.

But asides from continuously blocking and dancing, several attacks had been successfully fired. Monferno had scored one or two good hits on Houndoom with Mach Punch, and Luxio had managed to clamp down on Crobat with a Thunder Fang. One Air Slash from Crobat had tripped Monferno up, and a variety of Flamethrower's and Dark Pulses had injured both of Vanessa's Pokemon.

"Just admit it, Vanessa, you can't outfight me!" Cyrus snarled. Vanessa was looking more and more agitated as the battle progressed, her smug, superior demeanour she had tried at the beginning fading away as her plan failed to work. Addison and the other grunts were smirking at her, not caring that Houndoom and Crobat were equally as tired as her Pokemon were. It was getting to the crunch time of the battle, and Vanessa had to keep things up if she wanted to win.

"Now, as both of our sides are so very weak, I think it is time for me to do my proper battle strategy!" Cyrus sneered. "Let's see if you win once your Luxio has been burnt and confused! Will-o-Wisp and Confuse Ray, both on Luxio!" The electric type Pokemon was to tired to be shocked, but looked nervously at Vanessa as she calculated in her head.

"Swift and Rock Slide, it has to work!" Vanessa boomed loudly. If Cyrus was going to ruin one of her Pokemon, she was going to destroy both of his. Cyrus looked shocked as Monferno jumped into the air, his fists glowing brown. Luxio quickly spun around, firing a shower of sparkling stars that smashed into both Houndoom and Crobat.

"HOUN!" Houndoom cried, balls of ghostly blue and purple fire shooting out of his mouth.

"Cro Cro!" Crobat hissed, and his eyes glowed a mysterious glowing black, two balls of the same colour floating out towards Luxio. The flames encircled Luxio before entering his body, making it glow a brilliant blue flame. The Confuse Ray smashed Luxio between the eyes, his eyes fogging over and turning the same colour as Crobat's.

"FERNOOOO!" Monferno cried, and he punched the ground as he landed back alongside Luxio. The force was powerful enough to cause Vanessa to stumble, and Cyrus leapt backwards as the cave roof shook again. A shower of rocks came pouring down, this time restricted for Houndoom and Crobat. A cloud of dust enveloped them all, causing coughing fits as small rocks and pebbles pelted against them.

"Will you stop with that, your disrupting my work!" Charon growled angrily as the dust began to clear. His large metal machine looked alright, with a strange blue glow coming from within. Vanessa shot him an angry look, and than turned back towards the battle. Monferno had covered the confused Luxio, who was trying to run into the large pile of rocks nearby. The looked unhurt, but it was clear that Cyrus' Pokemon hadn't survived: Houndoom's black tail and two of Crobat's wings were sticking out from between the rocks. Cyrus coughed as he brushed dust off his jacket, and he nodded respectfully at Vanessa.

"A well played move." He called as the rocks began to rise back into the cave roof. "You may have brought these two down, but I'm interested to see if you will survive my next round of Pokemon!"

"I'm sure I will do perfectly." Vanessa replied calmly, and Cyrus just smiled. As Cyrus raised his PokeBalls up to return the two Pokemon, a smirk suddenly came from around them. They all froze as the laughter got louder, joined by echoing footsteps as it got closer to them.

"I do hope Vanessa wins, it is always fun to watch Cyrus lose." Everyone looked behind Cyrus as a figure walked up the stony steps behind him: the smiling face of Looker appeared before them, examining the scene before him. "You really need better Pokemon Cyrus, I don't think they take much more losing." Cyrus looked furious, and he reached into his jacket, obviously for a gun, but Looker laughed and pulled his own one out.

"Well…" Cyrus mumbled, staring at the deadly weapon. "Why exactly are you here?" Looker just shrugged and walked towards Minerva, whose eyes were nearly hanging out of her head in surprise.

"I'll just be taking these." Looker said with a wink and smile, and he grabbed the walkie-talkie Minerva was using to communicate with the teams and hand-held device with several blinking lights and a variety of maps on it. "Oh good, you even provide me with locations!" Several of the grunts were cradling PokeBalls or guns, waiting for Looker to move far enough away so they could attack.

"Looker, don't do this…" Minerva hissed. Looker just smiled and walked slowly towards the edge of the formation.

"I'm sorry Minerva, but I really must. You know quite well what my job is." Looker gave her a wink, and Vanessa couldn't help but feel there was something between them. But before her thoughts could wander any further, Looker pulled a black box out of his bag. "See you all later! I'll make sure I bring your admins back, safe and sound!" Looker laughed as he dropped the box: there was a bright flash that blinded the grunts as they pulled the triggers. Vanessa and Monferno dived to the ground to avoid the hail of bullets, having to force the ditzy Luxio down as well. They heard Minerva shout something, but had to look down to avoid the flash. After a few seconds the sound of gunfire ceased, and Vanessa blinked several times as her eyes adjusted.

"BUGGER!" Cyrus roared, and the red head looked up. Minerva had disappeared, obviously chasing after the spy that had fled the scene as well. Cyrus growled and angrily brought his unconscious Pokemon back, and flung the balls towards Addison who screamed as she caught them. Vanessa smiled as she got back up, and Monferno winked at her, knowing Cyrus was getting frustrated.

"Calm down there Cyrus, we don't want you losing your concentration!" Vanessa giggled. Cyrus whipped back around angrily, his eyes gleaming with madness.

"I would keep that mouth shut if I was you, Vanessa!" The Galactic boss snapped, beams practically shooting out of his eyes. The grunts all took a nervous step backwards, and Charon looked slightly unnerved as he looked up. Vanessa just smirked, and she watched patiently as Cyrus threw his next two PokeBalls onto the field: a Honchkrow and Weavile emerged from the two balls, Honchkrow remaining in the air whilst Weavile landed in a ninja-like pose underneath. Vanessa's smile got broader as she examined the two new Pokemon on the field.

"Once again, you're just making it easier on me, they are both weak to my Pokemon." She laughed. Cyrus' foul look turned into a malicious smirk, his eyes looking victorious.

"Thunder Wave and Fake Out on Monferno!" He boomed confidently. Vanessa looked shocked as the two Pokemon attacked; Weavile smashed her long claws together, releasing a blast of white energy that blasted Monferno onto the ground, covering him like a sheet and preventing him from moving. Honchkrow glowed a light yellow, and then let out a very loud squawk that echoed all around them. A thin bolt of electricity shot out from her hat, smashing into Monferno's body. The fiery monkey growled as his body glowed yellow, sparks shooting out from it.

"Interesting…." Vanessa mumbled, watching as Monferno remained on the ground, completely still. Cyrus now had the upper hand with Luxio confused and burnt and Monferno now paralysed before he could move. She had never planned for these sort of moves: the others usually used physical attacks. The battle was back in his court, and Vanessa was going to have to use all her intelligence if she wanted to win.

_This is just getting irritating, _Matthew thought grouchily as he descended down yet another staircase.

It had been a while since Matthew had split up from Sahara and Xavier, though that could just be the insane boredom that had come from his duty. He and Piplup were feeling tired and sore as they went along a route, not even sure if Saturn and Jupiter were even going the same way. Matthew was feeling more and more irritated as they walked further and further, when finally Piplup spotted something: a vivid purple hair, sticking out like a sore thumb amongst all the dark rock.

Using this as their guide, Matthew and Piplup continued on. They began moving down staircases and past large caverns, walking with large groups of Geodude and avoiding swooping Zubat, looking for more clues. A section of a map, some torn clothing, a distinctive scraping in the rocks caused by Jupiter's axe, and finally, the foul smell of a Skuntank hung around the staircase they had just headed down. Their initial excitement at their first clue was fading fast as they headed downstairs, the rancid smell of Skuntank causing them to block their noses.

"Piplup, if we don't catch up to them within five minutes, we're leaving." Matthew mumbled through his hand. Piplup nodded, her hands covering her shut beak. The two reached the end of the staircase, and found themselves curving into a long, wide rocky corridor. The tinkling sound of dripping water was coming from nearby, but as Matthew went to investigate, Piplup suddenly whacked him in the legs.

"OWWW!" Matthew hissed as he fell to the ground, but Piplup ignored him and dragged him out behind a boulder.

"Lup Pip Pip!" She said, and pointed over the rock. Matthew was a bit surprised, but he cautiously peered over the jagged rock: a few metres away, Saturn and Jupiter were standing there, looking simply at a map, their bodies bathed in a strange blue light.

"We found them, we finally found them!" Matthew whispered excitedly, and Piplup danced happily on the spot. "Alright, we can't just go charging in there, they would just fight back and probably win. We need to be very sly about it, try and hear what they say and stuff like- Piplup, why do you look surprised?" Matthew asked, as Piplup's eyes had quickly bulged and her beak dropped while Matthew had been talking.

"Skuuuuun…." A voice hissed into Matthew's ear, and as he shivered in disgust, he realised something.

There had been the smell of a Skuntank that they knew Jupiter owned.

Jupiter's Skuntank had not been with her when they had seen her and Saturn.

But the stench was very fresh….

"RUN!" Matthew shouted to Piplup, but it was too late: Skuntank leapt on top of him, pinning him firmly to the ground with her large body and sharp claws. Mathew let out a wail, and laughter suddenly filled the air: Saturn and Jupiter walked forwards, smirking widely.

"Walked right into our trap!" Jupiter sneered as she grabbed Piplup around the stomach, the little water type wailing and squirming.

"A hint for next time: if your going to be a sleuth, I recommend you do a bit of a better job than you did today!" Saturn laughed. Skuntank climbed off Matthew, whose jacket was torn and his back bleeding, and grabbed him by the collar. Matthew let out a whimper as Saturn dragged him further down the corridor: he had reached the end, he was going to be killed. He knew dealing with Team Galactic was a bad idea from the start, and listening to Vanessa's awful advice had gotten him no where.

"Well, this is the end for you, Pearl!" Saturn hissed, and he dropped Matthew on the dirty ground. Piplup landed alongside, and Matthew grabbed her and clutched her close to his chest: he didn't want to be without his good friend when the time came. They looked up at Saturn, who was holding his strange trident-like weapon at their throats, and Jupiter, who was clutching onto her axe. Skuntank was sitting besides them, smiling down at the two weak, helpless figures before her. There were all bathed in blue light again, but Matthew didn't dear turn away from them.

"You have somehow survived the explosion at the Cycling Road, which is a pretty miraculous thing to do." Saturn explained, holding the trident very close to Matthew's throat. "I don't really care how you did it, I just think it's about time you finally died!"

"Exactly! You and your friends have caused Team Galactic nothing but trouble, and I'd gladly hold your head above the crows and lead the cheers!" Jupiter shouted at him, spraying him with spit. Matthew was on the verge of tears, but Piplup couldn't handle it: she buried her head into his shoulder, sobbing hysterically. Jupiter and Saturn just laughed viciously, and Skuntank grinned wickedly and licked her claws, ready to attack if necessary. Matthew felt several tears stream down his cheek as well: he was lying here, alone, defenceless, with nothing to prevent himself from being struck by their weapons.

"_Correction, I have four Pokemon and she has five."_

Matthew's eyes bulged as that single statement Xavier had said earlier floated back into his head. He, as well as Vanessa and Sahara, seemed to think that Pokemon could be used as weapons. Matthew had used his Pokemon during other Team Galactic battles, of course, but never in an attempt to harm or kill: he was using them defensively and to try and stop Team Galactic.

_Yes, but weapons can only be used for defensive actions. _A voice in the back of his head whispered. Matthew looked down at Piplup, who was still sobbing, and wondered: should he be acting like Vanessa and using his Pokemon as deadly weapons in order to escape this scenario?

"Alright, it's time…." Saturn said dramatically once he and Jupiter had managed to stop laughing. Matthew looked back up at them, his mind moving quickly: counter them with violent Pokemon or accept his time was up? Jupiter and Skuntank took a step backwards, the admin practically shaking with excitement as Saturn raised his trident, ready to fire a deadly electrical beam that was already forming.

"Goodbye Matthew, it was a pleasure to finally kill you." Saturn sneered, and he readied to lower the trident. Matthew shut his eyes and seized up, his mind going blank along with his emotions: he had lost.

That was when things took an unexpected turn.

Unbeknownst to anyone, Piplup hadn't really be sobbing: the crafty water starter had been watching several television shows whilst they had been in the Eterna City Pokemon Center, and she knew how to fake her tears. As Saturn lowered the trident, his finger on the button and the electricity forming, Piplup dramatically turned around, a ball of water in between her beaks.

"LUUUUUUUUP!" She cried, and Water Pulses were suddenly fired from the ball. Matthew opened his eyes in shock, just in time to see Saturn freeze up in the sudden change of events. The Water Pulses struck the trident, hitting the forming electricity: as the pulses fazed through, the trident began to fizz and shake, and the first Water Pulse hadn't even struck Saturn before the trident exploded. The energy stored inside it was released: Saturn was sent flying backwards, shards of metal tearing his clothes as he moved. The energy wave struck Matthew, causing him to roll backwards whilst blasting Piplup into the air. Matthew cried out as he rolled, but came to a stop once his hefty bag managed to drag him down. The trainer rubbed his head and back as they seared in pain from rolling on the hard ground, but the pain was instantly forgotten once he looked up.

Before him was the largest lake he had ever seen. The beautiful, crystal-clear waters stretched on for what seemed like an eternity before him, producing their own natural blue light that had struck Saturn and Jupiter. It was so wide he couldn't even see where it came to a stop.

"Oh my god… it's so beautiful…." Matthew said awestruck, watching as a school of Magikarp scuttled beneath the beautiful layer of water. Matthew reached out, wanting to touch it, when a sudden ball of purple energy exploded nearby.

"PIPLUP PIP!" Matthew wheeled back around, the beauty of the water causing him to forget about the battle. Saturn was slumped against the wall, his jacket badly torn and a burn in the centre. Jupiter, however, was fighting enough for the two of them: she was swinging her red and silver axe viciously, trying to slash Piplup up. Skuntank was covering the other side, trapping Piplup in and firing a wide variety of attacks.

"Skuntank, cover her, I'll deal with the boy!" Jupiter hissed, and she suddenly flung the axe around: Matthew yelped and dived back down as the blade embedded itself in the rock right next to him. Jupiter grinned viciously as she marched forwards, knowing Matthew was at her mercy. The coordinator backed up against the rock, no idea what to do. He stared at the axe, the silver glowing a dazzling blue in the lake's reflection.

_It's her weapon… you need to counter it with your own… _The same voice hissed in the back of his head. Matthew reached into his pockets and pulled two PokeBalls out: Jupiter came to a halt, her smile fading slightly as the two of them stared at the metal capsules. Matthew had to do something, and his Pokemon were his only chances.

"I'm sorry, but I have to do this…" He muttered, and threw the PokeBalls into the sky. As Beautifly and Misdreavus formed overhead, Matthew felt a sudden sensation rise up inside of him: thoughts of defiance and rebellion came up inside him. The simple act of sending these Pokemon out, Matthew was going against what his mother had taught him about playing by the rules. After nearly a month of Vanessa's wicked ways, Matthew had been telling himself it was wrong and not to follow her example.

Well, if Matthew was going to defeat Team Galactic, it was time to play a little dirty.

Xavier, Charles and Drifloon had been sent flying backwards by the explosion, soaring outside of the corridor and flying through the wider area outside. Xavier and Charles smacked painfully into the wall of rock, tearing their clothing and nearly knocking them unconscious. Drifloon let out a wail as she released a powerful blast of air, causing her to bob around like a pinball as she hit jagged rocks and countless boulders. Sections of earth disintegrated into dirt as they hit the rocks near them, while a thick cloud of dust was engulfing the battle field, preventing them from seeing anything that was going on.

"Fuck…." Charles cursed, really feeling the pain in his back. He reached around and touched his back, clearly feeling blood caused by the bad scratch. Charles barely had time to dwell on it when he saw something out of the corner of his eye: a bolt of electricity shot out of the sand, and Xavier leapt out of the way just in time. Xavier landed stealthily, but Charles misjudged and ended up landing on painfully on his face. He glanced around and saw Xavier was already standing, ignoring the large tear in his jacket.

"You attacked my Drifloon!" The Dex Holder said, his voice raised louder than normal: Charles figured it had to be his way of being angry. Drifloon managed to slow down at this point, and she floated crossly next to his head.

"I'm sorry, I had to get my PokeBalls back!" Charles protested, struggling to stand due to his back pain. "I'm sure you would do the-"

"Use Icy Wind!" Xavier commanded, and Drifloon only too happily floated forwards. Charles reached into his pocket, but he quickly remembered his PokeBalls had left him during the explosion. The mass of noise and the thick cloud of still-falling dust was making it impossible to see who had been sent out.

"DRIFLOOOOOOON!" She cried, and frosty, ice blue and white wind was shot from her body, heading like a wispy snake towards him.

"GAAAR!" Charles and Xavier all turned, watching in surprise as a volley of jagged rocks came shooting out from the dust. Drifloon's eyes bulged and she dived down, the Icy Wind halting as she struggled to avoid becoming impaled. The white wind disappeared only centimetres from Charles' face, whilst the rocks smashed into pebbles against the rock face. Than, following the attack, some of the dust separated itself from the rest, which was finally beginning to clear, and began to solidify into a true shape.

"Gligar Gar Gar!" Charles' Gligar called, the last of his sand form turning into his hard purple body. Charles beamed broadly, pleased that Sand Veil had allowed Gligar to be his guardian angel. More distinctive noises could be heard now: the cackle of electricity, the roar of fire, several cries from both Pokemon and human, and insults being exchanged, though they weren't sure who.

"I demand you apologise to Drifloon!" Xavier shouted in his usual tone, and he pulled another PokeBall out as he said it, holding it threateningly at Charles. The Galactic Grunt growled, but he knew that he was rather helpless at the moment: there was nothing he could do right now.

"Alright, I'm sorry I attacked your Drifloon." He sighed, making sure he looked sincere and kept eye contact. "It was a bit of a stupid trick and I shouldn't have done it." Xavier looked over at Drifloon, who smiled and nodded. Xavier went to speak, but he froze: a sudden cloud of dust had risen again, blocking out the view they had briefly had, and more earth was sent flying.

"Grotle, are you there?" Xavier called. A reply of 'Grot' came back, but it was clouding by a loud shout: an Ampharos suddenly collapsed onto the ground, her whole body shaking terribly and dropping several items: six PokeBalls and their varieties.

"Ampharos!" Charles cried out and rushed forwards, Gligar bobbing behind in surprise. Ampharos' eyes flickered, but she was too weak to do anything else: she seemed to have been struck by the brunt of Grotle's Earth Power attack. Tauros' Safari Ball and another PokeBall lay sealed besides her, whilst three PokeBalls and Mightyena's Great Ball were open.

"Oh Ampharos, thanks for bringing these back!" Charles said soothingly, giving her a big hug, making her smile slightly. "I think you should take a long rest!" Ampharos forced a nod, and Charles grabbed her PokeBall and brought her back inside. Charles was pleased to have such a kind hearted Pokemon like her: she was able to keep him balanced and sensible whenever things got too much. Xavier was standing quietly nearby, peering through the sand with Drifloon, and Charles was pleased they weren't angry with him: he shouldn't have

"GLIGAAAAAR!" The shout was sudden, and Charles had no time to react properly as Gligar suddenly squashed him flat. A millisecond later a burst of fire came roaring across their heads. Xavier and Drifloon landed next to them as well, and Xavier had already thrown his final PokeBall before the fiery attack had stopped.

"Who was that from?" Xavier asked as Heracross formed next to his head, looking ready to fight.

"I literally have no idea…" Charles mumbled, and the two turned their attention towards the dust.

Neither of them had any idea what was behind it.

The closet battle too them would have been wait had knocked out Ampharos: Grotle and Mightyena were furiously battling it out, Mightyena's attempts to get a Fire Fang in being foiled by constant Razor Leaf attacks holding him up against the wall. Nearby, Roshonda's Nidoqueen was frozen to the wall, her face wide with the shock at the slightly comic situation. The identity of Charles' final PokeBall was revealed in the form of Elle: the little Eevee was teamed up with Roshonda's Cradily, trying to defeat the fiery Ninetales that belonged to Carolina.

"Oh my god!" Charles gasped, watching as attacks flew everywhere, shaking the corridor with the force of them all. He and Xavier found the figures they were most concerned for: Roshonda, Carolina and Palmer. Xavier's parents were sticking further down the corridor, Palmer's Dragonite guarding the two of them. Carolina was shaking, her fancy coat torn and looking like an absolute wreck. Palmer was commanding Dragonite furiously, fighting alongside a ferocious looking Lapras as they duelled Beedrill and Sharpedo. The multiple battles looked furious, the Pokemon all fighting amongst the horrifically destroyed corridor, the rocks overhead looking dangerously close to collapse.

"CHARLES, IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, YOU BETTER TRY HELPING ME!" Roshonda shrieked loudly as Lapras blasted a Psychic towards Beedrill, nearly knocking the buzzing bug type out. Charles slowly got up, Gligar clinging nervously to his arm. Xavier didn't look that affected by the scene, but Heracross and Drifloon were poised, very ready to battle.

"We are in a battle Gligar…." Charles mumbled as he got up, watching as Grotle once again fired Razor Leaf at Mightyena. Gligar nodded nervously, rising up slowly and cautiously. "It looks like we have to get involved!" Charles knew that Roshonda was already very annoyed with him, thinking she hated both him and Team Galactic: if he didn't fight back now, she may think he was going to permanently abandon them.

"Very true words: Vacuum Wave on Mightyena and Will-o-Wisp on Cradily." Charles whipped his head around at the voice: Xavier was standing on a battle position, his Pokemon on either side. Drifloon fired balls of blue and purple flame, which caused ghostly shadows as they were blasted through the corridor, heading towards the unsuspecting Cradily.

"DILY!" She wailed, her body flashing with fire as she was struck by the attack. Elle was horrified by the sudden attack, completely forgetting her own battle with Ninetales. Charles gasped as his Eevee was struck by a powerful Flamethrower, but was distracted when he heard a howl: a blast of pure vacuum had struck Mightyena, and he was now smashing against the wall painfully.

"Grotle, now that your free, fire your Razor Leaf towards the roof." Xavier called, ignoring Charles' shocked looks. "Lapras, you fire your Blizzard at the roof before him!" Lapras looked up briefly, her eyes flashing pink as she telekinetically squeezed Beedrill's energy out.

_Sure, why not. _She shrugged, and the Psychic came to a stop: Beedrill collapsed onto the ground, and Roshonda's jaw practically fell off as she looked down at her unconscious Pokemon. Lapras tipped her head backwards and fired the snowstorm: everyone looked up, their battles temporarily halting, as the Ice attack froze the large stalactites hanging down from the ceiling.

"Xavier, this is extremely dangerous!" Palmer roared across the corridor as Grotle's bushes glowed, the grass type recovered from his battle and ready to unleash more deadly leaves. Roshonda turned around and looked curiously at Charles: what exactly was going on?

"We need to make the battle fairer, so I need to do this." Xavier replied calmly. Lapras nodded as she glowed blue, melting into water and into the cracks in the earth. Carolina was in shock, no idea what to say, and she clung onto Palmer for dear life, staring between her son and her powerful Ninetales.

"GROOOOOT!" Grotle shouted, and the Razor Leaf was shot towards the ceiling. Roshonda pulled three PokeBalls out, bringing Beedrill, Nidoqueen and Cradily back before picking up Sharpedo and fleeing. Palmer clutched onto his wife's arm and leapt onto Dragonite, who took off in a flash, Ninetales and Elle running beneath them.

"MOVE!" Charles shouted to Gligar, grabbing the purple ground type and rushing backwards. The floor lit up blue as Lapras began to reform, but Dragonite, Grotle and Roshonda leapt over her watery body, the roof shaking violently behind them. Ninetales and Elle leapt into the chamber just as the stalactites smashed down into the already damaged ground: everyone covered their faces to avoid the huge cloud of dust that rose up into the sky. It took several minutes for the rumbling to stop and the dust to settle, and everyone except Xavier coughed violently to clear the dust out of their throats. Finally, however, the last of the dirty particles landed on the ground, though it looked like they were still around: everyone was completely covered in dust, looking extraordinarily filthy and dusty.

_Well, aren't we all a fine looking bunch…. _A fully reformed Lapras smirked, examining the now all-brown crowd. Carolina was looking at her coat in shock, while Elle was shaking vigorously to clean herself. As everyone's eyes examined the room, they all noticed something Xavier, Palmer, Carolina and their Pokemon were now opposite Charles, Roshonda, Elle, Gligar and Sharpedo. The staircase was directly behind the grunts, who were now looking determined.

"Hi Elle, make sure you stand your ground!" Charles whispered, and the little Eevee smiled and nodded, though it faded as she looked back over the situation: there were six Pokemon against three, and most of them were fully evolved, evolved one stage or couldn't evolve anyway.

"Just give it up you two!" Palmer smirked, stepping smugly forwards. Carolina was stroking Ninetales, looking a bit calmer but still rather worried about the situation, while Xavier and his Pokemon were poised and ready to battle. "If you two just step aside and let me and my family go, and you won't be horrifically defeated." Charles and Roshonda looked up at the smug Frontier Brain, both of them rather annoyed by his cocky attitude. But Charles knew he was right: the six Pokemon combined could easily defeat the three of theirs they had left.

"Roshonda, we should just let them pass, it's our only option." Charles whispered to her. Roshonda nodded, and then suddenly let out a wail of despair. She collapsed onto Charles' shoulder, tucking her teary face in and wrapping her arms around him. Charles understood: they had failed, and Cyrus would most likely here about it, and they both knew he wouldn't be happy.

"Yes, well… we'll be going now…" Palmer mumbled, and he signalled for his family to move. Elle, Gligar and Sharpedo moved out of the way, and they exchanged glares with Xavier's team, Ninetales and Dragonite.

"It's alright Roshonda," Charles whispered, stroking her hair as she continued to sob in despair. Carolina looked rather awkwardly at them as she went past, and Charles gave her an odd smile, signifying it was alright. However, as he stared at the Diamonds, Charles didn't realise something was crawling around inside his pockets. It took him a few moments to notice, and stared down to see a black hand clasped around his remaining Poke and Safari Balls.

"It's necessary!" Roshonda hissed in his ear, and she suddenly straightened up and twirled: one hand threw the two balls onto the ground, while the other reached inside her own pockets and pulled something out. Carolina screamed loudly as the gigantic Tauros and the shiny Gyarados formed around them, and than at the large black gun Roshonda had just pulled out, aimed at her head.

"If anyone moves, Mother Dearest gets a bullet through her head!" Roshonda shouted. Charles looked almost as shocked as Palmer did, and Elle and Gligar copied Drifloon and Heracross and backed away slowly.

"Roshonda, you can't do this!" Charles protested, taking a step between Carolina and the gun. "We lost, we just need to accept it and move on!"

"SHUT UP CHARLES!" Roshonda shouted. "I'm not going to face Cyrus and told him we lost! Now step aside or you'll go down with them!" Tears were forming in her eyes again, and Charles felt extremely guilty Team Galactic was her life, and he was causing her to hit yet another failure. But he couldn't let the Diamonds get slaughtered because she was upset.

"Run you lot, just go!" Charles shouted to them, and he made the mistake of turning his head to make sure they were going. He heard a swooshing noise through the air and saw something black coming at him from the corner of his eye.

And that was when Charles got knocked out.

Only one thought crossed Sahara's mind: she could barely breathe.

It had taken a while for her to wake: Sahara's vision was blurry and the dark chamber wasn't helping with her trying to distinguish between which figure was which. Her hearing was a bit off as well: it sounded like the voices were coming from a faulty megaphone, being heavily distorted and twisted as they reached her ears.

Than, as Sahara came round, she began to feel the pain: her back felt scratched and bruised whilst her head was throbbing madly, feeling like a party was going on inside. Sahara tried to stand, but it didn't take long for her to realise something was around her body. Looking down, her vision coming clearer like fog leaving a certain area, Sahara realised something thick, black and made of leather was tying her arms and legs tightly around her body. Her elbows were being jabbed into her own ribs, and Sahara found herself already struggling to breathe properly.

"Well, well, well, look who decided to wake up!" A drawling voice sneered from nearby. Sahara looked around, but the simple action caused more throbbing in her head and her yes to blur. There was malicious laughter that rang in her ears, and Sahara wished she could just lie down and go back to sleep. But suddenly a face appeared right in front of hers: Draco was smiling at her, his lips twisted in a wicked smile t rival that of a Gengar's.

"What d-do you w-want?" Sahara slurred sleepily. Draco's grin just got bigger and he raised his arm, showing the machine he had on his wrist.

"Keep your mouth shut, unless you want to find some more energy fired your way!" He hissed, keeping his malicious smile. Sahara nodded weakly, and Draco nodded back in happiness. Suddenly, there was a high pitched squeal that came from behind him, and there was no denying Sahara who it was coming from.

"Nutty… where is she!" Sahara snapped, and the same laugh sounded again: Draco grabbed her head and stepped aside, turning her head as he moved. Mars was standing a few feet away, clutching Nutty tightly in her arms with rubber gloves. The Pachirisu was squealing and trying to escape, but Mars had her clutched by the neck like some diseased rodent. Behind her, there came a low roar from what Sahara had first thought was rocks. On second look, she realised it was Smash, being pinned down to the floor by Mars' Tentacruel, his numerous tentacles torturing the poor rock snake.

"Let my Pokemon go, they've done nothing wrong!" Sahara protested, but all she got was a hard slap from Draco, who then pointed his device into her face once again.

"What did I just say!" He bellowed, spraying her reddening face with spit. "They may have not done anything wrong, but they are guilty by association to you! For weeks I've been tempted to go into our Pokemon Cages and decapitate your precious Electivire, but as he is the only thing Ursilla managed to steal from you scum, I figured I would keep it in her honour. But that won't prevent us from killing the other vermin you have!" Sahara begin to whimper as Draco finished his rant: she was in pain all over her body, she was being forced to watch her Pokemon getting tortured, and Draco had now opened up her old wounds over Virus. Mars gave another one of her wicked laughs and clutched Nutty harder.

"Look at the poor little baby, she's going to cry!" She sneered, and gave a high pitched cackle.

"Pachirisu Pachi Pach!" Nutty wailed, trying to free herself for Mars grip. The admin continued to laugh shrilly as she pulled what something silver out of her pocket: Sahara gasped as Mars held the knife up to Nutty's face.

"Calm down little critter, you wouldn't want to hurt yourself, now would you?" Mars whispered softly into Nutty's ear, the Pachirisu coming to an uneasy halt as she looked at the blade in front of her neck. Mars laughed loudly again, and Sahara couldn't hold back anymore: tears began to stream down her face, the image of her precious Pokemon being tortured this way absolutely terrifying. She was so close to them, so near her friends, but there was nothing she could do about it. Sahara felt absolutely awful she had let this happen: she shouldn't have wound them up, she should have just dealt with them when she had the chance. Deep, wicked laughter echoed inside the chamber: Sahara looked angrily upwards, the tears now falling off her chin, as Draco's foul laugh rang in her ears.

"Now you know how I felt when I lost my mentor, my oldest friend, my closest accomplice!" Draco said viciously, a proud smirk on her face. "Imagine how proud she would have been of me if she knew I was the one to kill one of the Dex Holders!" Draco pressed a button on his wrist contraption, causing a metal panel to slide open slightly. Sahara could only describe the following sound as sounding like "shink", and she watched as what looked almost exactly like Vanessa's sword rose out from the device. The only major difference, asides from not being attached to an umbrella, was that the sword was glowing red: it look evil and demonic, like a fiery dagger that was about to be thrust into her heart.

"You killed Ursilla, so it is only fitting I kill you!" Draco snarled. Nutty froze completely, staring towards Sahara with her own teary eyes. Smash stopped trying to fight Tentacruel, and simply watched Sahara with a look that Sahara was sure was mimicking her own: regret, worry, sadness at not being able to do anything. Mars' eyes were wide and beady, staring at the eventual murder with twisted glee.

"Fine…" Sahara mumbled, her tears streaming faster than ever. "Just do it, get it over with!" Draco nodded, his face now emotionless, his mind blank as he raised his wrist, the glowing sword now like the flaming sun above them, casting red light onto Sahara's tear-covered face. She was finally going to die: after weeks… months… years of hardship and managing to survive her personalities, she was finally going to die….

Yet, as Draco began to swing his arm, and Nutty and Smash shouted out in horror, Sahara seized up: her back felt like it was burning… pain she had never felt before…. it felt almost like a supercharged electric shock…

"Balls." Sahara hissed before her vision turned pink and she slipped back into unconsciousness.

Matthew shielded his eyes as yet another explosion lit up their chamber once again.

For the past several minutes, Matthew and his Pokemon had been duelling furiously with Saturn and Jupiter, trying hard to defeat Toxicroak and Skuntank. The battle was the only thing stopping the two Team Galactic admins from getting to Matthew, who was standing nervously close to the water's edge. Saturn and Jupiter planned to move once Matthew's defence was down, but the coordinator and his Pokemon were not budging: Piplup led Beautifly and Misdreavus in a barrage of powerful attacks, unleashing numerous BubbleBeam, Hidden Power and Psywave attacks. Matthew was making a grand effort, managing to hold the two Pokemon and their trainers at bay. The latest explosion came from Water Pulse and Misdreavus' Shock Wave colliding with Toxicroak's Gunk Shot: a bright purple-yellow light lit up the entire area, and a force of energy nearly blasted them backwards.

"Come on, avoid their attacks and actually try and hit them!" Saturn shouted angrily. Toxicroak had been pushed to the ground by the explosion, and Misdreavus had gone spiralling away into the sky. Beautifly was battling with Skuntank nearby, her String Shot managing to keep the Dark-Poison Pokemon at bay. Matthew blinked several times following the bright light, trying to see properly again, and was surprised to see Piplup by his side, panting a bit and looking very tired.

"Piplup, are you alright?" Matthew asked. Despite looking tired, Piplup stood up straight and nodded proudly, looking ready to go charging in with another attack. However, Matthew knew that his Pokemon weren't coping very well: it was taking all their willpower to take on these more experienced, tougher opponents, and he was proud enough of them at the moment.

"Ready to give up yet?" Jupiter snarled, reading the worried emotion forming on Matthew's face. The coordinator looked up and shook his head, refusing to back down.

"I've come this far, and you two on nearly on your knees anyway!" He shouted back. The two admins exchanged smirks as Toxicroak dodged a Psywave and Skuntank's Sludge Bomb nearly knocked Beautifly into the water.

"You are weak, inexperienced and pathetic!" Saturn snarled viciously. "What does some measly newbie coordinator have against us?" Matthew was trying hard not to look enraged, but his face suddenly lit up as Saturn's insult washed over him. The Hearthome Contest was in a few days and it was a double battle. He hadn't had time lately to perfect his methods and combinations lately: was now a good time to give things a go?

"We'll just see about that!" Matthew boomed back to Saturn, and Piplup smiled broadly up at him, knowing he know had a plan. "Beautifly, soar into the sky and ready an Aerial Ace!"

"Beautifly Beaut!" Beautifly called, and her large wings glowed white and grew bigger as she soared up into the sky, avoiding another Sludge Bomb Skuntank had tried to aim at her. Toxicroak was looking a bit nervous now, and Saturn and Jupiter were wondering what was going to happen.

"Now Misdreavus and Piplup: use Psywave on Beautifly's wings and BubbleBeam to surround her!" Matthew commanded next. Piplup nodded broadly and opened her mouth wide, powerful bubbles shooting out.

"Mis Mis!" Misdreavus said in her devious voice, and rainbow-coloured spotlights shot out of her eyes, hitting Beautifly as she soared overhead. Her bug typing allowed Beautifly to resist the attack, and her wings suddenly grew even bigger, now the colour of the rainbow. Piplup's BubbleBeam rose up and surrounded Beautifly like little blue moons around the planets. Saturn and Jupiter were definitely concerned now: what was he playing at?

"Dive down towards Toxicroak, NOW!" Matthew shouted dramatically. Toxicroak barely had time to react as Beautifly dived down like a rainbow-shaped plane, moving at fantastic speeds. Saturn pulled out a PokeBall, ready to return his Pokemon, but he was too late: Matthew watched in glee whilst the admins looked shocked as Beautifly smashed into Toxicroak's stomach, the psychic energy on her wings enough to blast him backwards.

"Tooooox…." Toxicroak groaned as he whacked into the wall behind them, falling into a miserable, unconscious heap on the floor. Matthew and his Pokemon erupted into cheers as Beautifly fluttered back down, looking exceedingly pleased for herself.

"I think we've upgraded from newbie to SUPREME POR COORDINATOR!" Matthew shouted, and his Pokemon chuckled in agreement. Jupiter looked gobsmacked as Saturn angrily brought Toxicroak back.

"He managed to defeat one of our Pokemon…" Jupiter whispered. "The little punk managed to defeat one of our Pokemon!" She looked at Saturn, hoping for a reaction, but saw her fellow admin looking emotionless as he clutched Toxicroak's ball in his hands. "Saturn, are you alright?" The admin slowly nodded, still looking blank faced, and Jupiter was unsure how to respond.

"YOU DEFEATED ME POKEMON!" Saturn suddenly bellowed, stilling holding the PokeBall. Matthew and his Pokemon's celebration ended as Saturn let out an angry roar and wheeled around to face Jupiter. She squealed as Saturn grabbed her axe, which she attached to her belt, and tore it from its hold. He then ran forwards, holding the axe high above his head and ready to swipe down.

"AAAAAAHHHH!" Matthew screamed, and he clutched his three Pokemon tightly and crouched down, shutting his eyes as Saturn ran madly towards them.

BANG!

A gunshot echoed throughout the chamber, and Saturn cried out as blood spurted from his right arm. The axe clattered to the ground, followed closely by Saturn as he clutched his gushing arm in pain, blood gushing out. Whilst Jupiter screamed and she and Skuntank gathered around him, Matthew looked left, searching for the mysterious shooter. The blue light from the lake was enough to light up most of the chamber, but a powerful electric light was glowing the rest of the area. Several figures were being highlighted, and Matthew knew everyone of them.

"Looker!" He gasped, and the spy came him a brisk wave as he ran backwards, his Jolteon dancing in front of him, firing numerous Electric attacks. In front of him was a Leafeon, who had a ball of light poised between her head leaves, and behind her was Minerva, the Team Galactic receptionist who had attacked them the other day.

"Doing fine Matthew? I thought you died." Looker asked as he rushed backwards, watching seriously as Jolteon fired a powerful Thunderbolt: Leafeon cried out in pain, but managed to survive long enough to throw the ball of light upwards. Everyone was nearly blinded as the Sunny Day sent orange light everywhere, allowing them all to finally see each other clearly.

"Lots of people seem to be thinking that…" Matthew mumbled as he covered his eyes, the Sunny Day extremely blinding. "Why are you two fighting?"

"Can't answer that now sorry, I've got to win this one!" Looker shouted as he rushed towards the other end of the chamber. His Jolteon was cackling with energy, ready to fire more attacks. Minerva and her Leafeon rushed forwards, giving brief glances at the bleeding Saturn, before reaching a clearer area to the side of them.

"I'm sorry Minerva, but I don't think you are going to defeat me. Why not just give up now and head home to Cyrus?" Looker taunted from across the chamber, giving Minerva an all-knowing look. But the receptionist just stood her ground and glared seriously back at him.

"I think I can handle myself for a few more turns, thank you very much." She retorted, and than looked down at Leafeon. Her key Pokemon nodded, and Minerva smiled broadly. "SOLARBEAM!" She shouted, and Leafeon instantly absorbed in sunlight, forming a growing ball of green energy in her mouth. Looker and Jolteon looked shocked and had to instantly respond if they wanted to win.

"THUNDER, NOOOOW!" Looker screamed. Matthew's eyes bulged as the two powerful attacks were fired: a beam of fiery yet grass energy, heading straight towards a huge bolt of electricity. He was so captivated by the glowing attacks that he didn't think straight, failing to notice the two were very close to colliding.

"PIPLUUUUP!" Piplup wailed suddenly, and she pushed Matthew, who was still holding Misdreavus and Beautifly, backwards, just as the two attacks colliding. There was an explosion of bright light and a powerful wave of energy that swept across the cave. Skuntank and Jupiter were tossed backwards by the sheer force of it, and the rocky cliffs and stalagmites were shattered by the energy released from the Solarbeam. Matthew held his Pokemon tightly and shut his eyes, but the light was still burning through his eyelids. The lake next to them began splashing and crashing up against the rocks, disturbed by the energy striking it.

After a few moments, Matthew released he could only see black now: both the energy and the Sunny Day had disappeared. He cautiously opened his eyes, and sure indeed that only the shaky blue light was glowing the chamber now. Matthew slowly sat up, still holding his Pokemon, and realised instantly that Looker and Minerva had left: only a jagged crater remained from where the two attacks had collided. Saturn lay groaning besides them, his left hand covered in a red glove of blood as he clutched his bullet wound.

"Are you guys alright?" Matthew whispered to his Pokemon as he stood up. They all nodded their heads, and Matthew smiled lightly as he began to move past Saturn, who muttered nonsense curses at him, and rushed towards the staircase. Matthew didn't care what happened here, he just wanted to get out of this mountain.

_You have disrupted my sleep…_

Matthew came to a sudden stop. A deep, booming voice had just sounded, but he had no idea where it had come from. Piplup, Beautifly and Misdreavus looked very nervous as well, and Jupiter and Skuntank were beginning to stir as the voice sounded.

_You must pay the price..._

Matthew turned around, trying to be as silent as possible as he searched for a source of the voice. The water in the lake was continuing the splash, but instead of dying down it appeared to be splashing more furiously. The mist hanging above the other end was beginning to glow an eerie pink, the mystery of it sending a shiver down Matthew's spine.

"This can't be good…" He whispered to his Pokemon nervously. His voice echoed around the cave, and an angry roar rose up from the mist. Jupiter clung to Skuntank and fright, and all three people and their Pokemon stared towards the mist, wondering what was happening.

Suddenly, there was a flash of pink light that nearly blinded them all. The mist was blasted away and the large wave of water washed up onto the ground, pushing Saturn backwards. The lake was now glowing pink, the water Pokemon lying beneath the surface rushing to the sides for protection. Wind seemed to be coming from where the mist had been, and Matthew, Saturn and Jupiter were all dumbfounded as a figure rose up into the sky.

The creature was clearly a Pokemon: it was too large and too oddly shaped to be another humanoid. However, it did have similar aspects to humans: it seemed to be standing upright on its legs, with two larges arms, an extremely long neck and a rounded head on top. The Pokemon had a long tail, sharp claws, circular shoulders and his veins appeared to be sticking out of his body. Matthew was scared beyond belief, asides from the fact the Pokemon was scary looking.

Palkia, the Master of Space, was floating in front of them.

Saturn and Jupiter appeared to be in awe: Saturn even forgot about his wound as he stared, bright faced, up at Palkia, as if expecting some grand miracle to happen. But Palkia didn't look very pleased as he glared viciously at them, flexing his muscles angrily.

_You disturbed me as I slept... _He growled around them. _You attacked me with a Grass and Electric attack… I don't appreciate being attacked when I'm not able to fight back. _Matthew was beginning to shake, and his Pokemon weren't very happy either: Palkia didn't look happy, and he seemed ready for revenge.

_It seems I'll have to find a new place to sleep… _Palkia said and he waved his right arm. The wall next to him appeared to turn into pink jelly, wobbling about as if it was natural. _However, don't think your getting off that easily… _Matthew's jaw dropped as Palkia put his hands together, causing a pink ball to form. Palkia let out an ear shattering screech that shook the either mountain, and than he clapped his hands together. A wave of blinding pink energy fanned out, moving at a shocking pace. Matthew and his Pokemon didn't even have time to scream before the wave suddenly hit them. The last thing Matthew saw or heard was the energy blinding him as it blasted him backwards, and Palkia's triumphant roar as he got his revenge…

Draco couldn't do it.

The young adult had done many things before in his life, including killing and brutally harming people that had wronged him. He had killed people his age, along with people older and younger. People feared him, including the grunts that Draco had free rein to torture and break down. Draco got a malicious pleasure out of killing and torturing, and he usually would use any opportunity to do so.

However, there was something different about this situation.

As Draco raised his arm, ready to swipe down and strike Sahara, he found himself freezing up. He had been waiting to do this for several weeks: he had to get revenge for Ursilla, he had to kill the person that had killed his mentor! But something was holding him back, something that was preventing him from striking down. Was it the fact that his vengeful quest was already over, or was it the fact that Sahara provided him a connection, an attachment towards Ursilla's memory.

_You have to do this… Ursilla would have wanted you to do it… _Draco thought. He owed it to Ursilla, the one that had saved him, to commit this act of murder. He stared down at the weeping Sahara, imagining she was begging him to stop, and began to swing his arm down.

"Balls…" Sahara suddenly snapped, and she collapsed sideways onto the ground. Draco froze, his arm hovering a few feet above her neck. Sahara was shaking rather violently, unable to control her body movements. Draco felt another internal struggle forming as he watched her twitching, struggling to control herself.

"What are you waiting for!" Mars screamed from nearby. "She's weak and vulnerable, just kill her!" Draco's arm began to shake: memories were moving through his mind, the image of Sahara shaking causing his body to shut down, his emotions to rise up. How could he do this to her, how could he kill her now…

Suddenly, before Draco could comprehend what he was feeling, Sahara's skin began to glow pink. Draco and Mars both looked shocked as the whip untangled itself and was sent flying towards the chamber entrance, and a wave of energy knocked them all over. Nutty fell out of Mars hand, the knife clattering away near Smash, and Tentacruel toppled over his many tentacles, laying in a jumbled up mess on the floor.

"What's going on, what is she doing?" Mars screamed, the bright pink light extremely strong. There was cold, malicious laughter from behind the light, causing everyone to seize up in fright. The strange light disappeared as suddenly it had arrived, revealing Sahara standing in front of them all.

But she didn't look like Sahara.

The usual white and blue jacket had disappeared, being replaced by a long flowing dress. It was the same colour as the light, but the dress was see through, revealing Sahara's bare midriff and very revealing pink underwear. Sahara was now covered in make up, making her look like a very slutty clown. But the strangest thing was the eyes: there were no pupils, and the white had turned into a jelly-looking pink, swirling around inside the eyes. Sahara laughed as Mars and Draco looked horrified, staring into those creepy eyes.

"Sahara….?" Draco asked cautiously, and the girl just laughed.

"Of course not silly, do you seriously think she could pull this outfit off?" She cackled. "It's Crystal, of course, and I think that you two have been _very _naughty." Crystal let out another malicious laugh, tipping her head backwards and laughing loudly to the roof. Mars scrambled forwards towards her knife, which was only a metre away. However, before she could even touch it, Crystal twisted her own left hand: Mars screamed as her left wrist snapped loudly, echoing inside the chamber.

"I wouldn't try and attack me if you want to live." Crystal hissed, keeping her wide smile on her face. She clicked her fingers and Mars and Draco gasped as they began to float up, coming to a stop several feet above the ground. It appeared they were lying on invisible beds, but neither of them could move, forced still by Crystal's strong powers.

"Now, while I may not like Sahara very much, the conservative little tart that she is," Crystal said, walking around her two captives. "I don't appreciate it when people try and kill her. If she dies, I obviously die with her, I don't want that to happen." She paused as she walked past Draco, raising her hands to make his metallic wristband rise up as well. Draco looked petrified as Crystal clutched his arm, her glowing eyes staring at the machine.

"Interesting little gadget, but very deadly in the wrong hands, wouldn't you agree?" Crystal teased in a patronising voice. She laughed and clicked her fingers: Draco winced as the wristband was blasted apart, scraps of metal flying all over the chamber. A cut appeared on his wrist, but the blood became a pool in mid air as the telekinetic energy kept it afloat.

"So, are you going to kill us, or will you torture us first?" Mars hissed, and Crystal looked down at her and winked.

"Well, I just go with the flow, ya know." She explained with a devious smile, and she waved her hands over their bodies. Pink energy suddenly engulfed the two, pressing down on their bodies. Mars and Draco gasped for breathe as Crystal clenched her fists, squeezing the two powerfully with her mind. Nutty and Smash watched in horror as Mars and Draco struggled to breathe, their bodies struggling as they were unable to fight back against the mental power. Tentacruel was covering in the corner, not wanting to strike back at the moment. Crystal laughed loudly and waved her hands again, causing the two to fall onto the ground. Mars and Draco breathed deeply, their bodies remaining stiff in fear as Crystal towered over them, cackling.

"I feel violated… and not in the way I like…" Mars panted. Draco didn't say a word, his mind and face blank, the image of Sahara twitching still stuck in his head. Crystal cackled loudly before she shut her eyes, giving a sigh of laughter. Pink light began to emit from the rocky corridor outside, causing Nutty and Smash to exchange nervous looks.

"Alright, I know where to go." Crystal boomed dramatically, and she rose her hands high into the sky. Her palms burst into blue light, and Mars and Draco both shut their eyes, waiting for the next attack to strike them. But they weren't expecting what came next...: Water! Two columns of colourless water came out of her palms, covering the two Team Galactic members and wrapping them up like they were inside a very wet present.

"Surely you worked out by now that Palkia's presence activates my full potential," Crystal explained. "and the mighty Space Master is part water." She finished her story there as Mars and Draco were now firmly inside their very wet holds, squirming in discomfort, barely able to breath. Crystal waved her hands again, and the two water cocoons rose up in front of her.

"Alright then, it's time we go meet the rest of the team!" She called and clicked her fingers: Nutty and Tentacruel were suddenly lifted into the air, fighting against the strong mental hold, before being deposited onto Smash. The Onix let out a roar as he was heaved into the air, twisted up like a true snake. Sahara's bag, the whip and the knife Mars had dropped began to float as well, nestled alongside as a guardian weapon. With one final evil smirk, the pink eyed Crystal headed out into the rest of Mt Coronet, her captives struggling behind her as they headed back towards the Route 207 entrance.

Vanessa was losing all hope.

It hadn't taken long for Monferno and Luxio to be defeated. Honchkrow and Weavile flew and skidded past them, barely doing a thing as Monferno and Luxio struggled to survive. Whenever Monferno tried for an attack, he would glow yellow and seize, the paralysis taken its strong effect, while half of Luxio's actions resulted into him running head first into a rock repeatedly. His continuous burn wasn't helping, and Luxio only managed a Swift and a Thunder Fang on Honchkrow before the strong burn consumed his health, leaving Vanessa down with only three Pokemon.

In order to counter, Vanessa swiftly sent out Staraptor, and a powerful Close Combat was enough to blast Weavile into the ground so hard she caused a crater. An angry Cyrus, who only had Honchkrow left, responded by having the Dark Flying type using Fly to defeat an immobile Monferno.

"So Mr Bossman, it appears we are both down to our final Pokemon." Vanessa said emotionlessly as her unconscious returned to his PokeBall. Cyrus simply nodded as Honchkrow hovered above his head, glaring viciously at a stern faced Staraptor. Charon was the only person still near them, tapping away at his machine. He looked fairly concerned, the readings appearing to not be what he expected.

"Cyrus, you may want to look at these." The scientist said, beginning to look a bit nervous.

"I'm busy Charon, get a grunt to look at it!" Cyrus snapped, not taking his eyes off Vanessa for a second. Vanessa simply smirked as she replaced Monferno's PokeBall for Murkrow's Dusk Ball: Cyrus was now so focused on beating her, proving himself to be better than her, that he had forgotten about his own mission. Vanessa took a brief glance around the cave: the grunts were spread out, doing their usual job of trying to catch Pokemon to help the army grow.

"Will you just let yourself be caught!" Addison snapped irritably at a Meditite. The Psychic-Fighting Pokemon was sitting very calmly on a rock at the bottom of the stairs, clearly meditating and not wishing to be disturbed. Vanessa chuckled as Addison's Ledian failed to distract the Pokemon, and the two growled and huffed away.

"Are you sending your next Pokemon out or not?" Cyrus snapped furiously, and Honchkrow let out a squawk to match her bosses rage. Vanessa just exchanged winks with Staraptor: the more irritated Cyrus was, the easier he'd be to defeat.

"So sorry, I was just examining the train wreck of an organization your running." Vanessa explained in a patronising tone. "Now, let's see how the two head honcho's can handle a crime lord in the making: Go Murkrow!" Purple-black energy erupted from the airborne Dusk Ball, swirling towards to form the equally dark feathered Murkrow.

"Murkrow Murk Murk!" Murkrow called, flying above them all. Staraptor joined Cyrus in glaring as Murkrow fluttered noisily and irritatingly above them all. Vanessa hoped her gamble worked: Murkrow wasn't well trained, but having a Pokemon so similar to Honchkrow may throw Cyrus off. He did pondered for several moments, wondering what exactly to do.

"Night Slash on Staraptor." He said at least, though the irritated sigh showed it wasn't his first option.

"Haze and Twister, go." Vanessa said simply, leaving her cocky self aside for a moment as she got back into the battling zone. As Honchkrow dived forwards, Staraptor twirled and Murkrow flew around with her mouth wide open, Charon shook his head irritably and turned back towards his machine. The readings he was getting weren't very good: a powerful force was in the area, and he didn't like to think what could be causing it.

Suddenly, soft voices sounded in the distance, accompanied by laughter and footsteps. Charon turned towards Cyrus, hoping for a response, but the white Haze was obscuring his boss from view, and Staraptor's Twister casting dust into the air wasn't exactly helping. The people were getting closer and closer, and Charon knew that he would have to act.

Moving swiftly, Charon abandoned his machine, leaving it to collect data on its own, and pulled an Ultra Ball out of his coat pocket. Dim lights were coming from what seemed to be a small crowd, and a low growling was accompanying it. Charon came to a stop and gulped: he had an idea of who it might be, and couldn't take a chance.

"Bronzong use Psychic!" The aging scientist bellowed, throwing the Ultra Ball onto the dark ground. The yellow light illuminated the scene briefly: Bronzong rose up, looking extremely serious with its eyes glowing pink, and stared towards the dim outlines of human figures that Charon only saw briefly.

"YOU FOOL!" A familiar angry voice snapped, and Charon froze once move: he definitely knew who it was now.

"Sto-" He began to cry, but it was too late: Bronzong's powerful Psychic was released, blasting multiple figures into the light coming from the entrance to Route 208. Jupiter, Roshonda, a heavily bleeding Saturn, Skuntank and Sharpedo smashed into the foot of raised section's stairs, whilst Xavier, Carolina, Palmer, an unconscious Matthew and Charles and their Pokemon hit the others. Dragonite, Gyarados and Tauros let out roars as they became entangled in rocks, whilst Piplup, Elle, Gligar, Beautifly, Heracross, Drifloon and Misdreavus squirmed as Grotle and Lapras landed on top of them all.

_Oh calm down! _Lapras growled as she slid off them, staring around as the other people in the area scrambled to their feet.

"My apologises, I thought simply thought you were the Master of Space, please forgive me!" Charon said with a forced smile as Bronzong hovered to his side. Palmer and Carolina collectively glared at him, while Matthew and Charles slowly stirred from besides Xavier.

"The Master of Space?" Jupiter hissed, her eyes wide with excitement and gleam. Roshonda had pulled a first aid kit out and began tending to Saturn's wound, though she kept an ear out as Charon rushed towards Jupiter.

"Yes my dear, my readings tell me that it has been here!" Charon said excitedly. "Its presence disturbed the Adamant Orb as it scanned for our glorious destination."

"We saw Palkia, we saw him with our own eyes!" Jupiter cried ecstatically, and Charon's jaw nearly fell of his head. "We were battling Matthew when Looker and Minerva appeared, resulting in Saturn getting shot, but their attacks hit the lake and disrupted Palkia as he slept. He released a powerful blast of energy that hit Matthew the most as he had been standing, while me and Saturn were sitting. There was blinding light for a few moments, but when it was gone Palkia had left as well, we believe through a Space Portal he created." Charon looked like Christmas had just come early, and he flung himself onto Jupiter, hugging her in delight. Cyrus' head had turned when he heard Palkia's name mentioned, his attention to the battle temporarily fading and allowing Staraptor to score a straight hit with Fly.

"The Master of Space was here?" Cyrus boomed, his hard face breaking as his mouth twisted in a smile. He stared down at Charon and Jupiter, who were still hugging enthusiastically in delight, before glancing back at the battle. Cyrus couldn't deny it anymore: he was going to lose. He had suffered enough humiliation when Charles had managed to defeat him, so how would the grunts respect him if he lost to someone outside of Team Galactic? His only way out was to find some other way of forfeit, and it seemed that opportunity had come.

"Honchkrow, use Fly, I'm just going to see what's going on!" Cyrus shouted, using the thin mist remaining from the Haze to cover his exit. Vanessa heard the order and a feeling of rage built up quickly: Cyrus was trying to get out of the battle, and she couldn't allow that!

"You two keep it up as well!" The redhead ordered and rushed over the edge, giving Charon's machine a good kick as she pulled her umbrella out. Cyrus had already rushed down the stairs by the time she arrived, standing alongside Charon and Jupiter with a broad grin on his face. Roshonda had taken Saturn aside and was bandaging his arm up, whilst Xavier, Palmer and Carolina got to their feet, Ninetales alongside and growling at Skuntank.

"Now, what exactly is going on here?" Vanessa hissed, her sword quickly activating. All eyes looked towards her, including Dragonite, Tauros and Gyarados as they blasted their rocks cleared. "If there was going to be a war, why wasn't I invited?" Jupiter looked appalled as she stared at her cousin, and Cyrus froze as he realised Xavier and Matthew were there as well. Carolina and Palmer quickly moved in front of them, pulling out more PokeBalls and looking ready to protect them.

"You all survived the explosion!" Jupiter hissed, unhitching her axe and cradling it, ready to attack her cousin.

"What about Sahara, did she survive as well?" Cyrus asked softly, trying not to let the rage that was clear in his eyes take over. Charon gave an indignant cough and glared at his boss.

"That's what I was trying to say! The Adamant Orb is producing many odd readings that can't possibly be related to Palkia: someone else must be manipulating space!" Charon explained. As he spoke, a soft giggle sounded, echoing around the chamber and sounding more malicious as it rang in their ears.

"I know that laughter…" Xavier said, and everyone turned around, looking for the source of the noise, Matthew and Charles stirring behind them. Suddenly, the chamber began to glow pink as if a brilliant violet spotlight had been turned on. Every boulder, rock, Zubat, Geodude, discarded piece of rubbish was illuminated in pink light, brightest near the rocky entrance to the rest of the mountain. Staraptor, Murkrow and Honchkrow froze in their mid air battle, confused by the light surrounding them. Addison ran up alongside Vanessa, a panic stricken look on her face.

"Charon, your machine is shaking out of control!" The grunt announced, taking a cautious sidestep to avoid Vanessa and her umbrella. Cyrus and Charon exchanged bulging eyed, dumbstruck, worried looks.

"It must be…" Cyrus said, but trailed off as more laughter surrounded them. There was a splashing sound, and suddenly Mars and Draco were being blasted out of the entrance, glowing pink water propelling them forwards. The two landed, soaking wet and gasping for breath, at Cyrus' feet, and the cold laughter came again, this time louder and deeper. Everyone turned as a figure appeared: Crystal was walking floating forwards, her strange pink eyes making several people gasp, and Smash hovering behind with all the supplies resting on him.

"GOOD EVENING TO YOU ALL!" Crystal boomed dramatically, waving her hands and causing many rocks to rise into the air. Vanessa looked like she'd just been punched, Cyrus, Charon and Jupiter appeared to be wetting themselves, while Carolina clutched onto Xavier and Palmer in fright. "I'M SO HAPPY TO SEE SOME OF YOU HERE! TONIGHT, YOU'LL ALL PLAY APART OF HISTORY AS I DESTROYED THE ONES THAT HAVE CONSTANTLY TRIED TO KILL ME!" She continued in a rather peppy tone, and she swished her hands carelessly: the floating rocks were sent flying, hitting Dragonite, Tauros and Gyarados, managing to free them, and causing the trainers, admins and Pokemon to duck for cover.

"We can't let her stay in this form!" Charon shouted to his team. "We must stop her straight away before she gets out of control and does kill us all!" The other grunts were appearing as well, looking rather concerned as Crystal began to laugh manically, forcing Smash to glide along the rocks, letting out a low roar.

"Don't worry, I know exactly what to do!" Cyrus growled, pulling a gun out of his pocket along with a PokeBall. "Aim for her back first and than knock her out, we can't kill her yet." Jupiter nodded and leapt up wordlessly, getting her mind into battle mode.

"Skuuuun!" Skuntank hissed, looking away from Ninetales and glaring towards Crystal, who was slowly marching forwards with a wide gleam.

"GALACTIC, CHAAAAARGE!" Cyrus roared, and he charged forwards as he threw the PokeBall. The grunts all charged forwards as well, and Crystal came to a startled halt as all the people ran towards her. Skuntank was joined by Jupiter's Cacturne and Haunter, and Mars got up as well, looking a terrible, soggy mess as she stared angrily towards Crystal. Roshonda abandoned Saturn, who was struggling to get up anyway, and joined Addison as she jumped down the bottom of the stairs. As Charon's Bronzong, Roshonda's Sharpedo and Addison's Ledian passed by, the Diamonds and their Pokemon watched in shock at the speed of the army.

"They are going to attack Sahara." Xavier announced. "We can't let them kill her. Razor Leaf, Blizzard, Ominous Wind and Vacuum Wave now!" Addison and Roshonda froze in shock as Xavier's Pokemon nodded and acted quickly: Grotle's Razor Leaf and Heracross blasted Sharpedo aside, Lapras' Blizzard sent Ledian spiralling away and Bronzong found itself forced to the ground, trapped in the Ominous Wind from Drifloon.

"How dare you attack us!" Roshonda shrieked angrily, rushing to check on Sharpedo.

"You can't attack Sahara, she cannot be blamed for Crystal's actions," Xavier replied, pushing through his parents and glancing over at the scene: Crystal was moving her hands widely, blasting rocks at the approaching grunts and their Pokemon.

"We're just following orders, you attacked us randomly!" Addison hissed back, picking Ledian up and cradling the ailing Pokemon. Palmer and Carolina were a bit unsure what to say, having had little dealings with Team Galactic and not possessing the same feelings.

_What are we doing about the others? _Lapras asked, and she gestured with her flippers to her left: Charon was simply standing there, looking a bit puzzled, whilst Saturn rushed past, clutching his pained arm. Elle, Gligar, Tauros and Gyarados were surrounding Charles, who was beginning to twitch now and flutter his eyebrows.

"Why aren't you going after Crystal?" Roshonda hissed, glaring angrily at the scientist. Charon had been staring at the scene, his mind racing. He blinked and glanced over at Roshonda as she snapped at him, and than gulped and nodded.

"Oh Roshonda, you spoiled what I was planning!" Charon chuckled nervously, and he threw an Ultra Ball into the sky. With a showering of stars around the energy, his shiny Magnezone appeared, the mountains magnetic fields causing it to rise up into the sky. "Magnet Bomb, now!"

"Magne." Magnezone said in his electronic voice, and a ball of metallic energy formed between his magnets, created by electrical currents. Carolina screamed and dived down as the Magnet Bomb was tossed, exploding between the Diamonds. As the energy washed over them, Charon rushed forwards. He quickly pulled something out from his coat pockets: a long, clear syringe. The scientist moved to the right, heading straight towards Matthew as he began to stir.

"Pipluuup!" Piplup shouted, leaping forwards with a Brick Break at the ready. Charon simply sidestepped her and then jabbed down: the syringe went into a vein in Matthew's wrist. Beautifly swooped down as Charon pressed down, releasing the contents into Matthew's blood stream, but Magnezone's Thunder Wave froze the bug type in her tracks. Xavier wheeled around as the Magnet Bomb explosion cleared, just in time for Charon to smile and wave at him before running off.

"What did you do?" Xavier asked, staring down at Matthew. Vanessa, having returned her Pokemon, rushed down the staircase and pushed past Addison and Roshonda, who were tending to their own Pokemon.

"What's happened?" Vanessa asked, taking a brief glance towards Crystal's mayhem. She and Xavier stared down at Matthew, who suddenly gave a twitch. He gave another violent twitch, and suddenly Matthew's limbs were twitching madly. A small trickle of blood came out of his nose, and Piplup, Beautifly and Misdreavus watched on in shock as Matthew seemed to have a seizure.

"Charon injected him with something, I don't know what though." Xavier replied, watching Matthew with a quizzical look. Vanessa stared at Matthew in horror, and then looked up, spotting Charon jogging in an unfit manner just passed Palmer.

"What did you do?" Vanessa shouted at him, and she ran past the twitching Matthew was her umbrella held high. Charon gasped and tried running faster, not wanting to end up on the end of the point. But even in high heels Vanessa could move quickly, and soon she was close enough to jump: the redhead leapt into the air, her umbrella raised and ready to slash. However, something grabbed her ankle after two seconds: Vanessa cried out as she crashed painfully to the floor, her umbrella only just slitting across Charon's leg. As the scientist moaned and collapsed onto a rock, Vanessa looked down her body to see who had grabbed her.

"Hello Vanessa." Draco growled, his long wet hair covering almost half his face. "It's a good thing I have two Ghosts to phase me out of rocks, otherwise I might not have been able to get my revenge."

"Oh, I'd like to see you try!" Vanessa hissed, and she kicked out with her other foot. Her heel smashed Draco in the face, making him let go, and the two leapt up, ready for a hand on hand combat. Ignoring a grunt with Mars' knife between his eyes soaring past them, the two began punching and kicking each other, the umbrella being left by Vanessa's fallen bag.

"Such violence!" Carolina gasped, watching in horror as Crystal angrily fought Team Galactic away from her back, dodging Pokemon attacks and flying bullets. But Xavier and Palmer were more focused on Matthew: he had stopped twitching, his limbs managing to have hit Charles, but blood was still coming from his nose. Xavier was looking rather pained: he had no idea how to react to this situation. His Pokemon were comforting Matthew's Pokemon, who were all looking rather shocked.

"There is a healer at the bottom of Route 208, very close to Hearthome City." Palmer said, giving his son a sympathetic hug. "Take Matthew there, we can hold Team Galactic off."

"Yes Xavier, take him quickly!" Carolina agreed, looking gravely down at her best friends child. Xavier nodded wordlessly, and he picked Matthew's unconscious body up and placed him onto Lapras.

_Alrighty then I guess… _The water type sighed, and Xavier and the Pokemon all climbed onto her back as well, making sure Matthew was in a safe position and wouldn't injure himself if he had another seizure.

"Good luck." Xavier said to his parents, and Carolina gave him a quick hug in farewell. Lapras used her flippers to move forwards, making Charles' Pokemon part and whacking the grunt at the same time, before passing Vanessa and Draco and heading outside of the cave.

"Alrighty then, let's fufill that promise by eliminating these two first!" Palmer called with a wide beam. Addison and Roshonda looked up, shocked, having been too focused on their Pokemon to notice or care.

"I'm with you on that!" Carolina said with a smile, and she clutched her husband's hand. Dragonite and Ninetales moved forwards, ready for a long battle, and wordlessly initated Brick Break and Flamethrower towards the Pokemon. As the attacks hit, a soft moan temporarily distracted the husband and wife, but heavily excited Elle and Gligar.

"Owwww…. My head…." Charles moaned, finally getting up after lying on the floor for nearly five minutes. He got up too quickly, causing a sharp pain in his head, but Charles had to find out what was going on: all he could remember was Roshonda wanting to kill the Diamonds.

"Eva Eve Eevee!" Elle shrieked, running around and gesturing down the cave. Gligar, Tauros and Gyarados were all pointing there as well, and Charles was already confused before he had even stood up.

"What are you lot on about?" Charles grumbled, but than froze as he stared at the scene before him: Palmer and Carolina barking orders as Ninetales and Dragonite destroyed Ledian and Sharpedo, Draco and Vanessa brutally punching each other as Charon bled besides them. And than there was Crystal: Charles nearly skipped a beat as he stared towards the scene. He didn't care that Cyrus was commanding about two dozen Pokemon to attack her, he didn't register as Mars aimed a kick at Nutty in order to grab her whip, nor did he give a damn that a grunt had their head enclosed inside a ball of water. All Charles cared about right now was that Sahara was alive: she may be possessed by Crystal right not, but Sahara was alive…

"Come on, we have to get down there!" Charles bellowed, forgetting about his headache and the fact he had just been unconscious. He began running, Elle and Tauros thundering alongside and Gligar and Gyarados soaring overhead. They raced past Roshonda and Addison, ignoring their shouts, dodged Draco and Vanessa as they exchanged insults and fists, and rushed towards the scene of the battle. Cyrus, the other admins and around twenty remaining grunts were battling, with over one hundred Pokemon joining in as well. Crystal was struggling as bullets, axes, body parts and various Pokemon attacks came towards her, somehow shooting jets of water and creating telekinetic barriers to save herself.

"We need to knock her out, not kill her, so let's try and be gentle!" Charles shouted so Gyarados and Gligar could hear over the noise. Cyrus turned his head and nodded at Charles, but Crystal noticed Cyrus turned and followed his eyesight.

"YOU!" Crystal suddenly boomed, the sound cutting through them like a knife. Charles looked shocked and stared at Crystal, trying not to cringe at her awful eyes. "YOU!" She shouted again, pointing a finger at him that managed to part the crowd. Water from the small pools around the chamber began to shake wildly as if caught in a storm, and many small objects began to rise slowly into the sky.

"What's going on…" Charles mumbled, taking a cautious step backwards. Crystal was breathing furiously and deeply, her skin glowing as pink as the light surrounding them all.

"YOU… YOU… YOU…" Crystal repeatedly angrily as her skin began to glow. Charles turned to run, not sure what was going on, and wasn't surprised that Cyrus was gesturing for them all to move back. However, it was too little too late: Crystal let out a cry like a banshee as her body was consumed by light, and there was a sound similar to a bomb going off. A powerful telekinetic wave was released from her body, blasting several grunts to pieces and sending everyone else flying. Charles tried to run, desperate to get out of the wave, but he knew it was pointless. He turned around as the wave sent Smash spiralling through the air and destroyed several rocks, and than the clear pink light came right up to his face before he could even register it.

And than all he could see was black.


	17. Dawn, Part Two

**Dawn, Part Two **

Charles awoke suddenly.  
It took a few moments for him to gather himself. He had no idea why he was lying on the floor, but Charles knew that he was in a cave, judging by the hard floor, the dust and dirt around him and the very dim light. Shouts, cries and roars echoed endlessly around him, mixed up with the occasional sound of gunfire, exploding or rumbling of the walls around them. Charles tried to think back to why he was lying on the floor, feeling severe pain in his back and chest.

_You… you… you… you…_

The same word was swimming around in his mind, and Charles gasped as he recognised it. Suddenly, it all came flooding back to him: arriving at Mt Coronet, battling the Diamond family, seeing Sahara, and than bright pink light…  
"Sahara!" Charles whispered, and he suddenly felt a rush of energy: he had to get back to Sahara and stop her. She was back into one of her other forms… Crystal, was it? It didn't matter now. Charles just needed to find a way to stop this. He managed to push his arms against the ground, allowing him to slowly and painfully get himself up off the ground, allowing him to review the shocking scene before him.  
The telekinetic shock wave had definitely caused some damage. The ground was severely cracked, stopping only ten metres in front of Charles. Many stalagmites and stalactites had been destroyed, and boulders had been blasted into tiny pieces. Galactic grunts were scattered around the chamber like the toys of a messy toddler, many unconscious, many injured, and many dead.  
Charles tried to look for some familiar faces, and saw that they were all spread out around as well. Roshonda and Addison were lying on the badly cracked stone staircase leading to a raised section, Sharpedo and Ledian lying alongside. Opposite was Palmer and Lady Carolina, stirring as his Dragonite pulled some rocks off of her Ninetales. More familiar grunts were lying under rocks or each other, the majority of them still alive, having not been close enough to Crystal to get struck. Saturn was groaning near the cave entrance, clutching a bleeding arm, while Mars helped Jupiter to her feet a little way away.

"Christ…" Charles mumbled as he stared at the damage. There was no sign of Crystal anywhere, but the minimal moonlight coming in from the outside world wasn't enough to lit the other end of the cave. Crystal was most likely hidden away in the shadows, recharging after what would have been a huge power drain. Charles stood where he was, staring towards the eerie black darkness that loomed in front of him. He wanted to know Sahara was safe, speak to her after nearly losing her again….  
"Eeee…. Veeee…." A soft voice croaked behind Charles, and he leapt around at the sound: Elle was lying a few metres away, some sharp rocks lying painfully on top of her.  
"Elle!" Charles cried, and all thoughts of Sahara left his mind. He rushed forwards and quickly pushed the rocks off, looking around for his other Pokemon. Gyarados was nearby, coiled up and glaring around at the surroundings with a more grouchy expression than normal, while Tauros lay slumped against a half-shattered boulder, clearly sleeping or unconscious. Gligar was draped with his eyes open on top of a pile of sharp rocks, looking fairly tired.  
"Don't worry, we'll be alright!" Charles said reassuringly and scooped Elle into his arms. Her brown and white fur was dirty and had flecks of blood on it, but Elle merely grizzled like an angry baby and looked up at Charles with sad, fearful eyes.  
"Eevee Vee Eva," She whimpered, and Charles stroked her softly. He desperately wanted to retrieve his Pokemon right now and leave, but there was no chance that he would leave without knowing Sahara's fate. Once again Charles stared into the darkness, hoping she would rise out of it, back to normal, and be able to escape without harm. Several figures stirred nearby, causing Charles to jump slightly, but on closer inspection he could see who they were: Cyrus and Draco, talking in low voices as they got to their feet. Seeing them caused the thought of Sahara escaping to quickly be deflated from Charles' mind: there was no way she would escape safely with all these people ready and willing to murder her.  
"Gligar Gar Gar," Gligar leapt up suddenly, eyes wide with shock and annoying Gyarados, causing the moody Pokemon to grunt in annoyance. Gligar suddenly began darting around, knocking rocks away and frantically swiping at the ground.  
"Gligar, calm down!" Charles hissed. "You'll disturb everyone!" But Gligar ignored him, and continued to sweep around the floor, sending rocks flying all over the place.  
"Charles, is that you?" Cyrus' voice, sounding much softer and calmer than normal, cut through the silence Gligar had begun disturbing, and Charles quickly whipped around, still holding Elle in his hands. He was surprised to hear Cyrus talking so kindly, but he figured the head admin was just worried about the situation in general.  
"Yes sir," he replied quickly, and moved forwards, making sure to bring Tauros back inside his Safari Ball for the time being. Cyrus and Draco were both standing in the light of the cave mouth, and neither had escaped from Crystal's shockwave unscathed: both of their clothes had been lightly torn, whilst Cyrus had a cut above his right eye and Draco looked like he had been in a fight.  
"I can't believe that fucking bitch did this to me!" The grunt trainer snapped, and Charles followed his angry scowl down to the ground: Vanessa was lying slumped against a rock, blood seeping down from her forehead. Charles was surprised to see her like this. Vanessa had always come across as very powerful and dominant, and it wasn't good news for the others for her to be in this state.  
"I don't give a crap about that little tart right now!" Cyrus hissed at Draco. "Charon's machine is destroyed and we need to contact our back up crew on the ship. Draco, you head back there and send them over here, along with any weapons you think would work. Take Charon with you: he needs to recover and work on getting things fixed," and Charles once again looked at the ground and saw the Galactic scientist sprawled across the floor, mumbling in his unconscious state. Again, Charles was surprised to see the powerful figure in Team Galactic lying here like a big toddler, gurgling sounds mixing in with the mumbling.  
"Alright, but can I take _her _back as well?" Draco asked excitedly, taking an unsubtle step towards Vanessa. Cyrus looked down at the red headed girl and nodded wearily, even kicking her umbrella towards him. Draco beamed in a malicious manner and quickly grabbed the umbrella, which was still in perfect condition unlike the contraption on Draco's arm (the casing was badly smashed and seemed to be fizzing), and than bent down and scooped Vanessa up. Charles watched as Draco kicked a clearly bleeding grunt and gestured at Charon, before marching up the broken staircase with Vanessa drooped pathetically over his shoulders. It was still a shock to see her defeated, and Charles couldn't help but wonder what would happen to her back on the airship…  
"Charles, focus!" Cyrus was back to his normal self as he snapped at Charles, and he managed to turn away from Vanessa and back at Cyrus. Mars was walking slowly over, a bruise and a few small cuts on her face, whilst Jupiter helped the bleeding Saturn up.  
"Alright, we need to work quickly in order to sort this mission out and evacuate properly!" Cyrus said quickly but in hushed tones, causing Mars to rush over in order to hear. "Xavier and Matthew had disappeared, Vanessa is in our captivity, so our only remaining issues are Crystal and the Diamond couple over there," and Charles and Mars looked over at Palmer and Carolina, who had awoken and were checking the other was alright. "Roshonda and Addison can deal with them, and if they get defeated I'll tend to them personally. But right now the rest of us need to focus all our attention back on Crystal!"  
"Do we have too?" Mars moaned, and Cyrus glared angrily at her. "I'm angry that little bitch tortured me and poor Draco, but I don't want to have to keep battling her: she's just a psycho little Carrie junior and I don't want to get killed!"  
"I don't care what you want," Cyrus hissed, and Mars flinched as his words got louder. "You can leave now if you want, but don't expect to still be an Admin if you do! Sahara is vitally important to our future operations, so we need her subdued and either captured or find a way to nullify her abilities until we need her. If we let her rampage now, she could very easily destroy herself and we can't have that!" And Cyrus finished yelling, his eyes bulging and his cheeks red with rage. Charles was intrigued by the fact Sahara was going to be important, and decided to store that information away for now. But his thoughts were interrupted as Saturn and Jupiter came towards, Saturn draped over Jupiter for support.  
"Do either of _you _wish to leave now?" Cyrus snarled, completely ignoring Saturn's heavily bleeding arm.  
"Of course not!" Jupiter replied quickly and rather nervously, earning her a nasty glare from Mars. Saturn just shrugged weakly, which seemed enough to satisfy Cyrus. He glanced backwards at Roshonda and Addison, who were beginning to stir and check on their Pokemon, and than over at Gligar, who was tugging at something underneath some rocks.  
"We don't have the best team left, but I think we'll be fine once Draco sends the weapons over," Cyrus explained, a dark and serious look across his face. "I want all your Pokemon to be ready as soon as Crystal stirs! We need to strike and get her under our control before she unleashes anymore energy. Aim for the back and than quickly aim back for the head: it's the only way to stop it!" Charles raised an eyebrow at these words, exchanging looks with Elle, who had also noticed the strangeness of those comments: how did Cyrus know so much about Sahara and how to stop her personalities? But the three admins all nodded, even an increasingly pale Saturn, and they called for their Pokemon. Toxicroak, Purugly and Skuntank each led their other two battling partners into rising up, forming a row of nine Pokemon all staring towards the darkness.  
"I'll go and get the other grunts sorted," Jupiter said, and she helped Saturn slink down onto the rock Vanessa had been sprawled against and rushed to wake the unconscious grunts lying everywhere. Cyrus shot Mars a look, and she grudgingly headed off to help.  
"What do you want me to do?" Charles asked, hoping not to get a particularly hard task. "I only have three of my Pokemon with me at the moment," he added, thinking that would help his case. Cyrus whipped around at this and stared down at Elle, who got what Charles wanted and put on a particularly ill face. There was a rumbling noise, and Charles nearly jumped as Gyarados' face appeared next to him, looking moodily at Cyrus.  
"I don't want you to deal with Crystal," Cyrus said quickly, trying to avoid the looks of either Pokemon. "I know you have had dealings with Sahara in the past, so it's best that you don't let your emotions get in the way when she begins to battle." Charles paused for a second as he took this in: had Cyrus been reading his mind, or did he just know Charles better than he thought? Charles himself didn't know what he thought about Sahara, so it was interesting to see Cyrus' interpretation.  
"Wait…" Charles said, and he suddenly remembered how 'You' had been repeated before he had been hit. "You think Crystal would just try to attack me, don't you?" Cyrus pulled an awkward face, and Charles knew he'd hit the spot. Once again he wondered what his boss was keeping from him, but a shuffling sound behind them allowed Cyrus to bypass answering: Palmer and Carolina had just gotten to their feet, only slightly bruised and with determined expressions on their faces. Dragonite and Ninetales were ready to go as well, and Gyarados growled angrily at them.  
"Alright Galactic, what are you up too?" Carolina snapped, a serious look on her face, but her voice was slightly pitched and croaky, failing to hide her desperation. Suddenly the rock Saturn was sitting on flashed pink: the admin yelped as he leapt up as if shocked, but the rock turned back to its boring brown colour a second later. Cyrus looked furious, his eyes wide with shock and anger as he turned back to the Diamonds.  
"You don't need to know that and I don't have time to deal with you anyway!" He snapped.  
"We'll see about that," Palmer boomed dramatically. "Dragonite, use Dragon Claw now!"  
"Roshonda, Addison, fight them!" Cyrus roared, and several rocks flashed pink again. However, whilst Sharpedo and Ledian jumped to attention, Roshonda and Addison were staring up at the raised section: a Meditite was sitting upon a rock, in a meditating position, faced towards this all. This was fairly strange, as Charles had not seen a single wild Pokemon in this mountain for a while, so seeing one sitting there looking rather relaxed was surprising. But Palmer and Carolina were more of a big deal at the moment.  
"Gligar, Stone Edge!" Charles shouted. He turned and saw Gligar was grinning in a triumphant way, but still heard the order and obeyed: his purple tail smashed into the ground, sending broken up boulder smashing straight into Dragonite, who let out a cry of 'DRAAAG!' The shout seemed to finally rouse Roshonda and Addison, who turned around in shock.  
"Sorry, I had tried to catch that Meditite before, and…." Addison began explaining, but Cyrus' glare silenced her. "Double Edge on Dragonite…"  
"AncientPower…" Roshonda said timidly as well, and their Pokemon leapt into action. Palmer and Carolina exchanged moody looks, and decided it was best to deal with the girls now.  
"Flamethrower!"  
"Brick Break!"  
As they began to battle, Gligar soared back towards Charles, beaming broadly. He came to a stop in mid air and opened his right claw: the fang he had taken from Carolina back on the boat was back there, looking rather dusty but still fine.  
"Ah, that's what you were looking for!" Charles said with a smile, though shot another nasty look at Cyrus.  
"Gligar Gli Gli!" Gligar replied with a beam, and showed the fang to Gyarados, who merely nodded his head slightly. Charles looked back towards Cyrus, who was helping Saturn move towards the others. The rocks around them were flashing pink more and more frequently, spooking several grunts as they retrieved their weapons, and Charles noticed that the flash made the rocks look slightly like pink jelly, almost as if they were no longer hard during that brief flash.  
"Charles, guard the entranceway for now!" Cyrus called back, and began to address the grunts, leaving Charles standing on his lonesome, thoroughly annoyed. He sat down on the ground as Addison's Ledian soared above his head, engulfed with fire. So many questions had formed inside his head of the past few minutes, but he knew none of them would be answered know. Charles wished he could speak to Looker, the mysterious man who had begun to give him information a few days ago. He needed these answers, and he needed to know what was going on.  
"Come guys," Charles sighed, feeling heavily dejected as the rest of Galactic prepared to fight. "Let's guard the entrance!" And he slid against Gyarados as the shiny Pokemon moved to block the entrance, cutting the outside world off from what was happening inside Mt Coronet.

Route 208

It was a cool yet breezeless night, only a few feet away from the battle that was about to happy. Clouds were moving down from Snowpoint City, but the crescent moon was currently out and glowing, casting its dazzling natural light across the region. The many waterfalls that came out of Mt Coronet's natural rivers splashed thunderously into the maze of rivers down below, but the sound was more relaxing and pleasant than disturbing. The occasional Hoothoot and Noctowl soared through the few trees that were around, otherwise the tall towers of rock jutting out from the water and grass below were completely relaxing and peaceful.

Xavier Diamond was sitting only a few feet away from the waterfall, upon a large flat rock jutting out o the ground. The water splashing on him was cool and refreshing, but his attention was focused entirely on the dirty ground in front of him: Matthew Pearl was lying there, having just been taken out of the battle zone that was Mt Coronet a few minutes ago. He had convulsed violently following his injection by Charon, but know he seemed to be asleep, though his eyes half open and badly bloodshot. Matthew's skin also looked fairly green and clammy, and Xavier was reminded of the colour of the lawn back at the Diamond Estate.  
For one of the few times in his life, Xavier found himself without a definite course of action to take. Though he could easily withdraw his four Pokemon (Grotle and Heracross sat besides him on the rock, whilst Lapras had her head underneath the waterfall, Drifloon floating above them), Xavier couldn't withdraw Piplup, Beautifly or Misdreavus, who were sitting and floating right next to their trainer, exchanging worried looks and sobs. Professor Oak had invented a new mechanism for PokeBalls several years ago, preventing anyone but the trainer from returning their Pokemon to their balls in order to prevent certain types of thievery. Factoring this in, Xavier would have to try and get Matthew and the three Pokemon to a medical facility very quickly, which could be troublesome.  
And Xavier didn't even know where to go to. He had just folded his map back up after checking it, but he already known that there weren't any hospitals or medical centres in the area. The nearest one was on the furtherest side of Hearthome City, and Xavier was unsure about how long a trip like that could take.  
He stared down at Matthew and could feel a strange feeling rising inside of him as he looked at his sickly friend. Xavier had never been very good with emotive feelings, though he never minded about it, but he was curious as to what this sensation was. Could it be desperation in trying to find a solution, shock at what was happening around them at this very moment… or could it be sadness… sadness at the fact that his friend was like this, sadness that he may not get cured…

_I don't enjoy reading your mind: it's far too complicated compared to your friends. _Xavier blinked and turned around, the feelings seeming to disappear as he stared at Lapras. She had her head out of the waterfall and was moving towards them, using her flippers to guide.  
"Whatever do you mean?" Xavier asked. Lapras paused and smiled warmly at him, and Xavier remembered how she had done this back when he had been a small child.

_Well, while everyone else's mind is usually filled with many thoughts, I can easily pick up on their central thought at the time and how they are feeling, _Lapras explained. _But… every time I try to read your mind, I need to use twice as much energy. It's like your lack of emotion has caused your brain to become impenetrable. You have too many thoughts, but you don't have any emotion to tie them together. _Xavier was interested by what Lapras had to say, but he couldn't worry about this now: the health of Matthew was more important than his psychological issues.  
"Thank you for the insight Lapras," Xavier said, and than looked down at Matthew, "however, we need to take Matthew to get cured. I don't know what Charon injected him with, but it has clearly made him very ill. I remember he had a bad case of the flu when we were eight and I wasn't allowed to go anywhere near him, but he looks worse now."  
"Piplup Pip Pip!" Piplup called out. She sounded much croakier and more high pitched than usual, and Xavier could see tears were streaming down her face. He felt the same feeling of sadness and decided to ignore it for now, needing to focus on a solution.  
"We should split up and try and find a place to rest for the evening," Xavier said. "Vanessa and Sahara should join us shortly, so we will be ready to give them instructions upon their arrival."  
_Alright then, _Lapras said as she slid back towards the waterfall. _I can easily head down and have a look around the rivers. _  
"Grotle Grot!"  
"Hera Heracross Racross Hear!"  
"Floon Drif Floon Floooooon!" Xavier looked around as his four Pokemon all rose up, their faces fill with strong looks of determination and adventure. Each of them were clearly ready to go and look for help, and Xavier couldn't deny the seriousness of their faces.  
"Lup Piplup Lup!" Piplup cried, smiling up at them all through her tears. Xavier felt another feeling rising up inside his stomach: a curious sensation that made him feel warm as he looked around at the determined and happy Pokemon. He could feel Lapras' eyes on him, and didn't want to draw any attention away from curing his friend.  
"Very well then, if you are all ready to go, we shall search all the paths for any trainers or houses," Xavier explained quickly, allowing his mind to clear of emotion based thoughts and form a plan. "Lapras will search along the riverbanks, Heracross will scale the walls to any outcrops or cliff-based camps, and Grotle shall –" Xavier paused, looking down on the rock at Grotle. "Grotle, what are you looking at?" He followed his starter's line of sight, which was directed towards a bush behind the rock. It was shaking violently and glowing, most likely meaning a Pokemon was hiding within the leaves.  
"Till Grot Grotle Till!" Grotle shouted, and the bushes on his back suddenly glowed green, a Razor Leaf getting ready to be fired. But before Grotle could attack, a glowing Pokemon suddenly erupted out of the bushes, shooting off into the air. Xavier instantly recognized the Pokemon, and knew why Grotle was annoyed: the mischievous smile covering the tiny orange body, permanently enclosed in gleaming blue electricity that lit up the area as if a light had just turned on, belong to none other than the ghostly electric type Rotom.

Xavier was highly intrigued by Rotom's sudden appearance. Rotom had last appeared back on the Cycling Road, giving Vanessa's motorbike a power up just before they had been blown to pieces by Team Galactic's fiery plan. Xavier's view had changed at that point: after all, Rotom's destructive treatment of them in the Old Chateau hadn't done well for his image. But Xavier had wondered if Rotom had followed them after Jaki had destroyed his old home, and was once again here at a pivotal moment.  
"Don't attack Grotle," Xavier said, taking a step forwards. Grotle was glared at Xavier, but reluctantly cancelled out the attack's preparation. Rotom had stopped buzzing around and was now floating above them all, even managing to distract Beautifly and Misdreavus from their constant watching of Matthew. Rotom glanced down at Matthew but continued his usual cheeky smile, and looked around at them all. Grotle was continuing to glare up at Rotom, and Lapras and Drifloon looked rather annoyed as well.  
"Rotom must be here for a reason," Xavier said, thinking hard. Rotom suddenly nodded frantically at this, unable to say anything asides from eerie sparking sounds. He pointed at Matthew with one of the electrical bolts, and than floated higher into the sky pointed into the distance. Xavier looked around, but he couldn't see where Rotom was pointing towards.  
"Drifloon Floon!" Drifloon floated down towards Xavier, and her legs suddenly wrapped around his right arm. Her berries clattered to the ground, and Drifloon cried out as she expelled a strong gust of wind. She and Xavier rose up into the sky, Xavier dangling only a few metres above the others. Rotom smiled as the two rose up, Drifloon managing to control her ascension to Xavier's weight. Drifloon smiled back, but Xavier didn't notice: his mind was cleared and all his attention was focused at the point Rotom was pointing towards.  
They were staring across to the other end of the route, with the bright, bold lights of Hearthome glittering in the far distance. They looked over the thundering but peaceful waterfalls and rivers that flowed beneath them, over the towers of hard rock and the maze of wooden paths and bridges connecting them together, and towards the large field at the very end. It was quite a dramatic change: the mountain range suddenly ended, being replaced by a large and practically bare field. The grass was as long as anywhere else in Sinnoh, but only a light breeze was shaking it now, the Pokemon all well asleep for the night. However, right in the corner of the field, a solitary house stood. Xavier couldn't make out any clear details from here, but he could see it was only one storey, and was right up against the tall trees and a narrow stream coming out of Mt Coronet.  
"There is a single house over there," Xavier called out, and Rotom nodded excitedly. Xavier knew this house must be important: not many houses were right in a route, many being built behind the trees and away from passing trainers. "I know it isn't on the map, but it stands out in a way."  
_A house… is it next to a stream… _Lapras' voice murmured inside Xavier's head as Drifloon began to descend.  
"Yes it is, why?"  
_I know that house! _Lapras said excitedly. _I went there with your mother when I was very ill. A berry master lives there, and he can make magical cures. He was getting a bit on the years when we were there, but there is a chance he could still be alive.  
_"Are you suggesting I take Matthew down to an aging man with an unofficial form of medication practice and hope some berries that cure Pokemon can cure his unknown ailment?" Xavier asked as he landed back on the rock.  
_Well, yes… _

"It's the only plan we have: let's do it," Xavier decided. "If we move swiftly we could get him there before Vanessa and Sahara are finished." Xavier looked down at Matthew as he spoke these words. He was unsure about this plan, as he didn't have another facts or details to help make a proper decision, but Xavier knew that Matthew would need some sort of medical care very soon. He was beginning to mumble as he lay on the ground, his body still tinged with green.  
"Piplup, do you agree with my plan?" Xavier asked. The little water type stared up at Matthew with her wide, sad eyes. Xavier felt the same depressing emotion and had to quickly resist it.

"Piplup Lup Pip Pip Lup Pip!" Piplup responded emotionally, and she slowly got to her feet, shaking slightly as she did so. She had managed to stop crying, but her focus still remained entirely on Matthew. Beautifly and Misdreavus rose further into the air, silently smiling slightly at Xavier's Pokemon. Xavier stared down at Matthew with Piplup, thoughts beginning to appear in his head…  
_We should head off now, shouldn't we? _Lapras' voice interjected before Xavier could grab hold of any of the thoughts. He quickly stood up properly and nodded towards her.  
"Lapras, you go along this river as a guide," Xavier said, pointing along the road of water between the two levels of waterfalls. "Piplup shall get on Grotle and help hold Matthew's head up, and Heracross and I shall carry his legs."  
"Cross Heracross Hera!" Heracross called out in agreement, and he ran forwards to help Xavier up. Piplup jumped onto Grotle's bushes, which had stopped glowing, and determinedly grabbed onto Matthew's head as Xavier picked him up.  
"Drifloon, Beautifly and Misdreavus, you just follow along," Xavier said, and the three Pokemon nodded. "And Rotom, you can –" but Xavier froze in mid sentence. He was going to ask Rotom to come along with them if he wanted to, but the electric ghost was nowhere to be seen.  
"Interesting…." Xavier mumbled, but quickly pushed the thought away. He grabbed onto Matthew's right leg, Heracross holding his left leg, and gave a nod towards Grotle: their voyage to the Berry Master's house had just begun.

As Vanessa opened her eyes, she had no clue where she was.  
It didn't take long for her to take in the obvious facts. Firstly, she was no longer inside Mt Coronet, judging by the fact a light was glaring into her eyes above her. Second, she appeared to be lying on a table. And finally, she seemed to be tied to the table.  
_Interesting… _Vanessa thought, as she decided to give the restraints holding her arms outstretched and her legs in a bind a tug. Unfortunately they didn't budge, but Vanessa was fine with that for the time being. It was quite clear what had happened as the last few seconds before she fell unconscious came back to her: Sahara/Crystal had emerged whilst Vanessa began fighting Draco, and soon unleashed a powerful wave of telekinetic energy. Vanessa figured that she must have been knocked unconscious and been taken back somewhere, either to their airship or back to the Galactic Headquarters, depending on the time that passed.  
_Their base could be mildly problematic, _Vanessa pondered. _I must find out where that place is… Anyway… the airship would be easier to escape from. I just need my Poke – shit, that's right, their all unconscious. Balls. I'll need to get to my umbrella then. But where is it, I wonder…  
_Vanessa turned her head and began to examine the room she was in. However, there wasn't much to examine. It was a bare, narrow white room, with a bench to her left and a doorway opposite the table she was on. The table was rather hard and slightly above the bench, possibly at an interrogation length.  
_Well, they obviously aren't spending their money on décor, _Vanessa thought as she looked at the unappealing and very bland walls. She let out a sigh and slipped back into her position on the table. Her back and arms were beginning to hurt from being tied and pulled across the table, and Vanessa was just pondering when someone was going to come and make a jibe at her when the door suddenly opened.  
"Well well well, what do we have here?" A snarl voice called mockingly, and Vanessa rolled her eyes as Draco appeared in her eyesight. "The great Vanessa lying sprawled on a table! Where are your fancy gadgets and Pokemon now, eh?" Vanessa just looked up into his pale, greasy face and smiled.  
"What happened to your eye?" She asked in mock surprise. "It looks as if some big, strong, burly man has punched you!" Draco's eyes narrowed, only making his purple and black right eye look even worse. He quickly and suddenly slapped Vanessa across the face. Vanessa had to stifle a shocked gasp: she hadn't expected the pain to be so severe. Her head was shaking and it felt like her cheek had been burnt. Draco smiled sadistically above her and bent down low, so there was only a centimetre between their faces. Vanessa could feel his breath on her face.  
"You may not have noticed in your unconscious state," Draco explained savagely, "but we slipped you a pill as we brought you onboard. You may feel pain a bit more than normal, but I'm sure a tough little girl like you can survive." Draco let out a sadistic laugh and Vanessa on her exposed arm. Vanessa had to shut her watering eyes as pain shoot through her body at the pinched nerve, and she had to bite back a cry of pain. Vanessa couldn't handle staying in her focused and superior form: they had stripped her of her power and put her at their mercy, and she had no option but to fight back.  
"Why have you drugged me?" Vanessa snarled, and began thrashing against the straps holding her to the table. "Why did you capture me in the first place? Where are the others?" Draco simply smirked and pinched Vanessa's arm again. The pain that rushed through her body caused her to gasp, and she collapsed back onto the surface, unable to fight back anymore. Her entire body hurt as if she had just been running up a mountain, and she had only been fighting her restraints for a few seconds.  
"Charon has been working on… medicines, you could say, for a while now," Draco explained, stroking Vanessa's arm. Even her arm shuddering in disgust caused Vanessa pained, and she tried to hold down her emotions. "Charon has been looking to test them for quite a while, I believe. I know he drugged Matthew only a short time ago, and he slipped your special _pain medication_," Draco stressed these last two words and paused to laugh at his own wit, "- yes, he slipped them to you whilst you slept. I'm sure he'll be coming to test how strong the drug is, and I'd be _delighted _to watch it!" Draco laughed and walked towards the bench, as Vanessa shuddered in disgust. She didn't want to think about what Charon was going to do to her, or what Draco was doing over by the bench.  
"You people are despicable," Vanessa hissed furiously. "You can't even battle me properly: you have to wait for me to be knocked out, drug me and tie me up before you want to do anything, as well as removing my Pokemon and weaponry from my grasps. Why don't you grow a pair and fight me like a man!" Draco suddenly appeared back in her eyesight, no longer smiling, wearing an angry scowl across his pale, pimply face.  
"You are a fool Vanessa," he snapped back. "You have chosen the wrong side in this battle, and you will have to pay for it eventually. I'd glad make you suffer greatly if I could, but your friend Sahara doesn't permit this: Crystal has decided to cause us a bit of bother, and I need to send more grunts over. But don't worry _darling _Vanessa, when Charon begins his testing, I'll be sitting in the front row and eagerly awaiting the show," and than he raised his hands up: Vanessa expected him to hit her, but saw something was in his hands. A tiny white pill was in one, and a bottle of water that must have been out of Vanessa's sight when she looked before, and Vanessa knew this combination wouldn't be good.  
"What is thi –" Vanessa begun, but Draco moved swiftly and grabbed her jaw. Vanessa couldn't control the anguished gasp that came from her as Draco twisted his hand. It felt like her head had just been split in two, and Vanessa wanted to scream out as she felt something slide down her tongue.  
"The pill is just a sleeping pill, though it should work much quicker," Draco explained in sadistic but savage tone, and he poured the water into her mouth. It tasted nasty and metallic, but Vanessa didn't bother with taste as it felt like she was going to choke. She wanted to spit it up, feeling her throat fill and clench up, but froze as the feeling suddenly passed. Now she was feeling sleepy, the muscle pains throughout her body beginning to disappear. Draco flashed another yellow toothed smile at Vanessa and stroked her hair. Vanessa wanted to cry out, but she couldn't seem to be able to move her jaw, which felt like it had been broken… Draco was walking away… her eyes were beginning to shut… Vanessa need to get out of here, it wasn't safe… but she felt so tired… the table felt so comfortable… she could just shut her eyes for a moment… recharge… replenish… she could easily kill them all later anyway…

It was hard enough trying to get around Mt Coronet in the first place, but after running for nearly half an hour, Minerva found it didn't get any easier.  
Minerva was not the fittest person around. She had been working under Cyrus for the past few years now, even before Team Galactic properly begun, and had to put her career as a trainer on hold, which hadn't done wonders for her health. Her job consisted of sitting at a desk, working on the computer as she researched and wrote things up for Cyrus, or otherwise would file the immense amount of documents Cyrus had collected into their respective places. Neither of these tasks allowed Minerva to be in the peak of fitness, and her slender weight, muscle build up and healthy eating habits she had built up while travelling quickly disappeared. Minerva had recently tried to lose weight and get back to getting healthy, but she wasn't prepared enough to tackle Mt Coronet.  
The mountain caves were awful to get around. The floor was rocky and uneven, with bits of rock scattered across the ground and making it risky to even walk across. And they had been going steadily uphill since leaving Matthew, Saturn and Jupiter behind, and the incline was too much for Minerva. Her feet ached, her legs felt like blocks, and her throat burnt as she gasped for air. She knew going after Looker wasn't wise: he was fitter, faster, and his Jolteon was much stronger than Leafeon. But Minerva thought she could do it, and was still trying her best.  
_I can't take this any longer… _She puffed inside her head, watching as Looker's brown coat swished in the darkness, occasionally lit up by the sparking Jolteon. _But he's so close… I've come too far… I can't give up now…_

"Fe Leafy Eon Leaf!" Leafeon was running alongside Minerva, beginning to show tiredness and wear herself. Minerva smiled down at her, glad to see her old friend was still going strong as well. They'd been running for a while now, and though Leafeon had gotten a few hits on Jolteon, they were getting further and further behind: a mix of tiredness and the confusing tunnels had caused them to slow down. Minerva just wanted to come to a stop, and let out a sigh as Looker ran down another path. She reluctantly followed them down the narrow corridor of rock, but than came to a stop: Jolteon's yellow flashing had just lit up the cave roof, and caused an idea to light up in her head.

"Stalactites!" Minerva puffed excitedly, getting her beathe back as she stood still. She looked down at the weary Leafeon and beamed. "Magical Leaf, now!" Leafeon was surprised and looked up, instantly understanding what was being planned.  
"LEEEEAAAAFY!" She wailed, and the leaves on her body glowed a green that lit up the entire corridor. Leafeon spun around, and a small bundle of rainbow coloured leaves shot towards the roof. Minerva saw a glowing Looker turn and looked up in shock as the leaves smashed into the cave roof. With an earthly crunching sound and an expelling of dust, several of the rocky spikes began to fall. Minerva ran excitedly forwards as Looker and Jolteon leapt backwards, the stalactites crashing onto the ground. More dust was released, but Minerva didn't care as she ran forwards with her face covered: finally, Looker was trapped!  
"Very clear Minerva, I am impressed," Looker's voice said suavely through the dust. "I see that Cyrus has done well you, impressive indeed. However, I can't help but see a few flaws with this plan…" Minerva froze as Looker chuckled quietly.  
"What flaws?" She whispered frightfully. Her triumph disappeared as quickly as it had arrived, and she began to look around wildly for Looker, wondering what went wrong.  
"Ah, not so wise after all," Looker said, chuckling again. "You should have known that the dust and dirt would have been released when the stalactites fell, and that would have given the enemy an excellent cover, right?" There was a clicking sound right next to Minerva's ear, and she glanced anxiously to the right. The dust had begun to settle, and she was able to dimly see Looker through the darkness, smirking triumphantly as he held a gun to her face. Minerva sighed, and felt like hitting herself: she'd come this far, put her body on the line, and had come so close to succeeding, but had, once again, failed miserably.  
"Go on, pull the trigger!" She snarled. "I'm going to get punished enough by Cyrus when I get back!" And Minerva tensed up, waiting for the bullet to be fired. But it didn't come, and she slowly opened her eyes, staring towards the right again: Looker had lowered the gun, a frown spread across his face.  
"LEAF!" The silence was shattered as Leafeon suddenly leapt forwards, using Looker's reluctance as a chance to attack him. She soared through the air, leaves glowing green, and had nearly gotten towards him when a yellow blur sped between them, flying towards Leafeon at an alarming rate.  
"JOLT!" Looker's Jolteon shouted, smashing into Leafeon with such force that both of them rolled backwards down the rocky corridor, smashing into rocks as they did so. Leafeon angrily released the Magical Leaf onto Jolteon, who counted with a Thunderbolt that made the corridor glow yellow.  
"Those two always fight," Minerva whispered with a smirk, and Looker could only nod. The two turned towards each other, and Minerva saw that Looker was still frowning down at her, the gun hanging loosely by his side.  
"Why are you still working for them Minerva?" The spy said with an agitated sigh. "Last time we met you were so close to leaving this all behind: why have you stayed?" Minerva growled and turned away, feeling tears building up in her eyes.  
"I knew you'd do this!" She huffed. "I have my reasons for staying! Trust me: I know I'm turning back into a bad person, and I don't like it. The night we blew up the Cycling Road, after I battled with the Dex Holders, I felt terrible about it. What if I had killed them? Cyrus may want them dead, but I don't see any reason in killing them!" And before Minerva knew it, the tears were beginning to stream. She hadn't intended to say any of that, but it had just come pouring out. This always happened every time she encountered Looker: her emotions would just come streaming out, making her question practically everything in her life.  
"You should have left Cyrus behind years ago!" Looker said, sounding slightly agitated. "He's kept you trapped with him for too long, and you can't leave now! You don't still care for him, do you?" Minerva shook her head furiously, sending tears flying.  
"I don't like! I'll always have feelings for him, but I don't like him as a person," She replied through her tears, which she wiped on her sleeve. The flashes and sounds from the battling seemed to have ceased, but neither Minerva or Looker noticed. The spy was staring curiously at her, thinking, when a thought suddenly hit him.  
"Your not staying for Cyrus, your staying for… him… aren't you?" He whispered anxiously. Minerva stopped crying, but her body began to shake slightly. She gave a slow, jittery nod, and Looker let out a sigh. "Oh Minerva, I knew this would happen eventually!" He moved to give her a reassuring pat, but Minerva moved out of the way, shaking her head.

"I'm fine Looker!" She said, a bit louder than she intended, as she wiped what remained of her tears out of her eyes. "I don't need your sympathy, ok? I followed you because it's still part of my job, not because I needed your pity!" Looker was shocked for a second, but than his face twisted into anger, and he held his gun more tightly.

"Well _sorry_ than Minerva!" He snapped. "Your making a big mistake with your life and I'm just trying to help, but it's good to see I don't need to bother anymore!"

"I can handle things on my own!" Minerva shouted, causing dust to trickle down from the stalactites above. "I know what I'm doing, and I need to keep doing it to make it all worthwhile! So just let me be to finish doing this!" Minerva fell silent, red in the face and breathing deeply. Looker glared down at her, many insults and words of advice swirling inside his head, but knowing he couldn't use any of them. The two stood there staring at each other for a minute, an awkward silence between them. They didn't even notice Leafeon and Jolteon walking slowly back towards them, or the fact Leafeon was carrying something, until they were only a foot away.  
"What the – " Minerva said, looking down at her Pokemon: an cream and brown egg was curled between her leafy tail, emitting a soft glow that lit up the surrounding area. Minerva felt a sensation go through her body, and she couldn't help but let out a half laugh, half sigh. "Oh you two!" She chuckled, and reached down and patted Leafeon, who just smiled and glanced over at Jolteon. Minerva looked back up at Looker, but was surprised to see he wasn't smiling or laughing.  
"I think it's your turn to deal with it," he said coldly, and Minerva felt as if she had just been slapped. She stared at Looker with a dropped jaw as the spy pulled a PokeBall out of his bag and dropped it on the ground. The flash lit the corridor up for a moment, but than it was replaced by a Ralts, standing simply on the ground. "This will take you back to the front cave. Good luck with getting rid of the egg."

"Looker, wait!" Minerva began, but the Ralts was already walking towards them. Looker stared away before she could speak, and Minerva reached out, trying to grab hold of him. But suddenly all she could see was white, as she was teleported unwillingly back towards the Galactic, leaving an once strong friendship possibly in ruins.

"I'm bored."  
Charles had nearly fallen asleep when Mars suddenly spoke next to him. The grunt sat up quickly, rubbing his eyes and hoping no one had noticed he had dozed off. But as he looked around to face Mars, he saw practically everyone else was asleep as well: Saturn and Jupiter were slumped against each other, their eyes half shut, whilst several grunts on the surrounding rocks had either fallen asleep or were lying on a patch of dusty ground, doing their best to pass the time. Mars had settled on a rock right next to Gyarados' head, whose body Charles had nearly fallen asleep on. Elle and Gligar were batting rocks next to his body, equally as bored as the rest of them.  
Crystal had not moved since Cyrus had formulated their plan. Charles had been expecting her to suddenly leap up and begin firing something at them, but she was still hidden in the darkness, the only sign of life coming from the occasional pink flashes of the rocks. Charles would like to have asked Cyrus what they were going to do, but Cyrus was not focusing on anyone: he was constantly pacing around, occasionally glancing towards where Crystal should be or accidentally mumbling a thought allowed. Charles let out an agitated groan and lay back onto Gyarados, watching Elle and Gligar whilst his mind drifted off.  
Without really wanting to, Charles kept thinking about Sahara. Why was Crystal so powerful at the moment? What had caused this sudden power surge? A single and simple thought kept coming back to him: _me_. If Charles shut his eyes, he could know remember the way Crystal had looked at him, absolutely furious and deranged, a look of pure loathing and fury on her face. For some reason Crystal had targeted him, but the force of the wave seemed to have drained all her energy… or was she just tricking them, waiting for the right moment and than going to slaughter him? And Charles also couldn't help think about the way Cyrus had looked so awkward when he questioned not allowing him to go against Crystal: was the Galactic boss afraid of what Crystal might do to Charles, or was he simply not wanting her to get worked up and release another powerful telekinetic wave? There were so many questions beginning to flood his brain that Charles didn't know which one to think about first, and he was starting to get annoyed when a sudden burst of fire soared above his head, making him yelp and causing Mars to jump as well.

Nearby, the battle between Palmer and Carolina against Roshonda and Addison was still going on. It wasn't surprising that the Tower Tycoon's powerful Dragonite, with aid from Ninetales fire-type attacks, had managed to make quick work of Ledian and Sharpedo. The two female grunts hastened to try and get the upper hand, sending Cradily and Persian to fight back. Dragonite was able to continue holding the advantage, moving swiftly to avoid attacks and using Brick Break and Thunder Wave to fight back against them. Unfortunately for Carolina, Ninetales wasn't doing as well: Cradily's Stockpile and Spit Up combination and Persian's Giga Impact were causing major damage towards the fire type, and causing her to be repeatedly smashed into the raised section behind them (the Meditite continuing to ignore them as if they weren't even there). It was quite clear that a few more hits and Ninetales would be history.  
"I can't keep this up!" Carolina whispered tearfully to Palmer. Cradily was continuing to Stockpile whilst Persian was recharging following her latest Giga Impact, leaving Ninetales breathing deeply, her legs wobbling, in front of them.  
"DRAGONITE, USE BRICK BREAK ON PERSIAN ONCE MORE!" Palmer roared dramatically, and his Dragon nodded obediently, speeding forwards. "I know dear, you really should switch her out and heal her!" Palmer looked at his wife with a confident smile on his face, but was surprised to see Carolina looked even more crestfallen, her beautiful face wrinkling up. "You did bring more Pokemon, right?"  
"Well… no…" Carolina mumbled. "I never really need to use any other Pokemon, so I usually just take Ninetales and leave the others at home. I didn't expect this battle to happen, so don't give me that look!" She snapped, as Palmer had just rolled his eyes at her. Carolina glared up at her sighing husband, both not noticing as Persian was sent crashing into some rocks by Dragonite, making Roshonda and Addison leap out of the way.

"Well, you aren't going to be very useful if Ninetales faints, will you?" Palmer said, and he reached into his coat pocket, pulling out an Ultra Ball. Carolina's finally plucked eyebrows shot up her forehead, and her hands twitched as she had to stop herself from slapping him.  
"So is that that then?" Carolina shrieked, causing many heads of Team Galactic to turn towards her. "Am I dismissed now?" Her voice echoed, and the rocks around them suddenly flashed pink. But neither of the Diamonds noticed, husband and wife glaring into each other's eyes.  
"I'm not dismissing you, I'm just saying you can't contribute to the battle anymore!" Palmer replied. "Now back off and let me keep this battle going!" Carolina looked like she had just been slapped, and for a second her eyes seemed to twinkle like she was about to cry. But the elegant woman just blinked furiously and reached into her pocket and pulled out a pink PokeNav, imported directly in from Hoenn.  
"I'm calling the helicopter from the mountain lodge and getting picked up!" Carolina fumed, glaring angrily at her husband. "I'll see you back at the house! Come on Ninetales!" Ninetales nodded weakly, and Carolina shot one last glare at Palmer before marching furiously towards the cave exit.  
"FINE, BE THIS WAY!" Palmer shouted after her. "SO MUCH FOR A RECONCILATION HOLIDAY!"

"OH BITE ME PALMER!" Carolina shouted back, and she stormed towards the exit. Palmer went to say something else, but instead let out an angry grunt and threw his second Ultra Ball to the ground. It burst open, and his second Pokemon was released: the Pokemon looked like a large, misshapen brown rock with orange pads across its body, with two horns on it's head and a long hard tail, topped off with a large rock on the end.  
"RHYPERIOR!" The creature roared, thumping his large fists against his chest.  
"Oh damn…" Addison squeaked, staring at the new opponent with wide, horrified eyes, and glancing towards Persian, who was twitching on the rocks she lay on. Roshonda also glanced at Rhyperior with a terrified expression, causing Palmer to chuckle as he patted the Rock-Ground type on the back. But Roshonda's eyes wandered towards the left, and she gasped as she saw Carolina approaching the cave exit. Charles had drifted off back asleep, Saturn and Jupiter were facing the other way, and Mars was kicking a few rocks around absently.  
"Carolina's escaping, STOP HER!" Roshonda screamed. Charles suddenly woke up, and turned to see Carolina and Ninetales climbing over Gyarados, who had also fallen asleep. Cyrus stopped pacing and stared at her with rage, whilst the other three admins suddenly leapt up. Carolina and Ninetales exchanged looks, and the fiery fox simply smiled.  
"Nine Nine," She whispered, and a powerful jet of flames shot out of her mouth. Charles cried out and leapt on top of Elle and Gligar and rolled, the flames avoiding them but hitting Mars, who yelled as her dress burst into flames. The rocks around them were glowing pink once again, but now they weren't disappearing, instead beginning to lit up the cave with the strange, flower like glow. No one noticed that the darkness was beginning to disappear, and an even brighter glow was beginning to emerge behind them all.  
"Sorry for this folks, but I've been on my feet for a few hours now, so I could really do a foot massage," Carolina explained with a smiled, and she leapt off of Gyarados and onto Route 8.  
"Purugly use Slash!" Mars shouted as she fell to the ground, smothering her flaming dress in the dust. Purugly nodded and leapt forwards from the row of the Admins nine Pokemon, her claws growing as she leapt off Gyarados. However, the weak Ninetales suddenly turned into energy and disappeared into the darkness outside of the mountain.  
"PUUUR!" Purugly shrieked as she landed on Gyarados, and bent her knees in order to leap forwards. Everyone was watching now, even Roshonda and Addison, not noticing as Dragonite and Rhyperior attacked their Pokemon: the rocky wall making the entrance was suddenly drooping, looking like pink paint was dripping in large quantities.  
"The entrance… it's closing!" Saturn gasped, and they all watched in shock as what had been solid rock a few moments ago suddenly closed together. Purugly had already jumped, and let out a howl as she crashed head first into glowing pink wall, bouncing backwards. Charles, still holding Elle and Gligar, scrambled backwards as Gyarados reared his head, looking thoroughly disgruntled about being stood on several times. But Charles was more afraid of the rocks: they seemed to be making crackling sounds now as they glowed an even brighter shade of pink, and began to resemble giant lumps of jelly as they became less and less solid.  
"It must be…" Charles mumbled, and quickly turned around. Cyrus looked around as well, his eyes nearly falling out of his head in his shock. The area of the cave was no longer dark, but instead was glowing the brightest pink of all. Charles could now see the top of the cave roof where the stalactites began, all which seemed to be drooping now as well. He looked to the side and saw two figures were beginning to rise into the air now: the tiny body of Nutty and the long and hard figure that was Smash.

And than there was Crystal.  
She looked purely demonic as she stood there, her hair and clothes being blown around despite no wind around them. The silk, flowing gowns now looked frayed and much darker, and Crystal's eyes had turned into a furious shade of hot pink. Her veins had turned pink as well and were glowing, and Charles couldn't help but take a few cautious steps backwards towards Gyarados, not wanting to be in sight when this clearly psychotic Crystal attacked.  
"Why didn't you fools fight me when you had the chance?" Crystal shrieked at them, and let out a high pitched laugh that echoed inside the cave, causing dust to trickle down onto their heads. The three admins moved forwards, their Pokemon taking a few steps in front to make a barrier. However, this action just made Crystal laugh even harder. "You think you can try and stop me now? Too late suckers!" And she waved her hands. Suddenly all nine Pokemon were sent flying, causing several grunts to leap out of the way as they crashed into the rocks they'd just been sitting on.  
"Well that went well…" Mars mumbled, watching as her Tentacruel became wrapped around Saturn's Toxicroak.

"I've absorbed in all the energy I could from inside this mountain," Crystal explained in her hysterical voice. "So whatever plan you may have won't be working now!" Cyrus stared at Crystal, temporarily dumb struck at how easily she had cast the Pokemon aside. Charles was worried about this: what if Cyrus' plan failed and Crystal slaughtered them all? But the Galactic shook his head, possibly clearing his thoughts, and took a step forwards.  
"I am not afraid of you Crystal!" Cyrus boomed, managing to cancel out the noise of the battle happening behind them with his thunderous tones. "We have methods of defeating you: it is all just a matter of keeping you busy until we can get the right things in!" Crystal stopped laughing and stared at Cyrus with a look of puzzlement and surprise. However, this quickly turned to a furious look in her eyes and a wicked smile on her face.  
"Very well than Cyrus: I shall play your games," She said with her devilish grin, "but don't expect me to go easy on any of your pathetic little grunts!" And with that, two balls of water suddenly materialized in her hands, tinged with pink due to the strange glowing happening around them. Cyrus half smiled and nodded.  
"I wouldn't have it any other way!" He called. "Now everyone, GO!" There was a sudden commotion around Crystal, who turned around as yells erupted on either side: several grunts were leaping out from behind stalagmites, firing bullets towards her and pulling their PokeBalls out. For a brief second it looked like Galactic had the advantage of surprise and numbers, but Crystal let out a furious, ear-splitting cry that made them all cover their ears. As the bullets smashed into the ground around her, Crystal fired the two balls of water: both hit a grunt flying towards her on either side, their heads becoming trapped inside the liquid and they crashed to the ground, flailing as they struggled for breath. These didn't stop any of the other grunts, who began to race forwards as fast as possible upon landing, their guns raised and pointed directly towards her head.  
"It'll take more than the threat of a gun to stop me!" Crystal roared, and she waved her hands over the glowing ground. With a great rumbling roar, the earth around her split open. The grunts came to a stop, each of them looking shocked and worried as the cracks appeared in the ground. Crystal let out a booming laugh and shook her hands again: pillars of ground and rock suddenly burst through the cracks. Mars and Jupiter shrieked as the pillars smashed into the grunts, who had been too slow to escape. Charles watched horrified as one grunt became impaled in the lower jaw, whilst the others were simply carried screaming towards the stalactites. Crystal laughed and waved her hands again: the pillars turned to dust, and the several grunts came falling back to the ground screaming, landing in a painful heap on the ground. An awkward silence fell in the areas, the only noise coming from Palmer's Rhyperior roaring as he sprayed Cradily with a Flamethrower. Cyrus stared at the bleeding grunt who had been impaled, looking like it had been him that had been struck. Crystal was standing there smiling broadly, looking around at them all with her wicked pink eyes.  
"So… what are you going to do next?" She asked with a hint of sarcasm. Saturn and Jupiter turned towards Cyrus, both of them looking worried and confused. Charles wanted to do nothing more than race out there himself and begin battling Crystal, desperate to do something. But suddenly and surprisingly, Mars stepped forwards, glaring towards Crystal with her whip in her hands.

"No one interrupts _my _sexy time and gets away with it!" Mars hissed. Crystal just laughed as Purugly, Tentacruel and Drapion stepped forwards as well, ready to defend their trainer.  
"Do your worst!" Crystal chuckled, more balls of water forming in her hands. Mars smiled slyly and pressed a button on the handle of her whip: the long leather cord suddenly glowed and began crackling with electricity. Mars yelled out and swung the whip through the air. Crystal put her hands up in defence, but the electrically charged whip smashed through the water.

"GAH!" Crystal cried as she was blasted backwards, going right through one of the no longer solid rocks she'd made. Saturn and Jupiter both looked shocked, but quickly hastened to grab their own weapons which lay nearby.  
"Hypnosis, Dark Pulse and Sludge Bomb!" Mars bellowed to her three Pokemon, and than flung her whip again. This time Crystal deflected it with a casual flick of her hand, but failed to notice Jupiter's axe that had been flung through the air, stopping it only a centimetre from her hand.

"Flamethrower, Focus Blast and Shadow Ball!" Jupiter yelled to Skuntank, Cacturne and Haunter as she pressed a button on her watch, allowing her axe to come flying handle first towards her.  
"Gunk Shot, Razor Wind and Stone Edge!" Saturn shouted to Toxicroak, Scyther and Rhydon, and he quickly fired a bolt of energy from his metal rod. Crystal was already trying to deflect Mars' Pokemon's attacks with a large wall of water she conjured from her hands, but the bolt smashed into the wall and destroyed it, sending waves crashing through the rocks.  
"Well played Galactic scum, but you still won't be able to defeat me!" Crystal hissed, breathing deeply. She shut her eyes as Jupiter and Saturn's Pokemon got ready to attack, and Charles had to stifle a gasp as Crystal's eyes continued to shine through her lids, looking like some weird, feminine alien. There was a squelching sound above them, and all heads, even those of Palmer, Roshonda and Addison, looked up towards the cave roof. The stalactites, which had been held in place firmly a moment ago, were now falling down towards them.  
"MOVE!" Saturn shouted, and he pushed Jupiter out of the way before firing another bolt of energy, blasting one of the rocky spikes into dust. But the others smashed into the ground, still attached to the roof by single parts of stalactites being stretched out. One grunt became impaled in the leg, beginning to scream her head off as the sharp point drove painfully through.  
"Eevee Eva Eve!" Elle called to Charles, and she began squirming out of his arms, desperate to get towards the scene to help out. But Charles held onto her tighter and moved lower to the ground next to Gyarados.

"No Elle, I won't let Crystal hurt you!" Charles said softly but seriously. "Besides, Cyrus won't let me go out there anyway!" There was a sudden roar nearby, and Charles looked up as Smash suddenly flew directly overhead, crashing straight into Saturn's Scyther. As more stalactites crashed into the ground, a blinding yellow flash lit up the cave even brighter than the pink glow, and Mars' Tentacruel was blasted backwards by Nutty's powerful Charge Beam. Crystal's demonic cackle echoed as she sent balls of water flying towards the admins and the grunts, who fired bullets and energy towards her as they dodged the stalagmites joining their roof counterparts in trying to stab them.  
"I don't care about bloody Vanessa!" Cyrus was running past them, grabbing his PokeBalls whilst bellowing into a walkie-talkie. "Get the weapons over here now, Crystal is losing it!" And he threw a PokeBall across the ground, before leaping out of the way as a stalactite nearly stabbed him. Charles watched with dismay at the destruction, as Saturn attempted to fire energy towards Crystal, and Jupiter and Mars uselessly tried to use their weapons to stop the rocks attacking them. If only he could help, distract Crystal for a few moments, than they might be able to knock her out whilst she focused on him… could Charles face Crystal and survive? She was furious at him, and was channelling a lot of anger through her abilities. Was this a fight Charles really wanted to take?

"Gar Gli Gar!" Gligar was covering his head with his claws, and Charles felt tiny bits of rock pelting them. He looked around and saw Saturn had turned his attention towards the stalactites, blasting energy left right and centre as he tried to destroy them. Cyrus' Houndoom and Weavile had joined the fray, firing multiple beams and jets of ice and fire either at the rock formations or towards Crystal in order to stop her. Crystal was laughing loudly and viciously as she continued to control where all the rocks soared around, sometimes making a wall or bubble of water to attack them all with.

"Don't worry guys, we'll be alright…" Charles told Elle and Gligar as he slid down Gyarados' scaly body. But he wasn't quite sure of his words as Rhydon smashed into the wall in front of them, making Elle yelp. Charles wasn't sure if Crystal could get any stronger, or what these weapon of Cyrus' was going to do.

Whatever was going to happen, it wasn't going to be good.

Route 208

Despite it being a while since they had set off, Xavier and the Pokemon had not made much coverage in carrying Matthew's body.

When they had set off, Xavier had assumed that the path ahead would be well organised: from afar, the ground look smooth and even, the bridges well built and neatly arranged, and that it would have been a fairly easy journey towards the Berry Master's house.  
However, Xavier's assumption proved wrong. The ground was rather broken and uneven, causing a lot of stumbling between him and Heracross as they walked backwards trying to hold Matthew's legs up. Grotle, with four legs, was able to make a much easy job of climbing over it, but if the grass type upset his balance for a moment, than Piplup risked falling off and dropping Matthew's head, which she had done several times. And the first bridge they crossed which the grand architectural design Xavier had expected: several planks were either missing or broken, and it creaked ominously as they stood on it. He, Heracross and Grotle had to move very slowly as they began to cross it, not wanting to fall into the raging waterfall right below them.  
"This isn't going how I planned," Xavier said as they finally left the bridge, continuing towards the next one cautiously as Piplup regained control of clasping Matthew's ears. He looked around to see that Lapras, Drifloon, Beautifly and Misdreavus had made great progress, and were waiting for them by the second waterfall. Xavier looked at the path ahead and saw there were even more rocks covering the ground, more cracks making their way ahead uneasy.  
"I think calling Lapras over and getting her to head down the Waterfall might be a better option," Xavier pondered aloud.  
"Grotle Grot Grot!" Grotle grumbled in agreement, and he went to bend his legs, obviously wanting to sit down. But Piplup let out a sudden squawk that caused several Hoothoot flying above them to hoot in despair.  
"Piplup Pip Pip Lup Piplup Lup Lup PIP PIP LUP!" The little water type suddenly wailed, and Xavier stared down at her curiously: Piplup appeared to have tears forming in her eyes again, and was shaking as she stared down at Matthew's head. His pale green skin was becoming tinged with a sickly looking purple around his veins, and Xavier knew that they needed to get Matthew down as quickly as possible. But Piplup seemed distressed at what would be a much quicker option, and Xavier couldn't work out why.

_She wants to stick with him, stay by him _Lapras' voice whispered inside Xavier's head, and he inclined his head slightly to see Lapras had come over, leading the ghosts and Beautifly with her. _Piplup doesn't want to leave his side in case something happens to him. I think it's sweet, though I'm not surprised you can't see this.  
The connection between the two must be very strong. _Xavier thought.  
_Of course it's strong: their trainer and starter Pokemon, that bond is always strong! _Lapras said indignantly. _You may not realise it, but I know Grotle would do the same thing for you. _Xavier was rather taken aback by this, and the strange sensation in his stomach rose up again. He glanced down at Grotle, who was whispering softly to Piplup, and felt his heart swell up slightly. He hadn't thought of his and Grotle's connection being that strong before, and it made him feel… happy to know this. Xavier looked down at his sickly, possibly dying friend and felt the strange sensation of sadness rising up in him. Matthew needed to be healed quickly, and getting to the Berry Master was their only hope. But Piplup couldn't leave him either… it was beginning to confuse Xavier, and he dropped Matthew's leg and clutched his head, the thoughts rushing through it like cars on a busy highway.  
"Cross Hera Heracross?" Heracross asked nervously. Xavier shook his head violently, trying to get rid of all the thoughts. He needed to focus and do the sensible thing, and that was to get Matthew his care.  
"Alright! We'll keep going along this path," Xavier said to the Pokemon, and Piplup's face lit up. "Lapras and Drifloon, use Psychic and Ominous Wind to clear the path of anything up ahead. Beautifly and Misdreavus, you two help us carry Matthew so we can get him down the mountain faster!" Xavier looked over at Lapras, who simply nodded and gave him a slight wink before her eyes turned pink, causing several rocks to be lifted and tossed out of the way. Xavier nodded back at her, picked up Matthew's leg, and continued to walk backwards.  
They began to go faster now that the path was cleared. Beautifly flew underneath and put her weight into holding Matthew's middle up, allowing them to put more energy into moving backwards. Misdreavus couldn't do much, being a ghost, but flew around their feet, looking for any cracks or bumps to warn them about.

Xavier was pleased with this progress. The sound of the first waterfall was quickly fading out of earshot, and the soft roar of the second one was getting closer and closer. The wind had picked up, and it was becoming chillier than it had been when they started, with the clouds overhead beginning to cover the moon. It looked like it was soon going to rain or snow, and Xavier wanted to get off the rocky area before this happened. It could become too slippery for them to continue, and despite what Piplup wanted, not getting killed was the most logical thing to do.  
"Mis Mis!" Xavier looked around and saw Misdreavus was floating behind his legs: they had nearly walked off the cliff, with the bridge a few feet in the other direction.  
"That was a close call," Xavier said, and gave his weird, almost strangled laugh. Ignoring the eye rolling and awkward glances of the Pokemon, Xavier took the opportunity to look over the edge towards the bottom of the waterfall. Even in the darkness he could make out a series of jagged rocks in the water and on both banks, providing very sharp, natural points that would instantly kill him and harm the Pokemon if they fell off. The rush of the waterfall was much louder now, though it still sounded very peaceful and relaxing in the middle of this twilight mountain setting. Xavier looked away from the natural beauty and towards the large green field that was no much closer: the Berry Master's house was much more visible now, and it should take them less than half an hour, if they were lucky, to get there.  
"The house is only a short way away, so we need to keep moving," Xavier said, meaning to simply state the fact, but Piplup, Beautifly and Misdreavus cheered with happiness. Ignoring this, Xavier and Heracross directed Matthew's body back towards the bridge.

The bridge, like the previous one, was fairly old and rather damaged: several of the planks were broken and a quarter were missing, giving a below-foot view to the raging water beneath them. However, there was one bit of damage Xavier couldn't see. The supports holding the bridge up weren't any older than the planks, but they got hit by more water and were now rotting away. From a far it looked fine, with no visible damage, but an up close view would make any wonder wheter crossing it with a heavy load would be safe.  
But Xavier had no other option, and couldn't see the hidden dangers that were endangering the short trip across the bridge. He began leading them all across the bridge, his mind clear and focused on the task at hand. All thoughts of emotion left Xavier as his brain turned into a series of systematic thoughts based solely around walking backwards, trying to carry Matthew's limp body and focus on where to put his feet taking over his thoughts.  
"Lapras, wait until we get to the other side, than go down the waterfall," Xavier called out as he put a steady foot onto the bridge. Lapras merely nodded as she floated next to the rocky ground, fairly bored with the proceedings. Xavier didn't notice this as he and Heracross continued to move onto the bridge: it was slightly slippery, but the two managed to stay on.  
"Remember Heracross, one foot at a time, go slowly," Xavier told the Single Horn Pokemon, who nodded and copied Xavier's motion of putting one feet behind the other a few seconds apart. As they moved a few planks into the bridge, it let out a rather ominous creak, that was unfortunately masked by the raging waterfall. Xavier and Heracross continued, Grotle getting to stepping on, when there was a whoosh behind them.  
"Driflooooon!" Drifloon cried out, and Xavier stopped, his foot a centimetre away from going through a non-existent plank.  
"Thank you Drifloon," Xavier said gratefully, and her and Heracross stepped over the gap. They paused, as Matthew was now being stretched, allowing Grotle and Piplup to move forwards. Xavier stared through the crack at the water raging below. It would have been much more dangerous to go that way, he thought, and was glad to be going this way. As Grotle put a thick leg onto the bridge, Xavier was reasonably satisfied that everything was going well.  
That all changed with a creak.  
Everyone suddenly froze, Grotle in mid step, Drifloon and Misdreavus being pushed by the wind: they all stared down towards the bridge as it let out a third creak that was much louder than the previous two. Grotle took a nervous step backwards, startled by the sudden shaking of the bridge, when the plank beneath his front feet suddenly snapped.  
"GROT!"  
"PIP!" The two starters wailed as Grotle sunk through the gap. Piplup wobbled for a few seconds, and than fell face forwards, causing Matthew to fall. Beautifly quickly flew out looking startled as her trainer hit the bridge with a thud, causing it to creak again.  
"This bridge isn't safe!" Xavier said in louder tones, placing Matthew's leg down. The wind was beginning to pick up and the bridge was creaking more. Heracross went to help get Grotle out, but another plank snapped beneath his feet as he passed.  
_Xavier, get off the bridge! _Lapras mentally shouted, beginning to move closer towards them. Xavier nodded, but he was at a loss at what to do. It seemed too late to change their plans now, as there wasn't a way for them to be carried down by air due to the wind, and the water was raging beneath them. Matthew let out a sudden groan, and Xavier stared down at his friend as his mind began to race painfully again, watching as his head rolled and his limbs began to twitch, as if he was going to have another seizure: Xavier couldn't do anything drastic now, as it could seriously endanger Matthew's health…  
_XAVIER, NOW! _Lapras wailed.  
If he didn't help Matthew, they'd all die…  
The bridge let out another creak, making Piplup wail slightly in worry…  
_XAVIER! _Lapras screamed.

"But Matthew will get hurt…" Xavier mumbled, a million thoughts going through his head…  
The bridge snapped.

Without realising it, Xavier began to fall: he didn't notice the fact the bridge had split cleanly in two, and was now crashing against the sides of the waterfall beneath them. Grotle, Heracross and Piplup screamed as they began to fall, and Lapras shouted something in the back of his head, but Xavier couldn't focus. He was staring at Matthew, who was spinning around in midair, still thinking… he hadn't been able to come to a decision… he had made the wrong choice about what to do… water was splashing against him, the roar of the waterfall deafening as it mixed with the howling wind whipping his jacket and bag around… his decision could very easily lead to their deaths as the rocks below them got closer, which seemed to be zooming up to meet them, eager for their new victims…  
For once, Xavier had let his emotions overpower him, and his logic had failed.  
Now he would die.

As Vanessa awoke for the second time in the past few hours, she instantly felt the restraints were loose.

Though her vision was blurry, causing the light above to appear as large streaky lines, and her head began throbbing as soon as she awoke, Vanessa could feel the restraints holding her arms and legs in place were much looser, as her arms were sagging slightly.  
_Interesting_, Vanessa pondered groggily as she blinked, trying to restore her vision. She gave a little bit of a tug on her leg restraints: the muscles in her legs throbbed as she moved them, and Vanessa figured they still hurt from the injection, but was surprised to see her right leg restraint suddenly came loose. Vanessa froze for a moment, her eyesight back to normal, and managed to lean up and stare at her now bare leg.  
Her mind and body kicked into action.  
Ignoring the multiple pains throughout her entire body, Vanessa began to pull against the restraints. It felt like they were cutting into her wrists and could very well draw blood, but this sensation only lasted for a few seconds before both arm restraints snapped, causing Vanessa to fly forwards due to the pressure she had been forcing against them. Not celebrating this success or worrying about the pain running through her back and ribs now, Vanessa pulled on the restraint on her left leg and it instantly came apart.  
"Well, that was easy," Vanessa said happily, "a little too easy perhaps…" Vanessa paused again, wondering why her restraints had been loose, but merely shrugged it off: if something was waiting for her, than the more fun and rewarding this night would be. Vanessa swayed slightly as she stood up, her mild headache and sore legs not making for a good combination, but she quickly gathered herself back together and looked around. She nearly froze as she looked at the bench and saw her bag and umbrella sitting there neatly, as if Vanessa herself had put them there.  
_Interesting… very interesting… _Vanessa thought, rather taken aback to see these things here. Cautiously, she opened her bag up and peered inside, wondering if it was a trap: her clothes and shoes for the next few days were folded tidily underneath her five PokeBalls, and checking the pockets revealed all her other gadgets, including her acidic pen, were still there as well. Nothing seemed to be missing, and her umbrella was in the same condition it had been in however long again Vanessa had been knocked out. Vanessa couldn't help but wonder what was going on as she slipped out of her rock dress: someone had come in and let her straps free and left her bag and umbrella here, but who would do that for her? Draco had mentioned something about taking the grunts and some weapon to deal with Crystal, and she knew Charon must be around if eh was going to do tests on her, so who had managed to get in and save her? The only name she could come up with was Looker, who Vanessa remembered had been at Mt Coronet and could've come to her rescue.  
"Oh well," She sighed as she zipped her new dress up (a sparkly brown fringed one with matching high heels designed to resemble rock formations). "I'll deal with that one later," Vanessa told herself, and pushed thoughts of her mysterious helper out of her head: she needed to find her out of what she presumed was the airship, based on Draco's previous comments, and try and find the others. Vanessa reached into her bag, kicking her old dress away, and pressed the button on Monferno's PokeBall. A burst of light shone out and the red energy quickly formed into Monferno, who smiled warmly at Vanessa before gazing around at where he was. Vanessa was pleased to her helper had healed her team, and proceeded to send the other four Pokemon out.  
"Alright then," She called a few moments later, looking around at her team. All five were perfectly happy and healthy, and were either sitting on or below the table or hovering above it. "We need to get out of here as quickly as possible and see what is happening at Mt Coronet. I don't know what might be out there, but we need to move swiftly and find a safe way out." The five Pokemon all nodded, and Vanessa was pleased they hadn't been dampened down by the battle against Cyrus. "Brilliant to see your all onboard, so let's move out and kick some Galactic ass!"  
They began to move slowly and cautiously down the corridor, but Vanessa was surprised to see they were completely empty, breaking into a steady run after several minutes of encountering nothing. Many hallways shot off the main curving corridor, designed similarly to Vanessa's room, with even more identical rooms coming off. Checking a few for any signs of life revealed empty sleeping quarters, an eerily quiet medical wing, a half empty utility room, several storage cupboards and a small kitchen.

After nearly ten minutes of running endlessly, Vanessa and her team came to the end of another hallway, ending with a curved wall with a door in it. However, Vanessa first checked the room to the left: it was identical to the rest of them, except it had stationary and a large amount of paper in it. Vanessa growled and slammed the door shut, nearly clipping Luxio's tail as he left after peering inside.  
"There was no door leading out of that one either!" Vanessa shrieked, and she angrily kicked the wall, her heel leaving a large dent in the wall. None of the rooms had led to anything more exciting than a toilet, and none of them had windows so Vanessa could at least find out where she was. There was little hope of her finding a way out, and Vanessa didn't want to keep running around the curving hallways.  
"We might as well blow our way out!" She told her team with a snarl, and her umbrella instinctively turned into its energy blaster form.  
"Mon Mon!" Monferno said, his tail flame lighting up as he swung his fists around excitedly. There was a sighing noise next to Vanessa, and she looked around to face Staraptor, who was rolling her eyes.  
"Starpator Star Star Raptor," The Starling Pokemon said warily, and swung her left wing out into the door: it was knocked backwards off it hinges and landed on a metal floor with a clunk. Peering in, Vanessa could see that it was clearly stairs they'd found, as well as a possible exit. However, Vanessa sighed as she pressed a button on her umbrella.  
"I was looking forward to destroying this thing," She explained, and Staraptor rolled her eyes again before walking quickly onto the landing, with Vanessa and the other Pokemon following suit. The stairwell was very wide, about three metres in diameter, but the steps themselves were particularly narrow, so that Vanessa, Luxio and Monferno could barely fit all together. The steps were made out of metal, and Vanessa knew that if someone was still around, they would have heard the door landing due to the loud, metallic echo it had created. Vanessa quickly took several things into account once she got past what it looked like: the staircase was going both up and down, with bright light glittering barely a metre above their heads, whilst the staircase descended several metres into darkness. Vanessa knew that if they went down, finding an exit would be much easier. However, she was intrigued by the light above her head, and could even hear soft beeping and tinkling sounds: who would be the lone person working in this reasonably large structure?

"Star Staraptor!" Staraptor hissed quietly at Vanessa, obviously knowing what she was about to do. But Vanessa didn't care: she wanted to know who had helped her out, where she was, and, hopefully, find out what Galactic was up to. And getting into a fight wouldn't be that bad.  
"Murkrow, Dustox and I will go ahead, Staraptor, you bring up the back," Vanessa explained in a whisper, and than quietly but quickly began walking up the staircase. Her heels only made a tiny echo, allowing Vanessa to focus upon the sounds above her as she slowly put one foot in front of the other: the noises sounded very robotic and electronic, so they were possibly approaching a control room. Footsteps and the occasional rattle of wheeled chair came down as well, mixed in with the mumblings of whoever was making the noises. The staircase quickly began to curve, casting Vanessa in bright light that made her dress sparkle: a few steps away, the staircase opened up into a new area. A shadow was cast across the floor, and Vanessa turned and smiled at the others.  
"Extra quiet now!" She warned, grabbing her umbrella and she began the last few steps towards the opening. More lights seemed to be flashing now, and Vanessa was feeling a warm sense of happiness rush through her as she nodded at Dustox and Murkrow: they were about to encounter the only person here, and hopefully find their answers. The shadow began to merge into an actual human being, standing several metres away by a large glass window. The person's face was right in front of the glass so Vanessa couldn't see their reflection, but there was something about the white lab coat and grey hair that seemed familiar…  
"It can't be…" Vanessa gasped, her left high heel touching down a polished white tile. There was a soft laugh from the figure, and Vanessa felt her stomach drop as they turned around, staring at her with a wide, smug smile.  
"Miss Backlot," Charon said, shaking his head whilst smirking, "if you your going to go to all that trouble of trying to be quiet, you really shouldn't have made such a racket down below." He clicked his fingers, and Vanessa felt something move behind her. However, she felted rooted to the spot: he knew her last name… no one knew her last name…. how did he know her last name…  
"Mur-KROW!" Vanessa was suddenly sent flying to the ground as a burst of electricity lit up the room, but it didn't feel like she'd been electrocuted. Rolling onto her back revealed two things to Vanessa: firstly, Murkrow was flying a few centimetres above her, though looked like she'd been shocked, and secondly, Charon's Magnezone was floating above both of them, its magnets glowing threateningly.  
"FERNOOOO!" Monferno shot suddenly out of the stairwell, his glowing Mach Punch smashing into Magnezone and sending it crashing into a light. As sparks and glass rained down, Vanessa leapt up, grasping her umbrella in one hand and Murkrow in another to avoid getting him, and turned around to face Charon.  
"How do you know my last name?" Vanessa hissed, holding her sword towards his throat. Her heart was racing quickly, her mind racing: how could her last name, the only connection to her past, the thing she'd kept hidden for all these tears… how did Charon know? As cries from the battling Pokemon sounded behind them, Vanessa simply stared at Charon, shaking slightly from her rage and shock. However, the scientist simply smirked back, and Vanessa's blood boiled. "ANSWER ME!" She roared.  
"I'd control that temper if I was you," Charon said simply with a smirk. Vanessa screamed in fury, making Murkrow squawk, and slashed her umbrella. Charon quickly dodged and the silver blade smashed into a glass touch screen behind him. Vanessa paused as the screen shattered, breathing deeply to control herself. She glanced around at what she had struck: a sleek, silver bench with the touch screen in the center, but a variety of buttons, levers and even a steering wheel were also there on either side. Glancing around, Vanessa saw more benches were spaced around the wall, exactly identical to first one minus the wheel, though Luxio did destroy an entire one as Magnezone blasted him across the room.  
"This is the first time we've brought this airship out," Charon explained, "and I'm pleased with how-"  
"SHUT UP!" Vanessa roared suddenly, and pulled her sword back towards him. Charon smirked again and stood slightly to the side as Dustox flew across the room and smacked into the window, followed by a growling Magnezone with Monferno clinging on top. Vanessa had zoned out of the battle: she was desperate for answers, and needed to sort this out first. Her attempts tot keep her past a secret had failed, and Vanessa needed to know how.  
"I'm not telling you how I know, _Miss Backlot_," Charon said, still grinning like a smug schoolboy. "I will tell you this though: whatever you think you can hide from us, we will find out, and we will use it against you. For example, I don't think you'd want the authorities to know about your last name, would you?" Vanessa was breathing slowly and deeply with rage, and wanted nothing more but to thrust her sword straight into Charon, just to do something to relieve herself. But as the thought crushed her mind, a sudden beeping penetrated her thoughts: Vanessa turned around towards one of the other benches, where all of the lights were now glowing and flashing repeatedly. Charon's face suddenly turned grave, and he rushed towards the bench, dodging Staraptor as she zoomed towards Magnezone.  
"It appears your friend is causing a bit of bother in Mt Coronet," the scientist said quietly as he pushed all the buttons. All thoughts about her last name suddenly vanished from Vanessa's mind as he spoke, and she turned and looked through the windows for the first time: she was indeed on Route 207, the entrance to Mt Coronet only a few metres away.  
"Sahara… is she in trouble?" Vanessa asked quietly, her umbrella arm beginning to descend. Charon turned around and nodded, glancing cautiously at her umbrella.  
"I suggest you leave me be for now and go deal with her: I don't know what Cyrus is planning on doing, but he has brought a new weapon out to use on her," The scientist explained. Vanessa remembered Draco saying something like that earlier, and didn't particularly trust him very much either. She had to rescue Sahara… it was more important…

"Don't expect me to just let this go," Vanessa said boldly. "I still want the answers, and I plan on getting them," and she than clicked her fingers. Charon was surprised by this odd movement, but was just as taken aback when a sudden gust of wind sent him flying: Staraptor had gone into Twister, the blue-purple tornado stretching across the room and smashing into the opposite windows.

"See you around!" Vanessa called cheekily, and she than leapt backwards out of the shattered window. She let go of Murkrow, and for a moment watched as Monferno, Luxio and Dustox followed after, before Vanessa began to roll quickly and uncontrollably down the side of the airship. Her dress permanently sprinkled in the moonlight seeping through the clouds, and her hair flew wildly. Vanessa couldn't help but laugh, memories of doing this down hillsides as a child coming back to her. But the ride ended as abruptly as it had began, and Vanessa began to fall through midair, the ground rising up rapidly to meet her.  
"Staraptor Star!" Vanessa was winded as she landed instead onto Staraptor's back, who swooped down to save her from a painful fate.

"Cheers Staraptor," Vanessa said, clutching her side which began to scream at her, the drugs she got earlier still in effect. Monferno and Luxio landed smoothly on the ground, and Murkrow and Dustox hovered above them, waiting for instructions. Vanessa looked towards the entrance only a few feet away: pink light was coming out of it, and she knew it was coming from Crystal. Vanessa couldn't let anything happen to her, and she jumped and landed as elegantly as she could in high heels on the ground.  
"Come on, we need to rescue Sahara quickly," Vanessa said. With a final glance towards the airship, thoughts of her last name, her past and what else Charon knew rushing through her head, Vanessa walked quickly towards the cave, putting all of those troubles behind and focusing entirely on saving her friend.

_All Xavier could see was blue… a beautiful, sapphire like blue, surrounding him on all sides… it was a truly majestic feeling … soft, distorted sounds were coming down towards him, but Xavier didn't care… he felt weightless… he felt free… darkness seemed to be filling up the blue now, but at least he was alone…  
But than a figure appeared… Xavier was instantly excited… the creature was oddly shaped, but it was glowing like a spectacular rainbow… it was floating through the water as well, but it was going in the opposite direction… _Don't go _Xavier tried to call, and he stretched out… the creature turned, looking frightened… Xavier wouldn't hurt it though… he just wanted to give touch it…_

_A blinding white flash filled his vision… Xavier couldn't see… he couldn't hear… his body felt strange… Xavier wanted to cry… but he couldn't… he just couldn't….  
XAVIER, WAKE UP!  
_Xavier's eyes burst open.  
He was breathing deeply and quickly, but the blinding white light had disappeared. Xavier was looking up into the worried faces of Grotle, Lapras, Drifloon and Heracross, all looking concerned as they looked down at him in a square-like formation.  
"What happened?" Xavier asked. He felt his clothes and realised they weren't wet, but despite zoning out when they began to fall, Xavier knew what had happened before he blacked out.  
_I used Psychic to stop you all from forming, and than I used Dive to carry us all down the river. _Lapras explained, still looking worried. _I managed to get us through the rocks and into the stream, so we are only a few metres away from the house. _Xavier looked up quickly, and saw that the Berry Master's house was very close by. The one storey wooden structure was surrounded by several fruit trees and a vegetable patch, and the soft tinkling stream was barely centimetres away from the back door, currently reflecting the dull clouds forming above. A dark figure was moving by the light being cast out of the building, but Xavier saw someone else lying nearby: Matthew.  
Forcing himself to stand, Xavier quickly moved towards his friend. Matthew now resembled a grape display: his skin was clammy and tinged with green and purple, his mouth hanging open as sickly groans echoed out into the night. Piplup, Beautifly and Misdreavus were back around him, looking increasingly worried as Matthew simply lay there, seeming close to death. Xavier felt his body tense up again, the still strange sensation of despair creeping through his body again. He knew that freezing up on the bridge nearly cost them all their lives, and Xavier felt sick with himself. He had allowed a tiny bit of emotion to cloud his logic, prevent him from doing the right thing. They had nearly died thanks to him, but at least Lapras had managed to save them. And they were now at the house now: it seemed everything had worked out for the best. Yet Xavier could still feel despair inside of him… they were all safe now, so why was he still feeling this way?

"Hello… Hello!... Oh my gosh! GRANDAD! SOMEONE'S DYING OUT HERE!" A female voice burst through the night silence, and Xavier looked away from Matthew, trying to suppress the sadness, and saw a teenage girl running across the grass, followed closely by what looked like an Exeggutor.  
"Oh my gosh, what happened to your friend?" The girl, who had long brunette hair and was wearing a flowing orange dress, gasped.  
"My friend has been given an unknown poison," Xavier explained. "I believe it was around sixty to ninety minutes ago, I'm not sure, but his condition has deteriorated and he needs medical assistance."  
"Don't worry, my grandfather will hopefully be able to fix him up," the girl said, putting an encouraging smile on, though Xavier didn't know why she was given it to him. "Exeggutor, use Psychic!"  
"Egg Eggutor Exeggutor!" Exeggutor's many heads chanted, and Matthew suddenly rose into the air. The girl led the way back towards the house, Matthew floating between her and Exeggutor. Piplup, Beautifly and Misdreavus quickly followed after, and Xavier and his Pokemon began moving forwards as well.

_That feeling… that feeling of despair… it's perfectly normal in these sorts of situations. _Lapras explained as she slid along the slightly dewy grass. Xavier merely nodded, but he didn't wish to discuss the matter any further as they began to go past large patches of berries. Lapras simply made a huffing sound, but than looked towards Xavier, her expression slightly sombre. _I saw the dream you had. I remember that day very well… I didn't think you'd be able to…  
_"That is enough Lapras!" Xavier said, his voice suddenly sharp. "We need to heal Matthew now and not worry about anything else!" And he began to walk a few steps ahead. Lapras simply nodded and sighed: she may not have been too happy about being with Xavier at first, but he had grown on her, and she was very concerned about his mental state tonight. But they were now near the house, and Lapras knew that Xavier was right and that Matthew came first.  
"Come inside dear, take him to the couch!" An elderly lady with snowy white hair, thick brown glasses and an oversized purple dressing gown was standing at the open front door, directing her granddaughter inside. Xavier simply nodded at her as he passed, and ran inside after Matthew's Pokemon. The room was half kitchen and half living room, with mostly old fashioned appliances and furniture placed around the large wooden space. A balding man was standing in the kitchen, putting a large pot of water onto the stove.  
"You've come to the right place," he called to Xavier as Exeggutor lowered Matthew onto a couch that may have been fashionable in the eighties. "I'll fix your friend up in no time," and he grabbed a large knife and began cutting up a variety of berries. Xavier simply nodded, not sure of what else to say. The events of the night had been very strange and confusing to him: he hadn't thought about Team Galactic since leaving the mountain, but as this came back to him, Xavier found himself wondering about what happened to Vanessa, Sahara, his parents, what Galactic was planning…  
_Just let the emotions come in  
_"Quiet Lapras!" Xavier snapped suddenly as the voice echoed in his head, and he sighed and collapsed into a chair, the girl and her grandparents staring oddly at him. He very really snapped, and felt slightly guilty about it… but he never felt guilty either… Allowing a growl-like sound to escape, Xavier quickly whipped the different PokeBalls out and brought back Lapras, Drifloon and Heracross without any word of warning. He didn't want Lapras to keep giving him advice, and the others were taking up precious space in this tiny room.  
"Alright then, let's see how this one works," The old man said, and he walked forwards with a large bowl of steaming berry soup, which looked like someone had mixed several different colours of paint together. Beautifly gently pulled Piplup backwards, allowing the Berry Master to stand over Matthew and pour a large spoon of the concoction into his mouth. A few seconds past by, with Piplup, Beautifly and Misdreavus exchanging worried looks, whilst Grotle stared up at the confused Xavier, not sure what to make of his trainer's behaviour. Than there was a loud coughing sound, and the Berry Master stood up satisfied as Matthew began to hack violently.  
"Is this a good sign?" Xavier asked, whose knowledge of this things made him doubt wheter Matthew coughing like this was a positive. The Berry Master simply laughed, and his wife and granddaughter chuckled as well.  
"Everyone always asks that," he said with a chortle. "Yes, your friend should be fine. I'll give him another spoonful in a few minutes, and than we'll evaluate from then on." A chorus of "Pip Pip!", "Beautifly-fly!" and "Mis Mis Mis!" echoed from besides Matthew, and Piplup leapt up onto the couch, dancing below Beautifly and Misdreavus. Xavier watched them for a moment, and than glanced down at Matthew. His friend was going to be fine… a surge of happiness rose up in Xavier, like a balloon was rising up from his stomach. All that trouble had been worth it.  
"Grot Grotle!" Grotle had clearly noticed Xavier's change in mood, and nuzzled Xavier's leg appreciatively. Xavier looked down at Grotle and felt his lips curling up, his facial muscles tingeing slightly with pain as he forced a smile. But than, Xavier felt an urge to turn around, staring towards the giant peak of Mt Coronet behind them, and it felt like the balloon had popped.  
Whatever was happening back in that cave, Xavier just hoped someone else he knew didn't come close to death.

Things were going from bad to worse inside of Mt Coronet.

Charles had had a feeling from the start that Cyrus' plan wouldn't work, and it was indeed collapsing before his eyes. Despite being surprised by the amount of power used at first, Crystal had quickly gained the advantage using a simple method of using her water manipulation to release giant waves, easily sweeping the grunts and their Pokemon backwards. Rock formations continued to stab down at them all, though Saturn had successfully managed to destroy most of the sharp, natural knives, leaving Jupiter and Mars to use their weapons to attempt and strike Crystal. However, repeatedly they'd go forwards to attack, usually accompanied by some sort of Pokemon attack to help, and repeatedly Crystal would easily deflect it. Charles wanted to rush in and help out, but he knew it would be too risky for him and his Pokemon: Crystal's eyes were still darting around the cave, seemingly trying to find him and attack, though Gyarados' large body still protected them from her gaze, leaving them all safe for now.  
But Charles noticed one thing Gyarados wouldn't be able to protect them from. As the battle continued to get more and more intense, the entire mountain seemed to be melting around them. What had been solid but glowing rocks and earth only a short time ago now resembling liquefying jelly. The surfaces all seemed to be blending into each so much so Charles couldn't tell the point where the earthy floor stopped and the rocky walls began. Looking up, it seemed that the ceiling was sinking towards them, as a large pink bulge seemed to be forming in the middle of the cave. If this continued, they could all be crushed within minutes.  
Charles was extremely worried. He, Elle, Gligar and Gyarados were lying here on the floor, some form of death seeming closer and closer. He dared a brief glance around and saw Purugly, Toxicroak and Skuntank flying through the air, making Cyrus leap frantically out of the way and nearly being hit by Jupiter's axe as Crystal mentally threw it through the air. None of them seemed to have noticed that the world around them was blending into a large, pink mass, and as Charles looked around, it seemed he was the only one. Roshonda and Addison were still battling Palmer furiously, though Cradily had to be switched out for Nidoqueen and Persian was on her last legs. Dragonite was beginning to get tired after battling for so long, but Rhyperior was still thrashing away, locked in a deep fight with Nidoqueen. As a collision of attacks shook the roof, Charles looked towards the raised section: Meditite was still sitting peacefully atop, remaining in its meditated state, acting is if it was in the middle of beach instead of a war stricken, melting cave.  
"Am I the only one noticing this?" Charles hissed, staring at the flowing pink beneath the battlers feet. Elle and Gligar nodded and shrugged, and then quickly looked back towards the battle: it seemed they were captivated by the exciting happening before them. Charles couldn't bare to watch it anymore and turned away. He wanted to be out there fighting, but knew that exposing himself to Crystal could have serious consequences. But someone had to stop her….  
"Gyara," A soft grunt sounded a few feet away, and Charles turned toward's Gyarados' head. The Atrocious Pokemon was looking towards Charles intensely, gesturing for him to look further down the cave. Charles nodded, and Elle and Gligar turned and looked in the same direction: a bright green glow, slightly overshadowed by the pink one, was coming from the passage Charles had walked through what felt like ages ago. It looked familiar, and Charles was suddenly excited: could it be…

"Try and try again," Crystal cackled, sending Mar's whip flying into Saturn's Scyther with a flick of her hand, "but whatever you throw at me, I'll send it right back! You can't win Cyrus, you just can't-"

"NOW!" Crystal froze mid sentence as the voice echoed around them. A sudden burst of brilliant great energy shot out of the passage, racing towards the battle. Everyone had stopped moving, watching with a mixture of delight, shock and excitement as the Solarbeam ctut hrough the cave. Crystal turned, her angry face making her look even more deranged, and raised her hands as if to stop it. But the Solarbeam was too powerful, and it struck Crystal squarely in the chest. Cyrus moved out of the way, watching Crystal in awe as she was blasted by him, spinning through the air like a top. All eyes followed, even those from the other battle, watching as Crystal smashed into the raised section with an explosion of the Solarbeam and the rocks she struck.  
Instantly the pink light faded away, though the roof was left sagging and damaged. Silence had fallen across the cave, the only noise coming from unwilling groans from the grunts and the soft falling of rocks. Everyone was astounded by what had happened by what they had witnessed. Cyrus looked around at them all, looking like he'd been hit.  
"That was bloody lucky!" Mars said in an exasperated voice, and collapsed onto her Drapion's tail, all eyes turning towards her as the stunned silence shattered. "Whoever did that is a fucking lifesaver!" Jupiter and Saturn nodded in agreement, and they all looked towards the passage: a half smiling, half nervous looking Minerva walked cautiously out of the passage, her Leafeon walking alongside with a more confident swagger.  
"So… did it work…?" Minerva whispered anxiously. Once again there was silence, and for a moment Minerva stood there horrified, looking around frantically as if something had gone wrong. But than a single sound began to echo around them: Cyrus was walking forwards and clapping, the loud, slow, rhythmic seeming to seep through them all. By the time he walked up to his assistant, beaming widely, Saturn, Mars, Jupiter and the grunts had joined in, so it soon sounded very musical and joyful and Minerva began blushing. Roshonda and Addison joined in as well, not noticing as Dragonite knocked Persian out with a final Brick Break  
"That was brilliant Minerva, absolutely brilliant!" Cyrus cried, giving her a tight hug and smiling exceptionally wide. "How did you think of it? And where is Looker?" Cyrus added, his smiling fading slightly as he saw the egg Leafeon had curled in her tail.  
"I chased after Looker and had an altercation with him, but he Teleported me back here," Minerva explained, and Charles noticed she wasn't looking at Cyrus nor the egg. "I saw what Crystal was doing, so I had Leafeon charge up and hold it in until it was strong enough to strike with. And… I guess it worked!" Cyrus didn't seem to have heard the final few words, and Charles noticed he was staring angrily at the egg, almost as if it was disgusting. But than he realised Minerva had finished talking and quickly let out a forced, booming laugh that the other admins joined in on, though they exchanged shifty looks.  
"Wonderful story!" Cyrus said. "And at least Crystal has been stopped, for now. We need to get the weap – ah!" Cyrus paused as the walkie talkie attached to his belt crackled. "This should be Draco now – Draco, is that you?"  
"Yes sir," Draco's voice came through the walkie talkie, though Charles could hear it echoing slightly in the distance. "We have brought the weapon down: do you wish us to proceed with setting it up?"

"Yes, set it up, though we may not need it," Cyrus replied. "Crystal may be unconscious, we aren't sure." He looked towards the raised section where the dust still remained, still covering Crystal up. Charles was rather surprised by this: shouldn't the it have settled by now?" But Cyrus seemed to have not noticed, and neither had anyone else, their attention back to Minerva. Roshonda and Addison were only half interested in their battle, though Palmer was fighting at full force towards Nidoqueen, ignoring the change in mood.  
"We should sort Crystal out and get back to headquarters," Cyrus boomed. "We need to celebrate Minerva's success!" More applause greeted this, and Minerva began to blush even harder. Charles felt like getting up and applauding her as well, and made to move upwards for the first time since Crystal appeared when he noticed something: Minerva's feet were no longer touching the ground. Shocked, Charles looked up and saw Minerva had also noticed: she was looking around frantically, her blush turning to horror as she felt around her neck, gagging noises coming out. No one else seemed to have noticed, simply applauding as Minerva was being strangled, carried further into the sky.  
"You bitch!" The dust suddenly burst away, making Roshonda and Addison scream as Crystal appeared, standing in the crater she had landed in and looking particularly furious and demented. Everyone had noticed Minerva now, and Cyrus and Saturn made to grab her.  
"Flamethrower!" Cyrus commanded his Houndoom as Leafeon leapt up as well, trying to grab her trainer's shoe. But Crystal simply laughed again as Houndoom stepped forwards, and she clicked her fingers, causing Cyrus, Saturn and Leafeon to land.  
"Please Cyrus, nothing can stop me now!" She called, twisting her hands to make Minerva move further up. "If I thought you'd actually manage one of your sneak attacks, I would have tried to actually kill you all properly earlier! But it looks like having my fun was foolish," Crystal said with a fake sigh. "I'll just have to fix that mistake now, won't I?" Charles watched, terrified, as Minerva rose further towards the sagging roof, where the broken end of stalactite was pointing like a rocky dagger towards Minerva. She was still gasping for breath, but tears were now streaming down her face as Minerva moved further and further towards a possible death. Charles couldn't sit by any longer: Minerva was the nicest person at Galactic, and was the only person to actually take Crystal down a peg. She didn't deserve to die, and Charles could no longer stay hidden, no longer wait for anyone else to do the right thing. No matter what Crystal did to him, Charles wouldn't let Minerva die.  
"Eva Eve!" Elle squealed as Charles leapt up, but he ignored her and pulled out a Safari Ball. Minerva was closer to the jagged rock now: it was time to act!  
"TAUROS, HYPER BEAM!" He roared and threw the Safari Ball. Everyone turned, but Crystal was so absorbed as she gleefully lifted Minerva up that she didn't notice as the giant Tauros formed, making the others move. But as Tauros began to absorb in energy, Crystal noticed the disturbance and glanced down. Her smile faded and her eyes widened in shock, and Minerva screamed as she was let go of. Cyrus rushed and grabbed her, but moved her out of the way as the multicoloured ball of energy formed in Tauros' mouth.  
"TAAAAAUUUUROOOOO!" He boomed, and Charles smiled as the powerful burst of energy was released. Crystal quickly moved her hands around and they glowed pink: the entire cave began to glow like melting jelly as the Hyper Beam struck her hands, sending bursts of energy crashing around the cave. Charles was nervous now: if the Hyper Beam didn't work, he didn't know what would.  
Near the Route 207 entrance of the cave, one of the offshoots smashed into some of the stalactites Crystal hadn't gotten to. Below, Draco and five spare grunts had been setting up the machine that was bound to stop Crystal: it resembled an old fashioned black cannon, but it had been modified in several ways. A control panel had been put in where the cannonball would usually be lit, and it was now resting upon a metal stand with handles to aim where it was fired.  
"MOVE IT!" Draco cried, and he leapt out of the way to avoid the fallen rock. The other grunts nervously squealed and moved the cannon, and Draco threw his PokeBalls onto the ground. Glalie, Froslass and Dusknoir quickly formed, and instinctively moved, freezing the rocks to the roof or completely destroying them, turning them into small specks of rocks.  
"Great job!" Draco boomed proudly. He had trained his Pokemon to be fast and move without direction by instead assessing the problem and using the right moves. It was what had made him a brilliant grunt trainer, and he knew it would allow him to keep battling perfectly for many years to come.  
"Glalie Gla!" Draco quickly snapped out of dreaming off and turned to face his first and key Pokemon. All three of them were staring behind Draco, looking rather shocked and appalled.  
"What is it?" Draco asked curiously, and quickly turned around, freezing in shock instantly: several of the grunts were lying on the ground, large, deep cuts across their chests and arms, all of them groaning as their life seeped out of their bodies. Draco was stunned, taking step backwards, but there was no denying who it was, and he raised his arm up as a figure moved alongside, anger and fear mixing with this shock.  
"Hey, we can't have this, can we?" Vanessa smirked, and quickly thrust her blood stained sword through Draco's wrist machine before he could stop her. It fizzled and sparked, and Draco felt like he'd been punched as his original invention died. Stifling his pain, he saw Vanessa's five Pokemon moving out from behind her, glaring between Draco and his team.  
"Wondering how I got out, aren't you?" Vanessa chuckled, pulling her sword out and staring towards the cannon, giving it a little flick. "So Draco, what does this genius creation do?" She asked casually, shooting him a grin from across her shoulder. Draco's anger was building up very rapidly, his fists clenching up. He needed this plan to work: he needed to get the respect and trust from Cyrus he so rightfully deserved, and if Vanessa ruined another project, he'd never receive it. "Now Draco, I asked you a question! It's rude not to answer," Vanessa said with a fake pout, flicking the cannon again. Draco couldn't contain himself any longer, his anger and shock at Vanessa's appearance reaching boiling point.  
"NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS, WHORE!" He bellowed. "NOW!" Glalie, Froslass and Dusknoir moved behind him, but Vanessa's Pokemon had expected this move. In a flash, Monferno Mach Punched Glalie and sent him bouncing into Froslass, whilst Luxio sunk a Bite into Dusknoir's tail as Murkrow fired a Pursuit to his face. Draco normally would have been shocked at this, but he didn't care about them at the moment: he lunged towards Vanessa, desperate to do nothing more but tear her throat out. But Vanessa easily sidestepped him and punched him on the nose.  
"Fast, but not fast enough!" She hissed as she grabbed a retaliation punch, and for the second time that night, the two began a brutal exchange of fists, desperate to defeat the other  
The sounds of the fight echoed towards the other side, but no one was focused on it: nervous silence had followed the Hyper Beam, leaving all of Team Galactic staring nervously between the dust that was once again around Crystal, wondering what would happen next, and Charles, who had led his Pokemon forwards and were now gathered around Tauros, was staring determinedly towards Crystal, fists clenched and eyes narrowed. No one had noticed that Palmer was lying sprawled on a rock, one of the Hyper Beam offshoots having knocked him out. He lay there forgotten as Team Galactic waited with bated breathe for Crystal to return. Charles was particularly interested to see how she would react, and what it would mean for him.  
"So…" Crystal hissed suddenly, the dust fading away. Her hair now resembled a many legged spider as it was lifted further above and apart, and her silk garments barely covered any of her skin. Roshonda and Addison stood with the other grunts looking petrified and shocked, but Charles merely took a deep breath and glared back at her.  
"I'm not afraid of you Crystal!" He shouted up to her. "You may have your fancy tricks, but you won't stop me from defeating you and bringing Sahara back!" Crystal continued to look angry for a moment, but than her scowl turned into a smile, and she laughed loudly, the sound twisted and demonic as it rang in their ears.  
"And what makes you think Sahara would want to see you?" She sneered back. "What makes you think she wants to see you ever again?" Charles was taken aback by this, and exchanged a surprised look with Elle. Crystal laughed again, glad to have gained the upper hand, and Cyrus and Minerva glanced nervously at Charles.  
"What do you mean?" Charles asked nervously. "Does Sahara not like me?" These words caused Crystal to cackle even louder, and Addison let out a whimper.  
"Do you seriously expect Sahara to like you after how you've treated her?" She sneered. "You've left her to suffer, die, allowed Galactic to try and blow her up! You even pushed her towards a turbine, just to try and stop us 'monsters'. I share her mind, I share her thoughts, I know what you've done. Sahara has been left heartbroken by you continuing to hurt her and her friends: she had feelings for you and you destroyed them. Sahara is too weak to deal with things herself, choosing to brood instead, but I am much stronger than her!" And Crystal suddenly began to rise into the air, her eyes shining pink to match the now neon-like walls. "I am Crystal, Master of Space, Conqueror of Water, Imprint of Palkia, and I represent the love and lust that Sahara has yet to unlock!" Jupiter jumped as Nutty and Smash suddenly rose dramatically out from underneath rubble, making Charles' Pokemon step forwards, ready to defend. "I must destroy you Charles Golden. I must punish you for Sahara's hurt, it is my duty!" Charles was gobsmacked: how could he have done all of this to Sahara and not noticed properly? Had he really caused this much harm to her? Had he destroyed their chances of reconciliation?  
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it!" Charles cried as the ground beneath his feet wobbled like jelly.  
"You're too late!" Crystal screamed, shaking her head. "You must pay the price! ATTACK!" And suddenly Nutty and Smash lunged towards him, moving through the air like they were moving through water. Charles was still reeling from Sahara's pain, his mind racing, but he had been anticipating this attack and was ready.  
"HYDRO PUMP AND STONE EDGE!" He screamed. Elle ran under Tauros in shelter as Gligar and Gyarados moved: a powerful jet of water was blasted out of Gyarados' mouth with a roar, whilst Gligar smashed his tail into the ground, causing jagged rocks to shoot into the air. Nutty and Smash were already badly damaged from duelling against the other Pokemon, and it was no surprise how easily these attacks defeated them: they soundlessly soared backwards, crashing against the raised section beneath Crystal's hovering feet.

"You may have your powers, but I've battled bigger things than you and won with my Pokemon!" Charles called out, grinning with delight at the appalled look on Crystal's face, whilst Saturn and Mars applauded him. Gyarados' usually ugly face twisted into a rather happy smile, whilst Gligar face lit up and he twirled around happily.  
"Gligar Gli!" He exclaimed, and Charles smiled back at him, and was about to say something when he froze: Gligar's right claw suddenly lit up. Charles was rather taken aback by this, and let out a gasp as Gligar's whole body began to shine.  
Crystal's words had reached the other side, but the battle raging here was enough to block them out. Glalie had fallen easily at the hands of Monferno, who was helping Dustox and Staraptor with a Fiery Twister to try and stop Froslass. This left Luxio and Murkrow's Dark type moves to prevent Dusknoir from dealing damage, and he was close to fainting.  
But their battle barely compared to that of Draco and Vanessa's. The two were in their own world: fists were swinging rapidly through the air, colliding violently with the other's faces. Both had blood gushing from their noses, whilst Vanessa had sustained cuts and bruise from Draco's mechanism, and had retaliated by crushing his feet with her high heels. They didn't notice as they stomped through the blood of the fallen grunts, none of whom had stirred for minutes. The fury between the two was undeniable, and it was hard to tell who was madder.

"You nasty little skanky bitch!" Draco hissed, and tried to get his hands around her neck, wanting to do nothing more but kill this threat to his organisation.

"Sticks and stones may break your bones," Vanessa growled, grabbing his hands and twisting them backwards, "but words will never hurt me!" Draco moaned as his right wrist cracked and quickly pulled his left hand free. Angry, he jabbed his hand into her stomach and grabbed a handful of the fringed part of her dress. Draco pulled, and there was a satisfying tearing sound as the fabric split, revealing part of her stomach. Vanessa let out a gasp and kicked Draco backwards.  
"You fucking dick!" Vanessa screeched, and she grabbed his throat and slammed him against the cannon, quickly lunging for her umbrella that she placed safely in the stomach of a grunt.

"You can break my bones and leave your bruises, but no one ruins my dresses and gets away with it!" And she twisted the handle, causing the familiar silver blade to shoot out, stopping at his throat. Draco looked down at it for a moment, but than his bleeding face twisted into a smile.  
"Why are you laughing?" Vanessa hissed, sidestepping a loose Ember from Monferno.  
"You can kill me now if you want, it doesn't matter!" Draco laughed through the flow of blood. "I turned the cannon on when grabbed your umbrella!" Vanessa froze and looked towards the cannon's control panel: it was indeed blinking and glowing, and blue and orange light was coming from the barrel. "The power of the Adamant Orb combined with the pure energy of Ursilla's old gun will either stop your friend's rampage or kill her… I'm hoping for the latter, but I don't really care anymore. I've completed my task: my memory shall live on!" Vanessa was beginning to breathe deeply, watching in shock as the cannon continued to glow brighter and brighter, and glanced towards where Crystal was, the horror of what could happen to Sahara sinking in…  
The blinding light quickly faded, and Charles' haw dropped as he stared at the Pokemon now in front of him: the pink skin had turned into purple, with huge black wings now sprouting out of his back. Gligar had evolved into Gliscor, with bigger and longer arms, claws and a tail, and a mischievous yellow smile upon his face.

"Gliscor Gli!" He cried and flew into the air, beaming and twirling around happily. Charles was stunned at the sudden evolution, but was still overjoyed.  
"You must have had a Razor Fang!" Charles laughed, and sure enough no fang was inside Gliscor's claws anymore, and Gliscor simply beamed and spun around even more. "Congratulations!" Charles added, and opened his arms for a hug. But as Gliscor moved forwards, a sudden ringing clapping filled the air. In a snap, the attention was gone from Gliscor and went back to Crystal, who was clapping slowly but loudly as she continued to float above them all.  
"Yes, congratulations, I truly mean it!" She sneered, glaring down at Charles. "You may have defeated Sahara's Pokemon, but it'll take more than an oversized bat to defeat me!" Charles glared back at her, his anger rising to extreme levels. He was sick of the site of Crystal, and wanted nothing more than to see her fall… and bring Sahara back to him.  
"Just try me!" He yelled, and his Pokemon gathered around, ready to fight back. "Swift, Dragon Pulse, Hyper Beam and Stone Edge!" The four Pokemon moved quickly: Elle fired her shining stars, Gyarados released the purple coloured energy to match Tauros' powerful Hyper Beam, whilst Gliscor used his new strength to send larger rocks hurtling towards her. Crystal smiled, and two balls of water appeared in her hands, which she rose up in a defensive position, ready to take on the attacks speeding towards her.  
Than the cannon fired.  
With a loud electronic bang, the cannon, which had been glowing and whirring steadily over the past few moments, suddenly released it's deadly weapon. Vanessa and Draco could only watch as a large ball of orange energy, identical to that that came from Ursilla's gun and now Vanessa's umbrella, but infused with glowing blue electricity wrapped around like a wire. It shone brightly as it shot through the cave, sending several Geodude racing away for cover again. Team Galactic's heads all turned towards the energized cannon ball, Cyrus' face lighting up with delight, whilst Charles' jaw dropped again, shocked as it raced towards Crystal and Meditite, who still remained sitting peacefully behind her, ignoring the battle before him. Crystal hadn't noticed anything, though her eyes turned around just as the cannonball reached the raised section, just as the attacks hit her.  
For a moment, Crystal was still visible, her eyes wide with shock now, her mouth open in order to let out a shriek of rage. But than the four attacks struck her, mixing to form a blinding light, that the cannonball than merged in with it.

There was a blinding flash of orange and blue, and everyone in the cave shielded their eyes as a wave of energy nearly threw them off their feet. Than the most outrageous scream they'd ever heard sounded, splitting their ears and causing them to go from protecting their sight and hearing with their hands. Charles clenched up his face as he tried to ignoring it, but than he realised something else: the ground beneath his feet was sinking. Daring to look down, Charles saw that the earth was no longer solid, and his thoughts of it looking jelly like were now true.  
"EVA EEVEE EVE!" Elle screamed, and Charles bent down and picked her up, but was nearly whacked in the face by Gliscor, whose new wings were causing him to be blown backwards by the continuing energy being released. Charles' eyes opened upon impact, and as he struggled to hold Elle and push Gliscor backwards, he stared around the scene before him.  
It appeared the cannonball hadn't knocked Crystal out at all: instead, it had sent her powers completely out of control. Jets of water were shooting out of her hands where the two balls had been just before, and Crystal was floating all around the raised section, her eyes bulging out of her skull and her mouth wide open in a permanent scream. Her veins now had a distinctive pinkish quality to them, matching the colour of Mt Coronet, which was just as out of control as she was. To Charles it looked like every single wall, rock, section of roof had a mind of it's own: every part was being shaken and contorted as if a big hand was stretching and squishing the cave. The Team Galactic admins were being thrown around as the ground shook wildly and uncontrollably, and the entrance to Route 208 looked like a weird mouth as it closed and opened repeatedly.  
"It's space..." Charles said. "Her powers are out of control, and she's now destroying space!" Tauros and Gyarados were both roaring in displeasure, clearly unhappy as the roof and ground came close to touching with them in-between. Quickly Charles brought them back, and saw that mostly only humans remained now, the exception being Elle, Gliscor and Palmer's Dragonite and Rhyperior, who were clutching Palmer as they looked around with fright.  
"Gliiiii!" Gliscor whimpered, his wings flapping uncontrollably. Charles was trying hard to think of what to do next, and a sudden idea came to him as he tried to position himself to not fall over: it looked as if neither Sahara or Crystal was present at the moment, and a strange, uncontrollable, in-between persona was there now. Charles needed to bring Sahara back out, and hopefully this madness would end.  
"Gliscor, I want you to move your tail forwards and than drag me and Elle with you," Charles explained, hoping his plan would work. Elle and Gliscor both looked rather shocked, but neither of them had any idea what was happening, so Gliscor quickly shot his tail out, hooking it into a shaking section up ahead. Than, with much effort against the telekinetic energy, Gliscor forced himself forwards, Charles clinging around his middle. Gliscor reached out and grabbed onto a rock, and than quickly swung his tail around to hook onto another one two metres away. Elle squirmed uncomfortably in Charles' arms, but he held on tight as Gliscor struggled to reach across to the another rock, allowing them to get up the raised platform, and closer to fixing the issue.  
"I did it…" Draco whispered as he leant against the cannon, beaming widely despite the ground quivering beneath him. "I did it…" Vanessa glared down at him, her sword still pointed towards him.  
"You just made everything worse, you stupid little boy!" She hissed. She glanced behind and saw that Froslass was lying on Glalie, all five Pokemon now focused solely on trying to defeat Dusknoir. "Your Dusknoir is putting up a strong fight. Quite impressive for such a weak trainer like yourself," Vanessa added with a smirk. There was a movement to the side, and she quickly turned and thrust Draco back against the cannon, spinning him around onto his front and slashing her sword across his right butt cheek, causing Draco to yell in pain.  
"Hoe!" He hissed, as blood began to gush out of his pants.  
"You've made everything worse, you pathetic little morsel!" Vanessa hissed in his ear, jabbing her sword towards his armpit. "I'd gladly kill you now, but I have bigger issues to deal with, so I'll have to save you for later," and with a swift click, the sword descended into the umbrella and was replaced with the energy gun. With the pull of a trigger Draco and the cannon were sent crashing, the machine smashing to pieces as it crumpled under his weight.  
"NOOOOIR!" Vanessa leapt aside as Dusknoir suddenly shot past her, bouncing off Draco and landing in a heap nearby. Vanessa's Pokemon quickly moved forwards, all of them smiling widely at the defeat of Draco and his team.  
"Great job!" Vanessa said with a smile, but the ground gave a sudden shake as she spoke, and she turned back towards Crystal, who seemed to be encircling Meditite now. Vanessa's heart and kind were racing, but she knew what needed to be done to fix things, and looked back at her team, who were staring at her curiously. "It's time we sort out a plan!"  
The closer Charles, Elle and Gliscor got to Crystal, the harder it became: there was less things for Gliscor to grab or hook his tail on, and the telekinetic energy here was strongest. Charles was struggling to hold onto Gliscor and Elle, and they had nearly fallen backwards when Gliscor misjudged a movement. But Charles was determined for them to get here: he felt like it was his responsibility to make things right. He had, after all, caused Sahara all this pain and hurt in the first place. If he could just stop this rampage, Charles would feel less guilty, and was sure Sahara would be closer to forgiving him.  
"Gli Gli Gli Gli!" Gliscor groaned, stretching his claws out as far as possible to grasp onto the next rock. Charles leaned over to congratulate him, but once again froze up: Gliscor had grabbed onto a section of an unconscious Smash, who was lying in the same crater Crystal had created earlier. Nutty was lying on top, both of them unconscious, and Charles was surprised to see Sahara's bad was wrapped around Smash's tail, looking very tiny in comparision to Rock Snake.  
"Just climb up him Gliscor!" Charles shouted: Smash was unconscious, and they needed to get to Crystal quickly, as the roof was nearly hitting their heads. Elle let out a groan as Gliscor began to scale Smash's body, moving fairly quickly due to the easy holds. Charles tensed himself for what was about to come, knowing that this would be there only chance to do anything. Gliscor put his claws onto the top rock of Smash's body, and than swung his tai; onto the raised section.  
"Let's do this," Charles whispered, and Gliscor quickly flung himself forwards, landing beneath Crystal's feet. Strangely, Charles found that there weren't instantly blown backwards: the telekinetic energy being released was coming from Crystal, but wasn't affecting the area beneath her.  
_That'll make this easier… _Charles thought, and he quickly leapt to his feet. He needed to end this now: it had been going on too long, and Mt Coronet was collapsing behind them. Charles looked up towards Crystal, who was continuing to fly in circles around Meditite, screaming and shooting water. She looked purely deranged, and Charles felt a tinge of sympathy.  
"Sahara, you have to stop this!" Charles shouted, barely able to hear himself over the screaming. "You need to come out and stop Crystal! She is causing too much destruction, and I know you wouldn't want it!" But Crystal continuing to spin around screaming, and more yells came from behind Charles, though he didn't dare look back around to see what horrors were unfolding. His head was beginning to hurt. What was he meant to say… could he bring himself to say the right words?  
"Eva Eevee Eevee," the soft voice of Elle said, and Charles looked down towards her, tears beginning to form in his eyes. Elle was smiling warmly up at him, and gave him a friendly, encouraging smile, telling him he could do it. Charles nodded back, his heart began to race.  
"Sahara, I'm sorry for what I did to you!" He shouted, the tears beginning to stream. "I didn't mean to hurt you! I've been manipulated and was told what to do. I wanted us to stay friends, but I don't think it can work while we're on opposite sides! Just please accept my apology, and I understand I never meant any of it!" The tears were falling faster now, and Charles felt slightly embarrassed as he wiped them away. He looked through his blurry eyes and saw that Crystal was beginning to slow down, spinning slower and slower, but the screaming still happened, the water was still being shot out. Charles felt like jumping off the raised section and dying: his plan hadn't worked! The only big change was that the Meditite was now standing. Charles wondered how he had managed to ignore the battle for so long, yet was now watching Crystal moving around him, his eyes following her and his left hand glowing red…  
"What is he doing?" Charles asked croakily through his tears. Meditite had now raised his left hand, with Crystal about to float back around. "He's going to hit her!" Meditite heard and looked at Charles, and simply smiled and nodded. "Wait, no, STOP!" Charles shouted, but Crystal came round past Meditite, who moved so swiftly his hand was a blur, smashing straight into Crystal's lower back as Charles moved forwards.  
There was a sudden eerie silence, and for a moment Crystal was suspended in mid air, mouth and eyes still open and bulging. Charles came to a halt, staring back curiously at Elle and Gliscor. Suddenly Crystal began to glow the brightest of pinks, and a wave of invisible energy smashed into Charles, sending him toppling backwards. Gliscor grabbed onto him and Elle, and the three were caught in the energy wave as Crystal simply stayed there, glowing violently. The ground and roof began to glow brightly as well, and Charles felt like he was literally trapped inside jelly. What had Meditite down to Crystal?  
There was a sudden whistling noise, and Charles, Elle and Gliscor all screamed as they suddenly began to spin around violently. Charles could only see purple now, and his brain spun around as he did, causing his head to hurt. He heard screaming, both human and Pokemon, felt his legs getting hit repeatedly with something hard, and thought he saw a flash of orange as he was spun. Just as suddenly as it had started, Charles found it had stopped as he crashed into the ground with a thud. His eyes and brain were still spinning, but the smell of fresh air filled his nose, whilst the soothing sound of a waterfall inhabited his sound. It was so peaceful… so relaxing…

"Get up, scum!"  
Charles opened his eyes, and found a silver blade pointed a centimetre above his nose. He wasn't surprised to see Vanessa was on the other end of it, glaring threateningly down at him. Charles quickly scooted backwards onto a rock, moving up so that he was leaning against it and giving him a better view of the surroundings: Elle and Gliscor were a few feet away, looking between Charles and a Staraptor flying overhead, also glaring down at Charles. Smash was piled up just near them, the end of his tail falling over the edge of a cliff, though a stirring Nutty had Sahara's bag wrapped around her. And then the girl herself was nearby: Sahara was back in her normal clothes, with normal coloured skin and normal hair, though her jacket seemed a bit torn up and her eyes were shut firmly. But she was at least alright, Charles thought with a sigh, watching as the Meditite stared over her.  
"What the hell did you do to her?" Vanessa snapped, and Charles looked back towards the sword that was pointed so dangerously at him. His relief quickly faded away, and he glared back up at the red headed trainer.  
"I didn't do anything to her, it was that weird cannon that made her act worse!" Charles snapped back, but Vanessa simply growled in response. "I don't know what makes you think you have the right to snap at me, but I didn't do anything to Sahara! I was the only person who tried to stop Crystal!"

"Oh really?" Vanessa hissed. "Than who fired that Hyper Beam at her? Who was the one she was berating and threatening to murder, eh?" Charles felt his heart sink, and glanced back towards the stirring Sahara, feeling immensely guilty.  
"I didn't know I had hurt her so much," He whispered back, the tears coming back. "I apologised to her, but I don't think she heard. But I swear I will apologise as soon as she wakes up."  
"No you won't, because your not going to see her ever again," Vanessa snapped, "unless you want to find this sword wedged between your balls!"  
"Excuse me?" Charles roared, moving to the side to avoid the sword and leaping up. "What gives you the right to give me orders, you stupid cow!" There was a squawk above, and Charles watched as the Staraptor suddenly shot towards him, looking furious. However, there was a sudden flash of silver, and Gliscor replaced her, a second Metal Claw raised as Staraptor landed on Smash.  
"I'm more of a friend to Sahara than you'll ever be!" Vanessa shouted, aiming the sword for his stomach this time. "I know how much you've hurt her, how terrible you've made her feel. If you think an apology will make everything better, your wrong! It's best for all of us if you just stay away!"  
"I don't need to take orders from you!" Charles shouted back as Gliscor and Staraptor began to fight in mid air. "I want to make things right, and you can't stop me! I've been battling with my feelings and thoughts about Sahara for ages, and I felt terrible both times I thought she'd died! I'm not sure if I love her, but –"

"Well I do!" Vanessa screamed, and than quickly froze up. Charles did a double take, rather stunned by this. Vanessa's determined and proud face was suddenly filled with fear and shock, and she suddenly dived for her bag and pulled some sort of device out.  
"Well… I don't care if you…" Charles mumbled nervously. "Whatever you feel for her, it doesn't give you the right to sort her issues out for her!"  
"I have the right as friend!" Vanessa hissed, her voice breaking slightly. A white glow suddenly formed in next to Charles, and Elle gave a squawk of surprise. "Repeat this conversation to anyone and I'll kill. Try and see Sahara again and I'll again. And if you hurt her anymore than you already have, I'll cut you up one bit at a time!" Vanessa hissed, and she shoved Charles towards the light, just as Staraptor used Close Combat to send Gliscor crashing into Elle and than into the light. Charles watched Vanessa fade away as his vision turned white. He just wanted to be able to see Sahara again, see her so he could apologise and try to make things right. But as his body felt twisted and in pain, Charles knew that more internal questions had been formed today then answered, and he had a lot of things to think about…

With another sudden thud, Charles felt the wind knocked out of him as he landed on the ground yet again, though this time Elle and Gliscor landed painfully on his back. There was a lot of thrashing and squirming by the two, and Charles wondered where he had landed. There was a lot of talking and noise around them, but Charles couldn't get up to see.  
"Ah, so that's where you got too," A voice said from above, and Charles was able to push Gliscor's tail out of his face and look up towards Cyrus. The head of Team Galactic was staring down towards him, half scowling, a cut along his cheek.  
"Sorry, it was Vanessa, she-" Charles began, giving Gliscor a large shove and managing to stand up, and was going to continue speaking but stopped under the scowl Cyrus was wearing. The Galactic admin had more cuts along his clothes, with a large tear tinged with blood along his pants, but he didn't seem to care about these injuries, and turned away from Charles now that he was standing and clicked his fingers: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Charon and Minerva all appeared before him. All five of them seemed to have injuries from the night's adventures, with plasters, creams or bandages on various injuries, and all of them but Charon looked rather sad and worried. Glancing behind them, Charles saw that there were only a handful of grunts there. Several of them were carrying the wreckage of the cannon up the stairs to the airship, whilst Roshonda and Addison carried a box containing the Adamant Orb behind them. The rest were carrying what suspiciously looked like body bags and were shoving them into the garbage chute, and Charles felt like throwing up in disgust.  
"I want a status report, now!" Cyrus growled to them all. A vein was throbbing on his forehead and his fists were clenched, as if he would punch them if they gave bad news.

"We lost about fifteen grunts over the course of the night," Mars said quickly, the bored attitude she had earlier all but forgotten.  
"Surveillance equipment shows that Vanessa and Sahara have teleported off of the mountain, but we don't know where to," Jupiter reported quickly.  
"The Adamant Orb was undamaged, though both machines used tonight need repair," Saturn said next. Cyrus nodded angrily, the vein throbbing more and more with each bit of bad news that was given to him, and he turned towards Charon, as if hoping to finally get some relief. Charon wasn't sweating or looking nervous like the others, and spoke very matter-of-factly and sounded quite bored.  
"Only twenty percent of Mt Coronet was scanned," he said bluntly, barely looking into his bosses eyes, and Cyrus let out an angry roar that made all of them jump.  
"This is terrible!" He shouted. "Tonight has been a complete failure! We failed to locate the Spear Pillar, let all four Dex Holders and Looker escape us and Crystal has killed our grunts and caused tremendous damage to us all!" Cyrus looked like he was about to punch something, so Charles quickly brought Elle and Gliscor back, not wanting them to feel his wrath. The admins all looked rather nervous, and Minerva seemed on the verge of tears. Charles noticed there was no word of thanks to him or Minerva, who had both done a great job in stopping Crystal, but Charles didn't want to test Cyrus further.  
"It hasn't been a complete failure sir!" Said a voice, and Draco began to walk up to them, half dragging the unconscious figure that was Palmer. Draco was beaming broadly as if he had just found treasure, and seemed to be ignoring the bandages wrapped around his hips. Cyrus' look of fury suddenly vanished, and he rushed forwards and grabbed Palmer by the hair.

"Yes… we have a famous trainer in our midst's!" Cyrus hissed with pleasure, his eyes glinting deviously. "This could do wonders for us! Blackmail, extortion, manipulation!"  
"He is a famous trainer, as you just said," Charon cut in. "If we kidnapped him, people would surely find out it was us." The admins, who had all looked so excited a moment ago, suddenly looked crestfallen. Palmer just continued to grunt, and Cyrus glare down at him, obviously angry he couldn't get what he wanted. But than, after only a few moments of seething anger, Cyrus' face lit up once more.  
"Well, if we can't get the main prize, we'll have to settle for second best, won't we?" He said deviously. The admins all looked confused, but Charles had a sneaking suspicion he knew what Cyrus was talking about. "We need to head back to the ship now. Saturn, I have an assignment for you, so I want you to get ready for it now." Saturn nodded, and he quickly rushed back towards the airship, looking confused.  
"What about Palmer?" Draco asked, looking rather like a child who had missed out on a special prize.  
"Just leave him here, we have no need for him," Cyrus said, and began to walk back towards the airship with Jupiter and Mars. Charles watched as Draco let out a growl and dropped Palmer on the ground, and than marched moodily off towards the ship. With a sigh, Charles began to follow after them. He was desperate to lie down after all the night's drama, and felt like he could sleep for years.  
"Charles!" Again Charles sighed as he came to stop, though he cheered up when he saw it was Minerva rushing towards him, holding the striped egg Leafeon had been holding a short time ago. "Charles, glad to catch you before we got onboard. I was wondering if you'd like to help me with a special assignment?"  
"What sort of assignment?" Charles asked cautiously: whenever he did a special assignment, it never seemed to end well for him. He just have pulled a face because Minerva laughed and patted him softly on the shoulder.  
"It's nothing major. I just have to drop this egg off at Hearthome City and pick up a book that Cyrus wants as well," Minerva explained. "I'm going to ask Addison to come as well. I just would like some extra back up when I do these deals. It'd give me more peace of mind, you know?" Charles simply nodded. He could see that Minerva was genuine and that she would like him to be there, so he stifled down a third sigh and gave a nod of agreement.  
"How long will we be there?" Charles asked over Minerva's squeal of delight.

"A few days at the most," Minerva explained, still beaming with delight. "Thanks a lot Charles, I really appreciate you helping me!" Charles just smiled again, and watched as the secretary ran off. He was feeling rather confused about the night's events, and had wanted to spend a lot of time sleeping and mulling things over. Hopefully this job at Hearthome City wouldn't be too strenuous, and would give him some time to think about Sahara, her personalities, his feelings, Vanessa, and all the new information he had learnt that night.  
There was only one thing Charles could conclude as he walked back to the airship: Team Galactic was proving to be a much more complicated, dangerous thing to be involved with than he had first thought, and he wondered just how worse it could get before Cyrus got what he wanted.

As Matthew opened his eyes, he wondered what the hell was going on.

The trainer knew he was on something soft and squishy, and he tried to squirm to get a better feel, but his whole body seemed to ache as if he'd just been involved in a fight. Several voices were speaking nearby, mixed in with the cries and mumbles of different Pokemon. A light was glaring down at Matthew, and glancing around showed him he was inside a wood panelled house of sorts. Worried about what was going on, Matthew tried to remember what had happened to him last: images of pink flashes, lots of yelling, familiar faces of Xavier and his parents, and Charon looming over him. As the image of the scientist formed, sending shivers down Matthew's spine, and a sudden face appeared in his eyesight, and he let out a scream of shock.  
"Looks like Sleeping Beauty's finally woken," a female voice sneered, and Matthew gulped as several faces suddenly appeared above him: Xavier and Vanessa standing side by side, the latter smirking down at him, along with an elderly couple and a young brunette girl, looking rather concerned, and finally three excited faces sent the first face flying.  
"PIPLUUUUUP!" Piplup shouted, as she, Beautifly and Misdreavus landed painfully on his chest. Matthew felt winded, but happily wrapped his arms around them, more confused than ever.  
"What happened to me?" He asked before coughing violently, causing the elderly lady to rush forwards with a large bowl of purple soup.  
"We've had a bit of fun with Team Galactic tonight," Vanessa said gravely, and as the elderly lady poured the soothing liquid down his throat, Matthew to listened to the events of the night. With each second that passed, he became more and more shocked about what he was listening to, his arms beginning to droop off of his Pokemon as he listened. As Vanessa spoke, with help from Xavier, Matthew noticed someone behind them all: Sahara was lying on a mattress, gazing wearily up towards the ceiling with a rather dead, depressed look in her eye. She was half heartily stroking Nutty's head, who was in turn staring at her trainer with a very sad, worried expression. A Meditite, the Pokemon that had spooked Matthew, was walking silently towards Sahara and sat down next to her, who Sahara merely nodded at.

"… then I told Abra to teleport us to where you and Xavier were, and we came here. Sahara got treated, so woke up and decided to catch Hammer there, and than you woke up," Vanessa finished, and sat down next to Hammer the Meditite and took a deep breath, recovering from the long discussion. Xavier sat down on the edge of the couch, and Matthew moved to a sitting position, his legs nearly whacking Grotle on the head. He noticed Staraptor was standing in the doorway, possibly on guard duty.  
"Wow…" Matthew said, completely at loss for words. He had no idea how to sum up what was going through his mind: an even crazier and deranged Crystal, melting mountains, getting kidnapped, collapsing bridges and dramatic explosions were a lot to take in after getting poisoned. "I can't believe all of this happened to you guys! Do we know why any of this happened?"

"That's what we were discussing before you woke up," Vanessa replied. "I believe they were scanning for something with Charon's machine that got destroyed, and the other admins were searching for something, possibly the same thing, when you three found them."

"Do you know if they found what they were looking for?" Matthew asked, hugging his Pokemon a bit tighter than necessary in his worry.  
"I doubt it. As Crys-" Vanessa paused, glancing over at Sahara, who was staring blankly at the two of them as they spoke. "As they got interrupted, I doubt there were able to find anything," Vanessa continued, hoping it was the right thought to go down. Matthew simply nodded, dwelling things over. All four of them were in silence, ignoring the Berry Master and his family as they fussed around in the kitchen.  
"Do you think it has anything to do with Palkia?" Matthew whispered as images of the giant Space Master appeared before him. There were several sudden noises: the Berry Master dropped a plate in the kitchen, making them all jump, but Sahara suddenly let out an anguished cry and rolled over, squirming all over. Everyone leapt up, though Matthew swayed slightly, but Sahara stopped moving and lay there, breathing deeply.  
"I'm fine… it's over…" She whispered, remaining lying down. Vanessa and Nutty looked extremely relieved, sinking back into their seats. The Berry Master suddenly rushed over, a large brown leather clad book in his arms. His wife and granddaughter followed behind, passing out bowls of berry soup while Exeggutor used Psychic to pass bowls of berries around for the Pokemon.  
"Why do you ask of Palkia?" The Berry Master said to Matthew, ignoring as Sahara squirmed slightly.

"I-I-I-I saw him… it… Palkia… back at Mt Coronet… in a chamber…" Matthew explained. The Berry Master's face fell, and he opened the large book up. Ignoring their soup, all four Dex Holders moved forwards to stare at the page he had opened it on: it was a large, colourless picture, clearly ancient, showing Palkia rising above the ocean, seemingly roaring at the sky.  
"Palkia is the Master of Space," The Berry Master explained. "It only appears when disturbed, and is very violent when awoken. From the sounds of things, it must have been disturbed and caused all of this trouble tonight."

"It wasn't Palkia," Sahara said solemnly, and all eyes turned to her. "Well… not directly. When I was dealing with Mars and Draco, that was when I turned into Crystal. I felt something come over me, like a wave… but it was psychic, telekinetic… Palkia's appearance made Crystal become super powered, and she caused all that trouble."

"Galactic wanted to catch Crystal. Draco and Charon made it sound like they wanted to do experiments," Vanessa said. "That cannonball was made of up of the energy from Ursilla's guns and power from the Adamant Orb." The Berry Master gasped, and quickly flicked through the book again.  
"The Adamant Orb: a mysterious object connected to Dialga, that is said to be able to summon him to this world, though no one is sure," he said, and held another picture up: the strangely shaped Adamant Orb was under one label, whilst a much smoother orb was positioned next to it. "The other one is the Lustrous Orb: it is said to do the exact same things, but for Palkia." The four Dex Holders exchanged looks at this point, and Sahara and Nutty had their own significant glance towards her back.  
"I think that is enough for now!" The master's wife said sternly. "Your soup will go cold!" The Berry Master slammed his book shut, though still stared rather seriously at all four of them. They tucked into their soup in order to please their female host, but new things were running through their mind. Why did Team Galactic want Crystal? Why had Palkia caused Crystal to become overpowered? Why had Team Galactic stolen the Adamant Orb, were they after the Lustrous Orb, and why had the Adamant Orb caused such serious effects to Sahara?  
"Oh Xavier, what happened to your parents?" Matthew asked, trying to soften the awkward tension that had arisen. Xavier didn't look up from his soup, but his hand did freeze in mid-air. Xavier had been very quiet after he had filled in what he and Matthew had done on the trip, and Matthew noticed his friend had a strange, vacant look that Sahara had had in his eyes.  
"I'm not sure," He replied after a few moments, and Grotle looked up at his trainer, looking just as worried as Nutty had been. Matthew wasn't sure what was wrong with him, but Xavier's face looked a lot more serious than he had seen for a long time. Vanessa and Sahara continued with their soup, and Matthew decided to return to his. But he hoped his old neighbours were alright: after the rough night they'd all had, he didn't want anything worse to come out of it. Falling back into silence, Matthew slurped away at his soup, his three Pokemon eating their food, and wondering what Team Galactic would do to them next…

Diamond Estate

"… Yes, I swear I'm fine, stop worrying! … I promise, don't worry about me! I'll give you a proper call tomorrow night, I just need to sleep this one off. Alright, thanks Argenta, chat tomorrow… bye!"

With a sigh, Carolina hang up her phone and placed it down on the table in front of her. A glass of red wine and its bottle sat next to it, and Carolina had already downed half the bottle. She was wearing her fluffiest purple dressing gown, and had only just arrived back from Mt Coronet half an hour ago. Carolina had tried to wash her problems away with quick dip in the spa, but memories of Palmer came back and she couldn't bare it any longer, and had resorted to coming downstairs, hoping it would be better. But Carolina had forgot about all the memories that were placed in the cabinet running along the wall, which had been fixed since Roserade had attacked it: trophies from small to unnecessarily large, pictures of the two or just Palmer meeting famous people from around the Pokemon world, including a rather sour one between Palmer and Cynthia, and a vast amount of pictures based around the Battle Frontier. Carolina took another sip of red wine, still staring at the photos, and suddenly burst into tears.  
What did Carolina have to show for her life? She had the famous husband that had been the Tower Tycoon for nearly twenty years, the even more famous sister that had overshadowed her in battling as a child and had conquered the Sinnoh League for nearly the same length as Palmer had run his frontier, and she even had a famous researcher for a grandmother in Celestic Town! And what was Carolina: the sister, the wife, the granddaughter, always there, always mentioned in the articles and photos, but never with anything to show for herself.  
Carolina collapsed sideways on the couch, allowing the glass to fall from her hands and onto the floor. For all this time, Carolina had been the trophy wife, but she had never been as sought after as the golden ones sitting behind her. She and Palmer had been deeply in love once, but the Battle Frontier had torn them apart. Xavier had held them together for a while, but his incident in Lake Verity and loss of emotion had taken a serious toll on their marriage. Palmer never approved of how Carolina tailored all of Xavier's moves, but Carolina knew that it was right: she was his mother, after all, and he was the only good thing she had put on this earth. Carolina had tried charities, she had tried television, but everything had failed for her. She remained the bored, lonely, depressed housewife, only producing two good Pokemon, an attractive house and garden and a son that had never appreciated her efforts.  
"YAAAAAAH!" Carolina screamed suddenly, and threw the wine bottle across the room. It shattered against a family picture of Carolina, Palmer and Xavier, the now purple-soaked image crashing to the floor. Carolina watched it fall through tear struck eyes before collapsing back onto the sofa. What did all of this mean anymore! She had no son left to enjoy the lavish household she had helped create, and her husband resented her battle weakness and lived far away. Carolina was the shell of the woman she had been when she first started her journey: a poor but excited orphan, ready to make her mark on the wide world that awaited. And now she was this: a weeping, pathetic wreck, the only mark on the world being the wine seeping through her carpet.  
"Dear me, isn't this a pitiful sight?"  
Carolina screamed and leapt to her feet, nearly tripping on the glass table before her: a man had suddenly appeared at the doorway, his teeth flashing in the dim dawn sun shining through the silk curtains.  
"Who are you?" Carolina hissed, and she reached into her pocket for Ninetales PokeBall, but quickly remembered she'd allowed the Fox Pokemon to sleep upstairs and recuperate.  
"My name is Saturn," the man said, steeping forwards so Carolina could see his white and black uniform and blue hair better. A large Toxicroak, his poison sac bulging rather threateningly, moved behind him, along with two Galactic Grunts.  
"Y-y-y-you work f-for Team Ga-galactic, don't you?" Carolina stuttered, moving fearfully back towards the cabinets. She needed a weapon… she couldn't die this way. Saturn simply nodded, sidestepping the shattered photo and moving towards the glass doors.  
"I'll make this simple, Mrs Diamond," he said in a rather drawling voice. "I have been tasked to collect you: not kill you, just collect you. Being the wife of a prestigious member of the Sinnoh world and the mother of a young man we rather dislike, my boss believes you'll be very useful to our organization."  
"Go fuck yourself!" Carolina hissed, pushing the cabinet door open slowly, and Saturn simply laughed at her. Toxicroak raised his fists, and the grunts took a step forwards.  
"This doesn't have to be very difficult, Mrs Diamond," Saturn continued, moving around the second couch towards her. "We just have a few things we want to know, and if we appreciate your answers, we'll let you go. That is, as long as you cooperate with us, you, and your son, won't get hurt for the time being." Carolina's heart was racing faster than it ever had in her life. She glanced sideways towards another photo: one of Xavier, taken on New Year's Eve only a few months ago. This people were after him and his friends, and Carolina couldn't let them go. If she went with them, they'd get enough information out of him as possible before killing her and than killing Xavier. Carolina couldn't let them hurt him… not her precious boy.  
"Alright…" She said with a sigh, and Saturn's teeth flashed. "I'll go with you."

"Smart woman," Saturn said, and he wrapped his hand around her left arm, preparing to lead her away. But there was a sudden movement: Carolina had grabbed the nearest trophy and had swung it. Saturn cried out as golden PokeBall smashed into his head, sending him tumbling to the floor. Carolina flung the trophy across the room towards the grunts, and than ran as Toxicroak shot a Shadow Ball across the room. It smashed into several photos and sent glass flying, but Carolina launched herself over Saturn to the next door: she flung it open and grabbed the biggest trophy she could find (one Palmer had received for defeating Brandon from the Hoenn Frontier) and threw it with all her might. One of the grunts was smashed in the head and tumbled backwards, tripping over his colleague as they both made to lunge. Saturn let out a groan, and Carolina fumbled inside the cabinet, trying to grab one of her other PokeBalls she kept in here.  
"TOOOOX!" Toxicroak ran forwards and jumped over both couches. Carolina screamed and reached in, her fingers nearly around something… Toxicroak was getting closer… tears were falling again… she'd never see Xavier again….  
Carolina let out a noise: it wasn't a gasp, but it wasn't a gulp, but something in between. Her throat felt… strange… Carolina's eyes glanced down, and she saw crimson blood was pouring from her throat. Toxicroak's wrist spike was imbedded inside her flesh, his eyes wide with shock at the miscalculation he had made. Carolina began to shiver, and she used all her willpower to stare at what she was holding: it was a photo of her at the age of ten, ready to leave on her adventure, still with natural brunette hair and a look of hope and optimism on her face.

_Sorry Caro, _Carolina thought, her mind beginning to mist over, her life fading away. _I should have done you proud… I should have tried more… I'm sorry… _Her fingers became loose, and the photo fell onto it's side. With a single movement, Toxicroak flung Carolina's body onto the sofa, where she fell with such force her eyes fell shut. It looked as if she was sleeping, but the blood still pouring out of her throat ruined the happier, more peaceful image. Carolina Diamond was dead, murdered in the home and house she had tried so hard to build and maintain, her life now a forgotten, tarnished memory.

Slowly Saturn got to his feet, his mouth open with shock, staring down towards the limp body draped on the couch. He looked at Toxicroak, saw the blood dripping from his spike. With an angry growl Saturn grabbed a trophy from the cabinet and threw it at the table, shattering the glass surface and making the grunts cover their eyes.  
"Do you know how angry Cyrus is going to be?" Saturn growled, whacking Toxicroak on the shoulder. "He is going to have my blood for this one!" The admin stared at the dead body, thinking quickly. "We need to dispose of the evidence. I believe Charon gave us a bomb in the backpack: get it out and set it up, and than we need to move!" Saturn shot Toxicroak another angry look as the grunts quickly pulled a large metal box out of the bag they'd brought with them, and quickly set it up for a five minute countdown.  
"Right, now let's get out of here!" Saturn hissed. The two grunts nodded, and they all made to move towards the exit but froze: a figure had just appeared, moving around the doorway. Ninetales yawned as she walked in, and quickly froze as she saw the unfamiliar people in her house.  
"Nine…" She whispered, glancing between them curiously. Her eyes darted around the room, from the shattered table, the strewn trophies and the fallen portrait, but finally fell next to Saturn and saw her: Carolina's lifeless body, the blood dripping off her onto the carpet. "NINE!" She shrieked, and her tails suddenly rose into the air, a strange whistling sound filling the room.  
"STOP HER!" Saturn shouted, but it was too late: with a single but powerful burst of flame, the two grunts were sent flying backwards, smashing through the glass doors outside. Saturn gasped, but Toxicroak was quick to react: he leapt forwards, ready to unleash a Poison Jab, but Ninetales turned to him and her eyes flashed, and Toxicroak was sent crashing into the roof, landing on the floor with a thump.  
"Stop this!" Saturn cried, and he lunged for Ninetales, but the fire type easily dodged and ran towards Toxicroak. She let out another Flamethrower, a continuous jet of flames that began to quickly engulf Toxicroak, lighting up the room with a harsh orange glow and making him yell in pain. "I said stop!" Saturn shouted, his temper rising: it was meant to be a simple mission, but now he was going to have to do a major clean up operation and be sorely punished. He lunged towards Ninetales, but only was able to grab onto her tails. Toxicroak cried out in pain and Saturn desperately pulled on one of her tails, only plucking a single hair out.  
The atmosphere suddenly changed. Ninetales stopped with her Flamethrower and turned towards Saturn, a wicked smile upon her face. Saturn was stunned, and suddenly noticed it was getting a lot darker. The single hair he had pulled out was glowing golden and was becoming hot, but Saturn couldn't let it go. Ninetales walked closer to him, putting a paw on his stomach and forcing him back to the ground.  
"Wh-wh-what's going on?" Saturn stuttered, everything now dark except for him and Ninetales. A whispering was filling the air around him, and the single hair was beginning to wrap around Saturn's arm, burning white hot.

_You have claimed have a life, you have committed a crime_

_You have caused me pain, and now it is your time_

_To feel my power, to feel my wrath_

_By killing my master, you've chosen this path_

_I will hunt you down, I will find where you are_

_Wherever you stay, I won't be far_

_In the end, you will die a fiery death_

_And I'll be the cause of your final breath_

_You nasty man, you vicious killer,_

_Now I'll turn your life into a psychotic thriller_

_I will cause you eternal strife_

_Until you pay the price, I take your life _

_So that is why I sing this verse, _

_To unleash the power of a Ninetales curse_

In a single flash, the hair burst into flame and Saturn screamed in pain, multiple lines of the curse echoing inside his head at once. He screamed in anguish and blinked: Ninetales was no longer on him, and light was seeping back into the room. Breathing deeply, Saturn looked up and saw Ninetales and Toxicroak firing attacks at each other, their roars filling his ears.  
Had that been real? Saturn looked down at his right wrist and saw a curving burnt mark spiralling down towards his elbow. Had Ninetales really cursed him, or was it all just an illusion? Saturn looked down, and all thoughts of curses left him: there was only one minute until the bomb detonated!  
"RUN!" He shouted, and sprinted out the door. He heard a Gunk Shot being fired, and a moment later Toxicroak was following after him. Saturn didn't care about anything else as he sprinted through Carolina's garden, trampling flowers as he hurried to get out of the area. Swerving to avoid running into the swimming pool, Saturn ran across the pale yellow bricks, noticing a Roserade stirring from between the roses. He grabbed a thin metal bar from his pocket and pressed a button, and in a flash it had turned into his trident-like machine… Saturn had to get out of here… he had to.

Than the house exploded.

In the peaceful, early morning garden, the sound shook everything to its core. Saturn, Toxicroak and Roserade were sent flying by a fiery shockwave, casting them metres down the garden as flaming wreckage pelted them. The first two storeys were completed obliterated, with pale blue bricks flying across the estate. The hedge separating the two houses was blown over, sending Matthew's Chimecho spiralling away with it. All windows on the house smashed simultaneously, and flaming wreckage of the patio furniture crashed into an old tree house used by Matthew.

Leah opened her eyes as soon as the explosion happened, and than shielded them as the fiery ball nearly blinded her. Glass and wood from their deck doors scattered across the bed, and Adrian let out a yell as a shard cut his cheek.  
"OH MY GOD!" Leah screamed, instantly leaping out of bed and trodding across the glass, staring towards the flaming wreckage. "ADRIAN!" Leah screamed again, fear beginning to fill her: she had heard Carolina's helicopter drop her off… what if she had been in the house… was he friend safe?  
"Lucario Luca!" Leah's Lucario, who slept in a corner of the room, ran forwards and sprinted out of the house, landing on the opposite side of the burning leaves. Leah was immobilized by fear and horror… why was this happening… who had caused this….  
"Leah, go do something!" Her husband's voice brought her back down, and Leah turned to see Adrian on the phone as he flung his four PokeBalls onto the floor. Blaziken, Zangoose, Espeon and Umbren all formed, and Adrian pointed them towards the burning house. Leah knew she had to respond, and grabbed her Raichu's PokeBall and sprinted out of the room with the four Pokemon.  
"Mummy, what's going on?" Peter asked as Leah ran down the stairs, his Mime Jr, watching them all pass with worry. But Leah didn't respond, simply pushing a button labelled AQUARIUM at the bottom of the stairs, and than sprinted through the living room and out through the shattered doors, with Adrian's Pokemon and Raichu racing out before her. Flaming wood and foliage was littering their lawn, and Chimecho was flying around frantically, clearly terrified. Leah felt her heart drop as she stared at the destruction: if Carolina was in there, there was no way she'd have survived… but she couldn't be dead… she just couldn't be…  
"The fire brigade is on it's way!" Adrian said, running past her quickly. "SURF!" He shouted out, and Leah watched as her Mantine and Matthew's Milotic rose out of their special underground aquarium, two larges waves beneath them. "Come on Leah!" Adrian said, and grabbed his wife's arm and pulled her forwards. Leah moved forwards reluctantly, trampling over more shattered glass, wondering what horrors would await her on the other side.  
"Oh god…" Saturn groaned. He was winded, lying face down in the grass about five metres from where he had been only thirty seconds ago. It felt like his back was on fire, and when Saturn looked around, he saw that indeed the explosion had burnt a large whole in the back of his vest. "Fuck!" He hissed, and forced himself to his feet, and nearly fell over as his knees gave way. Thankfully, he was able to position himself on his trident, allowing him to fully see the damage caused.

The majority of the first and second floors have been completely destroyed. It was a miracle the house was even standing, with the supports now on fire as well and beginning to crack. The entire garden was now a charred and flaming mess, with large craters were the bricks had been sent flying. Bits of house and furniture lay in the pool, with the water splashed out reaching to where the hedge had been , but now stood a burning wall of leaves and twigs. A huge cloud of smoke was rising into the sky, and Saturn was completely awestruck at the damage he had caused. But the sounds of sirens were sounding in the distance: he needed to Teleport out of here as quickly as possible to avoid detection.  
"TOXICROAK!" Saturn roared as he charged up the trident. Toxicroak leapt to his feet, slightly ash covered but otherwise alright, and made to run forwards. But he was only a few feet away when suddenly Toxicroak glowed pink and went flying backwards. "What the-" Saturn said, and turned around: Leah and Adrian were piling into the garden, surrounded by Lucario, Chimecho, Raichu, Blaziken, Zangoose, Espeon and Umbreon. A pile of burning wood was blasted away nerarby, and a rather charred looking Roserade stood up and joined him.

"Your from Team Galactic, aren't you?" Adrian cried out. Saturn scowled and paused the teleportation charge up.

"The people in this area are so wise, aren't they?" He hissed back at them. Two different banging sounds were now sounding around the garden, and Saturn wanted to wrap this up before whoever was making the sounds appeared. "Now, if you excuse me, I think I'll be off now."  
"I don't think so!" Adrian yelled, ignoring as two Surf's went simultaneously past him. "Everyone attack, don't let him leave!" Saturn cried out different typed attacks came flying towards him. He jumped to avoid a Thunderbolt, Aura Sphere and Flamethrower that exploded on the ground next to him. The Surfs crashed through the lower two storeys of the house as he landed back on the ground, the sound of the crashing waves not enough to mask the sirens whining louder and louder towards the house. Suddenly, the two constant banging sounds were replaced with even louder explosions: Saturn looked around as the large shape of a Snorlax rose out from a shed at the opposite end, and than turned as a Ponyta burst out of the stables, cantering quickly towards him, fire in her eyes.  
"Screw this," Saturn hissed, and un-paused the teleportation charge up. He didn't need to bother with a battle: it would only end badly for him, and he didn't need anymore trouble to deal with. Moving swiftly, Saturn brought the now unconscious Toxicroak back, and pressed another button on his trident. The two outer points on the trident shot rapidly into the air, quickly joining together. Saturn cheekily gave a wave towards the Pearls, another onslaught of attacks coming towards him, and wondered if they would find the possibly burnt and dead remains on the grunts when they did cleanup. Than the two points fired a harsh blue beam, and within seconds Saturn was gone, leaving the attacks to collide in mid air.

"Damnit!" Adrian hissed, and turned to face his wife. But Leah was no longer there: she was walking towards the house, not paying attention as she walked over burning rubble and shattered glass. Her attention was focused fully on getting to the house… she needed to find Carolina… her friend had to be safe, she just had to be. Some firs were still burning, and Mantine and Milotic were trying to find them. Ninetales was stood there, glowing a distinctive fiery colour to show her Flash Fire had activated. Leah's heart sank as she saw her: Carolina never went anywhere with Ninetales, they were the closest of companions…  
"Luca!" Lucario rushed in front of Leah as she walked onto the destroyed garden path. Leah tried to push him out of the way, trying to get closer to the house… a burnt figure was lying on the ground up ahead, sticking out from under a couch… "LUCA!" Lucario shouted, and his eyes glowed blue and he used aura against his trainer.  
"CAROLINA!" Leah screamed, as Adrian rushed forwards and tried dragging her backwards as well. "CAROLINA!" Tears began to fall thickly, and Leah collapsed to the ground, sobbing into her nightshirt. Adrian and Lucario wrapped their arms around her, holding her tightly. Ninetales looked towards them, seeing the hurt and suffering, and her tails suddenly glowed golden. Milotic and Mantine watched as the tails turned slightly and pointed to the right, as if pointing Ninetales easterly. The Fox Pokemon merely nodded, and without another sound, she turned and ran out of the house, leaving her home, the destruction, her dead trainer behind. She didn't look back as the fire engines and police cars pulled up, she didn't look back as the supports gave way and the third storey collapsed. As the dawn sun rose through the cloud of smoke, Ninetales had only one thing on her mind.

Revenge.

No one noticed at first as a harsh light began to full Xavier's bag: they were all too busy setting up an extra two mattresses for himself and Vanessa to sleep on. The Berry Master was kindly letting them stay whilst they recovered from the tough night, though the group planned to move forwards soon: Matthew had a contest at Hearthome City in a few days, and the third Sinnoh gym was waiting to be battled. Everyone was chatting and laughing, even Sahara and Xavier, who laughed as Grotle tripped over Piplup and knocked the dining table over.  
However, the harsh light soon became too bright, and as the four Dex Holders got under their blankets, their host family already heading off to bed, their eyes all turned towards his bag: it burst open with a popping sound, and red energy poured out of it. It wasn't the normal way of Pokemon energy being released, looking more solid like it was being forced out of a bottle. The disgruntled figure of Lapras landed on the floor, looking around at them all.  
_Yes? _She said huffily, still annoyed at being snapped at before.  
"I didn't order you out," Xavier said, grabbing his bag from near the dining table. The other three all exchanged odd looks: Pokemon didn't just randomly come out of their PokeBalls for no reason. Xavier pulled out Grotle's PokeBall, and the Great Balls belonging to Drifloon and Heracross, all of which were fine. But than he pulled out Lapras': it was in four even pieces, half white, half red, with the black bit resting in between them.  
"That… that isn't normal," Sahara said, grabbing the PokeBall out of Xavier's hands. "If something had shattered it, than it wouldn't be in even pieces."  
"When my grandmother died, her PokeBalls shattered like that," Matthew said hoarsely, staring at the PokeBall in shock. Vanessa simply raised an eyebrow and scoffed.  
"I don't think Xavier is dead, Matthew, so we can probably-"

"It wasn't my PokeBall," Xavier whispered, wide eyes also focused on the PokeBall. "I picked it up at my house, thinking it was mine, but it turned out to be my mother's. I never sent Lapras back over to my own PokeBall." A shocked silence followed this statement, broken only by a moan of despair from Lapras, whose head fell onto the table, her eyes shut as she continued to moan. Vanessa, Sahara and Matthew all exchanged looks, the latter covering his mouth with his hands, before they all stared back towards Xavier. How would he, the one who showed no emotion, who they didn't even know if he liked his parents, react to this news.  
"X-X-Xavier…" Sahara whispered, putting the PokeBall pieces down as if contaminated, "Xavier… wouldn't your mother be…. Dead…" Xavier looked up at her, his eyes still wide, his face going rather paler than normal. A million thoughts were racing through his head, his heart was speeding, he felt like he would be sick… his mother was dead….

"It's a pity, isn't it?" He whispered at last, and without another word, Xavier turned over and fell soundly asleep.


	18. Home is Where the Heart is

**Home is Where the Heart is**

_Good morning. It is eight' o'clock. I am Clarisse Miller, and this is Sinnoh Morning News.  
__  
Our top story this morning continues into the mysterious explosion at the Diamond Estate near Twinleaf Town three days ago, and the death of owner, Carolina Diamond. Mrs Diamond, mother of one, wife of Battle Frontier Tower Tycoon Palmer Diamond and sister of Sinnoh League Champion Cynthia Carter, was found dead by fire fighters when they arrived shortly after the lower two floors of her house were destroyed by some sort of explosion, which was later confirmed to be a bomb.  
Police instantly presumed Carolina had been killed by the explosion, but an autopsy done yesterday afternoon revealed that Carolina had been killed by a stab to the throat instead. Investigators were even more shocked when it was revealed that the toxin Poison-type Pokemon produce was found around the wound._

_This confusion has all been settled this morning, as terrorist organization Team Galactic has claimed responsibility for her murder and the explosion. Team Galactic is believed to have formed several years ago, but has only become well known recently. Already this year they have claimed responsibility for incidents such as the Oreburgh Mine Disaster, the destruction of the Valley Windworks, and demolition of the Cycling Road Bridge between Eterna City and Route 207._

Team Galactic did not specify why they went after Carolina Diamond, but police believe it is due to her connections amongst the Sinnoh Pokemon World. Both Palmer Diamond and Cynthia Carter have postponed any battles for the time being, though Sinnoh League officials say that Miss Carter will take part in the annual Sinnoh League Championships around August.  
Team Galactic also claimed responsibility in the same announcement for damages down at the lowest cave entrance to Mt Coronet, which occurred on the same night. 

_In other news…  
_

February 2nd, 2010

"It's such a shame, isn't it?"

It was an early but busy morning at the Hearthome City Pokemon Center. The cultural capital of the Sinnoh region always attracted a large amount of visitors to its city, and today was even busier than normal. Two important events were happening today: the Hearthome City Double Battle Contest would be occurring at the Hearthome Contest Hall, the largest and central headquarters of contests in Sinnoh, causing many coordinators from across the region to come and try their luck at winning another ribbon, whilst a special event was being held at the luscious Hearthome Conference Hall a few doors down.  
Matthew Pearl was here for the former reason. He hadn't won any ribbons at the two contests he had competed in previously, and was excited to be involved in this one. He had spent the past few days training his Pokemon furiously to perfect his performance combination move, as well as practicing multiple moves for use in the contest, and was certain he stood a chance at winning.

Unfortunately, Matthew hadn't had much help from his friends with training, but could easily understand why. Xavier had been very quiet since news of his mother's death, and had been very quiet and distant from the rest of them, spending all his time training his Pokemon for his match against the Hearthome gym leader, a ghost type trainer named Fantina. And Sahara was still recovering slowly from the terrible ordeal she'd suffered at Mt Coronet, still slightly in agony from the pain Crystal had put her through. And Vanessa had told Matthew rather simply "if the other two aren't helping you, I'm sure as hell not going to."

However, Vanessa and Sahara were sitting in the Pokemon Center atrium with him, their eyes focused upon the news screen as well. Vanessa had been wearing black clothes out of respect, and today was wearing a long flowing black dress with eight stars made out of diamonds scattered around it, and a black rose was clipped in her hair. Sahara was trying hard not to tear up as her new Meditite Hammer sat peacefully on her lap, meditating. Sahara had tried to train with Meditite, but he had been rather reluctant, choosing to meditate most of the day instead. Xavier had disappeared before breakfast that morning, but they were too busy to wonder where he had gotten to.

Three other people were in the atrium with them as well: Matthew's parents and his brother Peter had come out for the contest. Adrian Pearl, being head of the Sinnoh Pokemon Contest Board, usually came out for the big double battle contest, and had brought Leah along with him. She had been heartbroken by her best friend's death, and had spent most of the past few days crying in her room with the curtains closed. But now that Adrian had convinced her to take a break from it all, Leah was fussing over Matthew insanely, making sure his moves were perfect and that everyone else was happy and calm. They never discussed the death around her, in case it caused her to finally snap and break down.

"I wish you kept better care of this jacket," Leah said quietly, not focusing on the news or what Matthew said at all as she rolled a lint brush vigorously. Adrian, Peter and Piplup watched as Matthew buttoned up his contest jacket and examined himself in the reflective floor, a nervous look on his face.

"Are you two going to come watch my contest?" Matthew asked Vanessa and Sahara. The two turned away from the television, staring at his fancy contest outfit.

"Sorry Matthew, but I really need to get Hammer's training underway," Sahara said apologetically, and the Meditite opened an eye at being mentioned. "I'm thinking of taking him to Amity Square, see if we can bond a bit." Vanessa's face suddenly twitched, but only Matthew noticed. He went to say something, but she quickly recovered and put on a smile.

"How sweet," Vanessa said sarcastically, and grabbed a newspaper off the table. "I won't be going either. I read about this conference being held today yesterday," and she held up a full page ad from the middle of the paper. It was red with large white letters saying ARCETHIAN ACADEMY ANNUAL ALUMNI ASSEMBALAGE, with more details listed in smaller writing underneath.

"That's a lot of A's," Peter said, and Adrian chuckled and ruffled his son's hair.

"And your going to it?" Matthew said, surprised. "You went to Arcethian Academy?" There was an Arcethian Academy located in all of the major regions, and was a prestigious private boarding school that many people went to when they were young, and would still go to if they didn't go on a Pokemon journey. There were other schools around, but it was the best one if you wanted to go into a non-Pokemon related job.

"You don't think I could've gone there?" Vanessa snapped, her eyebrows raised and the newspaper clenched viciously in her hand. Sahara simply scoffed and rolled her eyes, and everyone looked at her, even Leah, frozen with the lint brush in her hand.

"I wouldn't have wanted to go there!" Sahara said, still scoffing. "A bunch of snotty rich kids learning a bunch of crap they'll never use again?" And she let out a little laugh.

"I went there," Adrian said with a slight scowl.

"Xavier and I were there until the end of the last school year," Matthew said, sounding rather offended. Sahara blushed and mumbled an apology, and looked back towards the television.

"I did go there for several years, _actually_," Vanessa hissed to Matthew, who couldn't help but looked surprised. "But I'm not going there for the reunion side of things. Mr Adiem is one of the key speakers, and I have a few questions for him." On the day of Carolina's demise, the Berry Master the Dex Holders had stayed with gave the four some interesting information about Dialga and Palkia, the legendary Pokemon said to control time and space. Vanessa had been researching vigorously at a local library, but hadn't found more than fables and myths, nothing that would help her find out why Team Galactic was interested in them.

"Didn't you try talking to Adiem before?" Sahara asked.

"Yes, and he may have blasted me out of his office, but he can't attack me in the middle of a prestigious conference, can he?" Vanessa said, smirking triumphantly as she got to her feet, grabbing her pink bag from off the floor. "It's starting soon: I don't want to make a grand entrance now, do I?" And with a little smirk, she brushed past Matthew and headed for the door. "Good luck with the contest!" And she quickly headed out through the glass doors, past several young female coordinators wearing matching pink dresses. Adrian looked at his watch and gasped.

"I have to be at the contest hall now, damnit!" He cried, and leapt to his feet. Leah let out a gasp and grabbed a leather handbag from the table.

"That means we'd better go as well!" She wailed, and grabbed Peter's hand.

"Piplup Pip!" Piplup cried, and leapt onto Matthew's shoulder, her trainer now frantically grabbing his bag and a few ball seals he'd been trying out.

"See you later Sahara!" Matthew cried as he was pulled out the sliding doors by his father.

"Good luck!" Sahara shouted out, but the doors had already shut. She let out a sigh, and grabbed her own bag from off the ground. Meditite opened his eyes and stood up, leaping onto the polished floor.

"Smart one you are," Sahara smirked. "We'd better head off ourselves: no point sitting around like a bunch of losers!" Meditite simply nodded, and began walking out the front door. Sahara quickly followed after, and within seconds she too was gone.

Charles Golden watched them all leave.

He had been in Hearthome for the same amount of time as them. Minerva and Addison were sitting opposite him across a table, all of them in comfortable blue and red chairs. Minerva and Addison were focusing on the news, leaving Charles unnoticed as he stared longingly after Sahara. He wanted nothing more but to go after her, declare his feelings and see if she still felt the same way for him. But Vanessa's warning had been very clear, and despite what Charles wanted, he knew that there was no way he and Sahara could be together due to his work for Team Galactic. Feeling very sad inside, Charles  
looked back towards the others and saw Addison was glaring at him.

"What were you looking at?" She asked excitedly. Despite the rebellious red streaks in her hair, Addison was a typical gossipy girl and had been asking Charles a mound of personal questions over their past few days in the Pokemon Center. Charles thought Addison was very attractive, but like her enough to reveal anything.

"I'm allowed to stare around a room, aren't I?" He snapped back, and Addison leant back in her chair, a smirk on her face.  
She was wearing a tight fitting black coat that went below her very short black skirt. As they were undercover, they had been forced to dress into appropriate clothing. Charles didn't own many normal clothes and was stuck in the blue running clothes he'd landed in Sinnoh in. Minerva was wearing a pleasant white dress that had a green floral pattern that matched her blonde hair nicely. The two looked very good, and Charles felt self conscious about his scruffy running gear and messy blue-brown hair.

"We probably should head off now that those Dex Holders have left," Minerva said, turning away from the television. "Nothing on the news about us and the Galactic item was over pretty quickly, but that's not to say nothing else will come up later." She seemed to have taken being in charge of her own little mission to heart, and pulled two photographs out from a green handbag that matched her dress. One of the photos was of a thick black leather book, the cover so badly damaged that it looked about a hundred years old. The second picture was slightly grainy, taken of an elderly man. He had a large amount of grey facial hair that obscured most of his features, with a green hat on top of his head with matching suspenders over a brown shirt. Charles gasped as he recognised the face, and then stared back towards the ancient book.

"That's Mr Goods, isn't it?" He cried.

"Whose Mr Goods?" Addison asked in shock. Minerva's lips formed a scowl as several heads turned at their exclamations.

"Mr Goods," she replied quietly, "is a well known criminal. He is able to get you anything from toothpaste to dynamite, but most people contact him because of the book. It is a very ancient spellbook that he stole from a cave a few decades ago. Since then, everyone that needs to perform some spot of magic simply contacts him and rents the book."

"Team Rocket rented that book back in Johto," Charles said viciously, glaring down at the face and bad memories rushing back to him. Minerva tapped his hands in a sympathetic way, and Charles smiled back at her concerned face.

"Team Rocket were the last people to use the book," Minerva explained, "though they weren't as nice to Mr Goods as other organizations were. He has suffered amnesia from a nasty blow to the head and ended up here, working at Amity Park. Though he doesn't remember his past deeds, Mr Goods still has the book with him. Cyrus wants the book, which is the only reason why he let me come here and drop that egg off, so we have to make sure we get it."

"By force!" Addison cheered, but Minerva whacked her across the head, looking furious.

"If we get it by force we attract the attention of police!" She hissed. "I have contacted Mr Goods and offered to buy the book off of him, so it will permanently be ours, alright?" Addison nodded, rubbing her head with a pout on her face. "Glad you get the message. We better go so we make sure no one interrupts or follows us, alright? We'll wander around, pretend we're a small family sightseeing, than we slip into the park." Minerva stood up clutching her handbag, and Addison hoisted a tatty black bag that completed her moody teenager look. Charles simply had a sports bag that matched his gear, though something much heavier than clothes was weighing it down. Checking he still had his PokeBalls, he followed Minerva and Addison out of the Pokemon Center, remembering that Sahara had walked through these doors only moments before and failed to suppress a sad sigh.

As Charles entered, a young woman slipped in past him. She was very pretty, with bright blonde hair held back in a ponytail, a tight orange singlet and denim short shorts. A pile of papers were in her hands, with a laptop balanced precariously on top. The woman attracted the attention of several male coordinators, but she ignored them, glancing around the Pokemon Center frantically. When it seemed her search had failed, the woman cursed and quickly left the building.

If she didn't find who was looking for soon, the end of the world would be her fault.

Hearthome City is regularly voted the most beautiful city in all of Sinnoh. It is a splendid mix of modern contemporary art, ancient buildings, vintage designs and a rainbow of nature. The streets and roads are all made of cobbled stones or red and black bricks, though cars never cross these surfaces. All cars simply drove past the city, with spaces for parking if need be. The sidewalk simply blended with the streets, making the city a more relaxing and safe place to be in.

There were no skyscrapers in the city, and there were very little offices. Most of the buildings were residential apartments and cottages placed right in the middle of the city, painted varying shades of brown with a variety of reds and greens to give them an old fashioned appearance. The only major buildings were the Hearthome Contest Hall, the Conference Center, a large grey church perched into the corner of the city, and finally the gym.

If you saw the Hearthome City Gym, you wouldn't be alone in mistaking it for something else. The gym was a magnificent wide structure, painted a jet black mixed with a midnight purple that allowed it to stand out for miles away. Statues of Gengar and Mismagius, Banette and Dusknoir, every ghost type imaginable rested inside stone niches, whilst a giant Drifblim, its purple paint nearly fully faded, hovered in what have been an eerie manner if it hadn't been for the four metal cables keeping the Pokemon-shaped balloon in place. More images of ghosts appeared in the stained glass windows, though some scenes showed a bit of the cities history and memorable contests.

Inside it was nearly pitch black. Ghostly faces of Gastly, Drifloon and Duskull had blue flames burning inside of them, providing enough light for trainers to cross the cold stone floor, though not enough to reveal the trainers lurking behind these lamps. Gym challengers had to fight their way through nearly a dozen gym employees, defeating their ghost types and trying to find their way through the maze of lamps. Once they got to the end though, the trainers leaving them in peace, a set of wooden doors about four metres high would creak slowly open, revealing the battle field.

That was where Xavier Diamond was now.

He had battled through the trainers soundlessly, only opening his mouth to utter commands. His Pokemon tore through the trainers Pokemon with ease, though Xavier was able to find the quickest route, meaning he only took part in three battles. He healed his Pokemon as he walked through the doors, entering a battle field unlike any other. The stone statues that were on the outside had counterparts on the inside, glaring down at him from all sides. In between them were brackets of blue and purple flame, providing haunting light for the upcoming battle. The field itself was plain, though fog seemed to be circling alongside. As the doors creaked shut behind him, Xavier barely flinched and walked up to his spot. There were little thoughts inside his head at the moment: no battle plans, no anticipation or worry, no happiness about making it this way. It was as if something he dimmed his brain down, so he focused only on the important things, and nothing else….

"Bonjour Mr Xavier Diamond," a feminine voice boomed from the shadows, ringing with an accent Xavier couldn't recognise. He was unfazed as there was a poof of purple smoke, and suddenly a woman was standing there. Her dress was long, wide and purple, an immense work of fabric from her breast downwards. Her arms were enclosed by long, elegant white gloves, whilst her purple hair was styled into four bands, with only two strands of hair falling against her aged but beautiful face. "Je M'appelle Fantina, and I am the gym leader for Hearthome City!" She flashed a wide, white smile towards him, but Xavier simply nodded.

"Fantina will be using three Pokemon, but the challenger may use however many Pokemon necessary," a disembodied voice echoed around them. "Fantina sends first – BEGIN!"

"Dusknoir, battle for me first!" Fantina called and threw a Dusk Ball into the sky. It burst open, haunting music echoing out as a black, cloth like Pokemon with yellow zigzags floated down, its hands moving unattached to its body.

"Grotle. Use Bite," Xavier said, less emotion in his voice than normal. His starter burst from his PokeBall, and Grotle instantly leapt forwards, clamping down hard on Dusknoir's middle. Fantina was horrified, and quickly commanded a furious Fire Punch. Grotle continued to use Bite, twice causing Dusknoir to flinch and stop his moves right in their track. Yet Xavier showed no emotion: nothing in his eyes, from his mouth, nothing. When Dusknoir fell after only five turns, leaving Grotle nearing low health but still with plenty of steam, Fantina was astounded, and sent her next Pokemon out.

Gengar was able to move much faster than Dusknoir, initiating an earlier Toxic and moving down with a barrage of Ice Punches and Shadow Balls, blasting Grotle across the room. Xavier simply returned him without turning around, sending out his Lapras in an Ultra Ball that was completely his. Lapras' eyes flashed a single flash of pink, and Gengar fell flat to the ground, his half-Poison typing making him vulnerable towards Psychic.

Fantina was taken aback at how cold Xavier was acting, and couldn't remember anyone showing as little emotion in all of her previous gym battles. But she hoped her secret weapon would work out, and threw a final Dusk Ball that erupted in a chorus of ribbon and confetti. The hot air balloon shaped Pokemon Drifblim formed amongst the black smoke, staring simply down at Lapras. Xavier commanded an Ice Beam, than another, than another, but Drifblim simply twirled around, Stockpiling by absorbing in energy from the air and expanding to great width. A single burst of white energy was released, and Lapras fell to the Spit Up.

It was easy for Drifblim to eliminate Heracross next. He managed to get in two Night Slashes, but a double weakness to her Air Cutter had Heracross down before he could make a third attack. Xavier still showed no emotion, simply nodding as he brought Heracross back. Fantina didn't know what to make of him, and waited in anticipation for his next Pokemon.

"Drifloon. Icy Wind," Xavier commanded. Fantina's face lit up with excitement as the pre-evolution of Drifblim floated up into the sky with it's evolved form.

"Ah, trés fantastique!" She exclaimed excitedly. "A battle between two ghost types of the same family! This will most definitely be a fantastic battle!"

"It'll be very short," Xavier said, and Fantina froze, looking shocked, as Drifloon let loose a burst of icy wind that blasted Drifblim backwards. "Stockpile and Spit Up will have no effect on Drifloon as she is a ghost type and they are normal type moves," Xavier explained, his voice a dull, monotonous droll. "I have several moves effective against you, whilst you have one last move that I can presume is ghost type, meaning you will have a slight chance of defeating my Drifloon." Fantina was rather taken aback, but she quickly realised that he was right: Drifblim had only one move that would do significant damage to Drifloon.

"Shadow Ball, quickly!" She called, trying to stay the assertive gym leader.

"BLIM!" Drifblim cried, and a ball of purple-black energy shot out of her. Drifloon was hit and she cried out, but Xavier had a glint in his eye, as if he knew what to do.

"Will-o-Wisp," he called out. Drifloon inhaled, and than balls of blue flame shot out. They exploded against Drifblim and she became alight in the ghostly blue flames. Fantina squealed, especially as her second Shadow Ball missed by several metres.

"Ominous Wind, now!" Xavier said, his voice changing in tones for the first time.

"FLOOOOOON!" Drifloon cried, and Fantina gasped as Drifblim spiralled around as the purple wind hit her, crashing landing by her feet with her eyes shut.

"Fantina's Drifblim has fainted – the winner is the challenger, Xavier," the disembodied voice boomed. Drifloon's face lit up with delight, and she floated happily down towards Xavier. He looked up at her and simply nodded.

"Thank you," he said, and walked forwards towards Fantina. She had given her unconscious Drifblim a hug before bringing her back. She than stood up and smiled down at Xavier, who hadn't realised how tall she was.  
"You fought a brilliant battle, Xavier Diamond," Fantina explained, pulling a purple metal case out of her dress. She opened it to reveal a badge, shaped with three purple rings around joined together by silver, with a spot of black in the middle. "You have greatly earned this Relic Badge, congratulations!"

"Thank you," Xavier said, and he pocketed the badge. Fantina smiled at Drifloon and patted the white fluff on her head.

"Your Drifloon is very good, I believe she may be close to evolution," the gym leader explained. She noticed the berries clutched and made a gasping sound. "Ah, but of course! Her ability must be Unburden, meaning she will move faster when losing a held item!"

"Interesting, I will look into it," Xavier replied. "Thank you for the battle," he added, before turning to walk away, Drifloon beginning to float after him. Fantina watched as he moved, and suddenly a thought occurred to her.

"Of course, of course!" She exclaimed, and ran after him, the sound of high heels cluttering against the floor. "Carolina Diamond's son, of course!" Xavier came to a sudden halt, his eyes shut, the first expression she had seen on his face appearing: a look of grumpiness and confusion was there, his face very tensed up. "I was so sorry to hear about what happened to your mother. I battled alongside and against her many times before, did you know?"

"No, I did not," Xavier replied with the air he was concentrating very hard. Fantina gave him a soothing pat, and look of sympathy and concern across her pale, make-upped face.

"Come with me, Xavier Diamond," she said, wrapping a gloved hand around his. "I will tell you about your mother, and, if we get time, we can maybe train this Drifloon of yours." Drifloon simply smiled as Xavier allowed himself to be led out of the room, his face still tensed up, trying not to think about anything.

The Hearthome Contest Hall was one of the most expensive buildings in the entire Sinnoh region. Costing well over four million dollars to construct, the building was equivalent in height to four storey building, yet there weren't really any floors. It was painted shades of pink and red along the walls, whilst the gigantic curving dome was made of purple glass with a clear, retractable spot in the middle for certain appeals. Beautiful gardens and multiple elegant courtyards were situated around it, with a giant sign over two sets of sliding glass doors read "HEARTHOME CONTEST HALL – THE HOME OF SINNOH CONTETS!"

Inside was just as beautiful. The carpet was a beautiful midnight blue, whilst the walls were a creamy brown that made it looked very elegant. Portraits of past winners hung around the walls, whilst the ceiling showed a Lopunny, Milotic, Wigglytuff and Espeon doing a series of a tricks. Rare types of flowers and pot plants situated in the many corners and niches of the room, making it seem very fancy. There were two long desks, each with four attendants behind the polished oak, that checked in every coordinator before directing them towards a door leading to the changing rooms and practice areas. Spectators climbed one of two elegant staircases on either side of a widescreen television in order to enter the central stadium area, which was the biggest in the Pokemon world. The place just emitted beauty, elegance and power, and was the perfect place for any contest to take place.

Matthew was taken aback at how grand the building was, adding to his anticipation for the upcoming event. He stood in the middle of the crowded hall, watching as many people gathered around. There were quite a lot of spectators heading up the stairs, jabbering and chattering amongst themselves, leaving around fifty trainers left. They would be cut down to sixteen, then eight, then four, and finally two, who would battle it out for the ribbon and a special prize. Matthew hadn't won a ribbon yet, and was eagerly awaiting his chance to prove himself.

"Piplup Pip Pip!" Piplup said excitedly, resting in his arms.

"Are you ready to battle?" Matthew asked, and Piplup nodded, shaking with excitement. Matthew laughed as he checked for the umpteenth time if he had all four PokeBalls in his pockets. He would be used Misdreavus and Milotic for the appeals, and then send Beautifly out alongside Piplup for the battles.

"Well well well, look who it is," a voice giggled behind him, and Matthew felt his excited anticipation shatter.

"Hello Mira," he growled, turning around to face the ten year old. Mira was today wearing a white dress that appeared very girlish, with matching ribbons tying her hair back. Matthew hadn't seen her since they had fled the scene of the Cycling Road explosion, and there were a few tiny scars on Mira's arms that showed she hadn't come away unscathed.

"Ready to lose again?" She giggled, bouncing four PokeBalls in her hands. Matthew knew Kadabra and Sandshrew were enclosed inside them, and was ready to take them on if the two faced off in battle again.

"I should be asking you that!" Matthew huffed back, and Mira simply laughed.

"I highly doubt it, especially if it's the same standard of those practice sessions," she snorted. Matthew decided to just ignore her, though he noticed Piplup stick his tongue out at her. "Just because your dad's here and he's the boss doesn't mean your going to win!" Mira sneered, and Matthew turned around, unable to ignore this jibe.

"Of course I won't win due to my father, I'll win on pure talent!" Matthew huffed, though his mind drifted back towards his first contest in Floaroma Town: he may not win due to his father, but what if Adrian stopped him from winning to keep his image in tact? Mira retorted to Matthew's remark, but he was thinking about that contest, and wondered if he would be able to win this one, and what his father might say. As the Floaroma memories came back, the glass doors slid open and familiar faces from that day appeared: Harrison, wearing a pink and purple striped suit, with his arm wrapped around one of Lucinda's, who was wearing a purple dress suit that matched his stylishly.

"Matthew, hello?" Mira called, stomping angrily on his feet. "I can't insult you if you ignore me! What are you looking at anyway?" And she looked towards Harrison and Lucinda as well, who were now talking animatedly and moving towards one of the desks opposite. "Are those friends of yours? Their wearing matching outfits, I wonder if they're dating. They probably just slept together!" Matthew had been absorbed in shock at seeing one of his other past challenger's here that he didn't hear anything except for her last comment.

"Eww, that's revolting!" He said with a face to match his disgust. "Harrison is gay anyway."

"What's revolting, exactly?" Mira asked cheekily. "The idea of people sleeping together? I'm ten and I'm completely comfortable with it, why aren't you? It's how you were born, unless your one of those weird test tube babies," she continued, Matthew's eyebrows continuously raising in surprise.

"You're ten, why do you know about sex!" He said, and Mira simply laughed.

"You're acting as if I'm saying some tabooed thing!" She cackled. "Sex! SEX! Sex sex sex sex sex sex sex and more SEEEEEEX!" She called, giggling ferociously,. Matthew turned away in disgust, trying to block her words out, and was surprised to see his family rushing towards him. Adrian looked rather tense, and shot Mira a curious glare, causing her to cease laughing immediately.

"I checked you in whilst I was sorting some information out, your appeal is 22nd," Adrian explained. Mira gasped dramatically, and with a final glance at Matthew she raced towards a free attendant, clearly having not signed in. "Who was that, she looked familiar?"

"Mira, the girl who beat me last time," Matthew replied with a smirk, glad to see she was being held up. It was at that point that he noticed something: Leah was staring off into space, completely oblivious to the things around her. She had done this several times whilst being here, and Matthew knew it was connected to the death of her best friend. But Adrian seemed to be ignoring her, not bothering to snap her out of it.

"Can we go sit down?" Peter whinged, pulling Matthew out of his thought.

"Yes, we'd better, Felicity is starting things soon!" Andrew gasped, clutching both Leah and Peter's arms and dragging them.

"Good luck!" He called back almost as an afterthought. Leah blinked and suddenly realised she was being pulled.

"Yes, good luck dear!" She called, pulling her arm free and giving him a quick hug and peck on the cheek.

"Don't lose!" Peter called uselessly, and Matthew simply waved at them. He watched curiously as his parents mumbled angrily to each other as they ascended the stairs, and remained there as the other trainer progress towards the corridors. He was too nervous to move, knowing how important this contest was, and didn't want to mess it up, especially with two people who had defeated him before in the area.

"Lup Piplup Pip!" Piplup cried, pointing behind Matthew towards the glass doors. Matthew turned around and gasped: Cheryl was walking in, dressed up and ready to coordinate. She was wearing a green dress a few shades lighter than her dark hair, with a long, elegant trail that her Chansey was holding up. A white belt was around her wait to help keep the mass of fabric together, and a series of matching ribbons were around her plaited hair, making it even longer than normal. Matthew went to call out, but Cheryl turned around, her face turning to a scowl, and Matthew realised she must still be angry at him for not telling her he was a coordinator.

"Well, this is just… great…" Matthew mumbled, and Piplup could only nod. Cheryl flashed an early-registration card to one of the attendants, and with a final look at Matthew, she disappeared into the corridors. Harrison and Lucinda saw her stare at him and waved over at him before disappearing behind her. Matthew felt gutted to see all these competitors back, and stood there thinking, not noticing as sparks appeared on the television screen, flashing and fading to reveal a spotlight.

A Corsola was sitting there in the middle, its skin light blue and white instead of pink. It didn't seem to be doing much, its eyes shut, clearly thinking. Matthew's attention was caught though as its skin began to shimmer and shine a reflective pink as if it had just be wrapped in colourful foil. As this continued, three blue rings rose out from its body, beginning to circle it and reflect the Mirror Coat.

Yellow light appeared around the spotlight, and the camera zoomed out to reveal a Manectric, running around the edges of the field glowing yellow. Corsola was beginning to rise up, the Aqua Ring get wider and larger, reflecting the Mirror Coat and the Mirror Coat reflecting it. Manectric suddenly ran forwards, now glowing as bright as the sun, and stood perfectly underneath Corsola.

"MAAAAN!" He cried, and a wonderous Discharge lit up the arena. It shot upwards, hitting the Aqua Ring, but the Mirror Coat held it in place, electricity now sizzling between Corsola and the rings. She smiled and blinked, and the crowd gasped as the attacks colliding, a wave of green being released that blinded everyone. The crowd roared, and Corsola fell into the hands of the announcer Felicity, who was wearing a purple dress today.

"Welcome everyone to the Hearthome Double Battle Contest!" She cried, her Corsola and Manectric smiling at the audience.

"I hope you are all ready to see some beautiful appeals and fantastic battles, after which we'll see who wins both the ribbon and the mystery prize!" The crowd cheered at this, and Matthew felt his stress lessen, desperate to know what this prize was and how he could get it.

"Let me introduce to you our judges today!" Felicity called. "Firstly, we have Mrs Richards, celebrated author and biographer of coordinators!" A stout, elderly woman in a too-tight white dress stood up, her grey hair pulled back in a tight ponytail, slightly waving as she seemed to scowl at them all. "Secondly we have Tiffany Jones, host of various productions and events for the Sinnoh Broadcasting Company and two time Grand Festival Champion for Hoenn!" A twenty-something woman stood up, her hair glowing like sunshine with a smile to match. Her dress was a flaming orange that hurt Matthew's eyes almost.

"And finally, we have Johnny, award winning Pokemon Stylist and Breeder!" A camp man leapt up, a fluorescent pink shirt showing off his muscular body, a broad grin on his face and his jet black hair sleeked up.

"A round of applause for our judges!" Felicity cried, and everyone clapped. "Now, it's time we begin the appeals! Will you please welcome out –" but Matthew missed the name as he quickly realised he should be prepping and rushed off. Piplup was clapping in his arms, and Matthew beamed down at her: he was ready to take the contest on now, and he was ready to win his first ribbon.

As Matthew departed, he didn't notice a blonde haired girl in an orange singlet entering the building. She looked around for a moment, cursed, and then rushed off to buy a ticket. It was the best she could do for now, and hoped it would be enough.

The Arcethian Assemblage was being held in the Conference Hall connected to the Hearthome Grand Hotel. The Grand Ballroom and Main Hall had both been booked out, along with nearly every room in the hotel, so the staff had pulled out all the stops. The around 400 people attending had two buffet tables the length of the walls on either side, filled with so much food there was no way they'd be able to try everything. The seas were comfortable but formal and sensible, the hotel dishing out a lot of money in order to pay for them. The curtains had been washed and the blue carpet cleaned to near perfection, pot plants covering the more stubborn stains. The lights shone brilliantly and the windows were sparkling under layers of polish, reflecting towards the three chandeliers hanging in a row above the guests.

And the attendees fitted the scene well. The men all arrived in designer suits that cost more than most people's wages for a month. Beautiful women in varying sizes and colours of dresses, with beautiful and hair and beautiful make up, looked stunning simply be standing still. They were all chattering with wide false smiles, clutching wine and champagne as they feigned interest in seeing old classmates and hearing their stories. The entire event was filled with fake people having a fake good time, only there because they had both the money to pay for it and wanted people to know it.  
Vanessa was the only one there with proper reasons.

She stood out like a Wailord amongst Magikarp with her fiery hair, diamond covered dress and tatty yellow bag that had been through mild examination by the guards. They had been unwilling to let her in at all, but she had both the money and was on the records, the rules swayed their decisions. They had done their X-ray tests, but Vanessa had known the special fabric would disguise the mostly illegal objects hidden in the pockets, and entered the grand hall smirking happily to herself.

Ignoring the looks she was already receiving, Vanessa grabbed a glass of champagne and began walking around the hall, her eyes peering around every corner. The polished cane and sleek black hair of Mr Adiem would hopefully stick out, but the parade of suited men was preventing her from finding the media mogul. The long brunette hair, slim figure and trademark red glasses of Vivian Masters, the famous therapist and talk show host that was the other key speaker, stood out from a mile away. Vanessa didn't want to bother with her and simply continued to walk and find, listening to conversations as she passed. The brief snapshots into the alumni's lives all blurred into one after awhile: jobs, holidays, children, Pokemon, purchases. Vanessa felt pity for the people, their lives lacking in both originality and enjoyed beyond the confines of monetary value.

"Good thing I escaped this," Vanessa mumbled to herself, drowning her glass in one gulp.

"Well well, look what were have here!" A voice gasped besides her, ringing with pure glory, causing Vanessa to freeze as she reached for a second glass. The voice was all too familiar, and bad memories filled her mind as Vanessa turned, her hand reaching towards her umbrella. Clarisse Miller stood there, smiling in the triumphant manner of a beast whose prey had walked into its cave. She was wearing a long blue dress that swept to the floor, and was now ignoring the man in the black suit she had just been talking to.

"What are you doing here?" Clarisse asked, reaching for a blue clutch that matched her dress. "You aren't telling me you're an ex-Arcethian? How wonderful! I was wondering when I could see you, I never found out how my report went down."

"I'll tell you how it went down!" Vanessa hissed back viciously. "That report made us Dex Holders out to be bringers of doom, but we've saved your plastic ass more times than you've reported the honest truth! Why don't you quote this: Bite me you glorified slapper!" Clarisse looked shocked for a moment, but than she began to smirk, exchanging smiles with the man behind her. Vanessa wanted to slice her hands off so she could never report another word again, but as she unseathed her umbrella, her associate walked forwards.

"You are a feisty one!" He sneered, revealing his stained yellow teeth as his mouth stretched into a smile. "Vanessa, I believe? Clarisse has told me all about you! Ritchie Jones, columnist for the Sinnoh Star Times. I'd also love to get a scoop from you about your travels. How have the battles with Team Galactic been? Do you feel like your causing some of this drama? I met your friend Xavier, how is he coping with his mother's death?"

"You disgusting little asshole!" Vanessa roared, raising her umbrella up and pointing it at Clarisse's throat. She screamed as Vanessa's fingers readied to turn it, not caring she was in a public place, rage flowing through her like a rapid river and desperate to punish those both of the journalists. But seconds before she turned, the Grand Ballroom doors creaked open. There was a rush of cold air that chilled through Vanessa's spine, and on instinct she turned.

Standing alone in the doorway, moody and leathery as always, was Emerson.

In a second Vanessa had turned, the sword shooting out of the umbrella to make Clarisse scream. Vanessa ignored her and rushed forwards, her mind set determinedly towards Emerson, who didn't seem to notice she was there. Four years of torture, anger, abuse and depression flowed through Vanessa as she ran, memories of _The Slayers_ filling her mind. The incident at the Cycling Road had been an awful blow to the system, but killing The General had been some relief. But Vanessa wanted to eliminate all of them, and was ready to kill Emerson right here. The sword was raised, Emerson seemed to notice something, other people were screaming, and Vanessa could smell victory…

A hand grabbed hold of her, and Vanessa lashed out as she was dragged away by guards. Emerson turned and missed her, her face covered by thick gloved hands, and Vanessa tried to throw her umbrella towards him. But she was suddenly pulled through a set of doors, giving her one last look at the chandeliers before being thrown into a chair.

"Miss B, how lovely it is to see you again," a voice said from the shadows, and Vanessa swivelled angrily around in her chair. Mr Adiem was behind a desk smiling warmly at her, wearing an outfit quite similar to what he had worn back in Jubilife. "I'm sure you'd quite like to kill Miss Miller and that strange looking boy, but I believe there are a few things we need to discuss first."

The first twenty appeals had been spectacular to watch, and Matthew was left awestruck as he sat in his seat, blown away by the level of performance. Clefable and Wigglytuff, Meganium and Bellossom, Weavile and Cloyster, Plusle and Minun, and many more perfect combinations created dazzling water displays, electrical fireworks, tons of spinning flowers, and grand explosions of light and sparks. It was nearly Matthew's turn to perform, and his stomach was tying itself in knots: his appeal was good, but would it be enough to go up against these brilliant displays?

"Piplup Pip!" Piplup said soothingly as she patted Matthew's leg, his hands fumbling as he tried to fit some seals onto Milotic and Misdreavus' balls.

"Thanks Piplup, I appreciate your support," he said with a weak smile. He looked up at the screen in the corner of the dressing room and saw his name scrolling across the bottom as the twenty-first appeal went underway, a Plant and Trash Cloaked Wormadam using Hidden Power effectively. "Piplup, you stay here and mind my bag! If someone tries to tamper with you, give them hell for me, alright?"

"Pip Pip Pip!" Piplup chorused, and Matthew smiled as he quickly raced outside. Another screen revealed the Wormadam were bouncing colourful balls to one another, and Matthew worried that he should have brought props. But he didn't notice a figure moving near by…

"Feeling nervous!" Mira shouted, making Matthew jump and collide into the wall. She burst out laughing and Matthew rolled his eyes, continuing on his way.

"I don't have time for you right now, my turn is nearly up," he growled, and tried to shake her loose, but Mira simply followed after giggling hystericall to herself.

"Pity, I was just curious about what you knew about sex," she asked in a failing straight face. Matthew rolled his eyes and walked faster, not wanting to have to deal with her. But Mira simply skipped ahead, a devious grin upon her face. "Why run away from it, it's going to get to you eventually! Why don't we sit down and have a chat?"

"Go away Mira!" Matthew snapped, reaching for his Poke and Dusk Balls, the entrance to the arena getting closer. Lucinda and Harrison had emerged from another dressing room, talking animatedly and not noticing them.

"Come on Matthew!" Mira whinged. "I just want to see what you know! Just tell me the ins and outs of sex!" Lucinda and Harrison froze as Matthew couldn't help but smirk. Mira froze, wondering why the three of them were beginning to laugh, and Matthew managed to slip away towards the entrance. He heard Lucinda say "Honey, you've already got the basics" and began to roar with laughter, stumbling out for his appeal.

He was taken aback by the number of people sitting around him. Through the blinding spotlights Matthew could see about twenty rows circling around under the domed ceiling, with at least three hundred people there to watch him. It was a much bigger number than at the Floaroma and Eterna Contests, and Matthew was slightly intimidated as the twentieth participant walked off to loud applause.  
_  
I can do this! _He told himself, smiling at the female coordinator as she left, _I can't let these people put me off! Not them, not my father, not Mira: I can and will win this! _Forcing a smile on, Matthew walked forwards to applause as Felicity called his name out.

"This is Matthew's third contest, and I'm sure he is ready to put this experience to good use!" She announced to crowd, and everyone applauding politely as Matthew stood in his place, reciting the moves around in his head as his heart thumped quickly.

"Milotic, Misdreavus, show your stuff!" Matthew shouted, wondering if this pairing would work. The two balls burst open, a shower of bubbles rising out. They swirled around rapidly and crashed into the ground, popping to reveal the beautiful water type and devious ghost.

"Milotic, spin and use Surf!" Matthew shouted, backing away nervously. Milotic curled around and her eyes flashed, spinning around and sending waves of water shooting out. They rose up like fountains, and Milotic's spinning kept them in control, stopping them from going out into all the corridors.

"Now Misdreavus, use Psybeam on the water!" Matthew ordered, getting more confident.

"Mis Mis!" Misdreavus chimed, and rainbow rings shot out of her eyes. The water at the edges began to fold and rise up, forming specific folds and bands. Misdreavus dived down, and a large tower of water rose up in the middle, and Milotic swam out , skimming beautifully through the water, her skin reflecting as she used Mirror Coat for bonus points.

"Jump Milotic and use Ice Beam!" Matthew called, beginning to beam now.

"Milooooo!" Milotic called, smiling as she shot upwards. Ice blue energy struck the water as Misdreavus' rainbow Psybeam reflecting under the surface. The different sections began to freeze, turning for rippling water into glimmering ice petals. The audience all gasped as Milotic slid across the already frozen bits, freezing the other half of the flower and then turning the stem into a block of ice.

"Rise up now Misdreavus while using Shock Wave!" Matthew shouted, and the audience gasped again as the frozen flower lit up like a magical light, the ice turning a beautiful yellow. Milotic smiled as her Mirror Coat reflected it, and she leapt up and twirled around, sliding up the petal. Misdreavus faded quickly through the top, Milotic rising up and touching the tip of her, Psybeam allowing her to twirl and coil as the flower glowed underneath. Matthew bowed, and the audience leapt up and cheered in excitement. Misdreavus and Milotic descended as a team of stage hands rushed out, several Magmortar and Rapidash quickly melting the flower into a drain that appeared in the wall, sucking the appeal away.

"Matthew, that was a truly amazing appeal!" Felicity said as she rushed forwards, her voice magnified around the hall. "I loved your use of Mirror Coat to give that sparkling performance that extra shine!" She said, smiling widely at him. "But I wouldn't expect anything less from the son of the head of our board!" Matthew smiled as Misdreavus and Milotic exchanged smiles. "Now, I've received word our twenty third performer will be a bit detailed due to their Venusaur rampaging back stage, so another round of applause for Matthew as we sort this out!" Matthew shook her head as the crowd applauded, and he waved as he headed off stage.

"You two were amazing!" He told Misdreavus and Milotic, and gave them a quick hug as he headed into the corridor. "You pulled all the moves off perfectly!"

"Misdreavus Dreav!"

"Lo Milo Tic Tic!"

"You two are awesome!" Matthew chuckled, and gave them another hug. But he didn't notice someone was there and bumped into them. "Oh sorry, didn't see you –"

"Hello Matthew." Matthew froze as he looked upwards. Cheryl's voice was cold and grumpy, but that couldn't compare to the narrow browed glare she was giving him. Her Chansey was no longer besides her, leaving her train resting on the floor.

"Oh, hello Cheryl…" Matthew said, not sure what to say, though he noticed Misdreavus and Milotic exchange awkward looks. Cheryl looked like she was about to say something snappy, and Matthew tensed up for the blow, but their tension was shattered as a figure suddenly brushed past them. The four turned around as Adrian Pearl rushed up towards Felicity. She looked just as grumpy as him, and the two had a short but heated exchange of words that was barely audible over the sound of the crowd. Matthew did hear his father say 'reputation' and 'influence', whilst Felicity replied with 'egg' and 'secrets'.

"Just keep your mouth shut and think before you speak!" Adrian growled after a minute of debate, and he turned away, leaving Felicity scowling but also nearly in tears.

"Dad, what was that about?" Matthew asked, and his father looked up in surprise as he walked past, mumbling away under  
his breath.

"I didn't notice you there!" He gasped. "Great performance, absolutely spectacular, I –"

"Dad, why were you shouting at Felicity?" Matthew asked, his voice slightly scared. Adrian blinked a few moment,s then he let out a hearty laugh and ruffled his son's hair as if he was a five year old asking a silly question.

"It doesn't matter son, just a little disagreement," he replied, chuckling and ignoring Cheryl completely. Matthew went to open his mouth, not satisfied with this response, but Adrian was already beginning to walk off. "Hope you move into the next round!" And with a final false laugh with a shifty look in his eyes, Adrian disappeared back down the corridor. Matthew was left gobsmacked and confused, at a loss about what had just happened. He looked at Misdreavus and Milotic, who looked both as confused as him.

"Ummm…" Cheryl said awkwardly, "good performance," and she headed back down the corridor as Felicity announced Number 23 was ready to perform. Matthew simply stood there, unable to move, not able to think about anything other than what had just happened. His happiness at his appeal diminished as he struggled to work out why his father had reacted like that, and for the next three appeals he remained there, failing to find an answer.

Amity Park was usually a bustling place, mainly due to how attractive and gorgeous the landscape was. The grass was a green as it could be and stretched on for acres around fields of flowers of every colour. A trickling stream ran between two bits of land, with elegant bridges connecting the land together. Relics and remnants of past towns lay on the small hills around the area, giving extra landscape and areas for trainers to investigate. But today, the usual crowd were all attending the big spectacle that was the Hearthome Contest, leaving Sahara nearly alone in the middle of the wide fields.

"Hammer, will you pleaseeeee so something!" She whined. It had been over an hour since she'd left the Pokemon Center, but her new Meditite hadn't used a single move since leaving. Sahara had tried walking him, tried showing him the flowers and water, tried taking him up to the ruins, but Hammer sat in the grass, legs crossed, eyes shut, meditating humbly. Sahara had resorted to sending Nutty out, hoping to coax Hammer into a battle, but he continued to meditate, not even opening his eyes.

"Come on!" Sahara groaned, feeling like a stroppy child as she flapped her arms desperately. "I need to see your strengths, what you can do with your moves! How else are you going to battle?" But Hammer didn't budge at all, and Sahara collapsed into the grass groaning. Hammer must have been powerful to force Crystal out, and Sahara wanted to know how strong he truly was, but it seemed he didn't want to play along.

"Pachirisu Pach Pachi Pach Risu Ri Ri?" Nutty suggested as she gave Sahara a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"You want to just attack him?" Sahara asked, and Nutty nodded. "He's unprepared, but…" and she sighed, feeling like a horrible trainer as she said "if he won't listen to me, it seems we'll have to try this! Go forwards and use Bite!"

"Chiriiiii!" Nutty cried, and quickly scampered forwards towards her teammate, mouth opened wide. For a moment, Sahara thought Nutty would be given a clear shot and would clamp down onto Hammer. But she blinked and gasped: the Meditite had leapt onto his feet and shoved a hand out. The Force Palm smashed into Nutty's head with enough force to send her spiralling backwards as a white blur.

"Tite!" Hammer cried, leaping forwards before Nutty had stopped rolling. Sahara gasped as black ovals formed around him, and then turned to his hand. The Dark-type Hidden Power looked dangerous, and Nutty gasped as Hammer came closer.

"PAAAACH!" She shouted, electrical dots forming a beam that shot out of her mouth. Hammer moved the Hidden Power down, deflecting the attack but destroying his own in the process. But he raised his other hand and brought a second Force Palm down, Nutty giving a surprised gasp as she smashed into the ground, instantly unconscious. Sahara simply gasped, awestruck by what had happened, and stared down at Hammer.

"Medi Meditite?" He asked with a smirk, and Sahara couldn't help but smile as she brought Nutty back and swapped her for another PokeBall.

"You've got the skills definitely. Let's just see how you do up against Smash!" Meditite shrugged and nodded, and Sahara smiled happily as she sent the Rock Snake out.  
On the other side of the park, coming in from the other entrance, walked Xavier and Fantina. Drifloon was floating happily above their heads, basking in the lovely sun that shone down upon them.

"Drifloon are so beautiful, aren't they?" Fantina said, smiling as she stared up at the Balloon Pokemon. Xavier ignored Fantina's remark, walking slowly alongside her, starting blankly ahead. Fantina let out a sigh and tried to think of another approach to him: she wanted to see if he was alright, in return for her bond with her old friend.

"I am sure the death of your mother has been traumatizing and upsetting, Xavier Diamond," she said sympathetically. "I lost my parents at a young age as well. At their cemetery, a lone Drifloon found me by their graves, and we began to bond, and I found the burden of their death fade. Your Pokemon will be a great help in these tough times, you should spend time with them." She picked a Sitrus Berry off from the ground and held it up.

"Floooooon!" Drifloon cried happily, stopping her mid air dancing and soared down to swallow the delicious fruit whole, a wide smile on her face.

"Your Drifloon will be magnifique if her skills are used well," Fantina explained. "Broader moves and utilising Unburden and her berry habit will be beneficial to her development." Xavier looked up, and Fantina was surprised to see he was scowling.

"I am fine, thank you. I do not care that my mother has died," Xavier said, a tone of anger in his voice. "I will train Drifloon when I want to train Drifloon. I don't need an overdressed gym leader that I rather easily defeated to tell me what to do." Fantina was shocked by this sudden outburst, but she simply nodded.

"You are angry, even if you don't know it –"

"I do not get angry," Xavier replied, "I do not possess emotions, I lost them as a child. But my mother was a smothering women, trying to control me, fix me, make me normal. I grew to accept myself, but she struggled with it and I do not think I can forgive that.. Her death has only made me realise I did not like her, and she never liked the real me, and that is difficult to comprehend," he finished, breathing deeply, and leaving Fantina gobsmacked.

"I knew your mother, she wouldn't have disliked you!" She cried, her accent clear and shrill as she herself struggled to understand what he meant.

"I thought I knew her as well. Maybe you need to re-evaluate your relationship yourself," Xavier snapped back tonelessly, and stood there for a moment, thinking about what he said. "Come on Drifloon, let's train. I believe I can see Sahara in the distance," and he began to move off, pausing after a few feet. "You may watch," he told Fantina and continued walking.

"Drifloon Floon," Drifloon said, giving Fantina a sad look before floating after Xavier. Fantina simply stood there in shock, wondering if what he said was true. She didn't want to think it was, but followed after Xavier, wondering if she could get some sense into him, and see if there were any feelings below his hard surface.

High above them, a more pressing issue was unfolding.

It hadn't been difficult for Charles, Minerva and Addison to sneak into the empty park. As Sahara tried to get Hammer to attack, the three rushed past through the trees, going undiscovered as they headed up the dusty hills, heading for a specific one. Charles and Addison didn't particularly enjoy clambering over rocks, through collapsing huts and up steep hills, but Minerva happily led the way, a smile on her face as she kept checking a black device she was clutching in her hands. Eventually, after a nearly twenty minute climb, they had arrived inside the utmost ruin in Amity Park: a half collapsed house with a mixture of shadows and sunlight mingling inside as they walked in.

Mr Goods was exactly how Charles remembered him from Johto: grey hair, green hat, suspenders, brown shirt. His face was a lot more lined and scarred now though, and his hair had been cut shorter, but Charles was tempted to send Gyarados out and attack him right there and then. But as they entered, he almost jumped as he turned around.

"You must be Minnie, yes?" Mr Goods asked. He sounded rather nervous and flustered, a twitchy look about him. Charles looked towards the big black book that was on a mound of rocks in the corner, remembering the damage it had caused last time he saw it.

"Yes, Minnie's the name, pleasure to meet you," Minerva said with a smile, shaking Mr Goods outstretched hand. She had told them they would be out of there as soon as possible, and ignored Mr Goods as he gestured towards some rocks set up like a chair. "I have the money with me. I was hoping this could be a very quick trade, my children and I have somewhere to be."

"Oh, of course, of course," Mr Goods said, nodding in a bothered manner, and quickly grabbed the book from behind him. A worried expression fell upon his face, and for a few seconds he stood there in silence, staring at the cover nervously. Charles and Addison exchanged looks, wondering why he had stopped.

"This book isn't a good book…" he mumbled. "I don't know why I have it or even where I came from, but this book seems to bring bad luck. It seems to be very dark, and sometimes I swear it is making noises…" Charles was surprised by this appearance, remembering how he had been upbeat and much more malicious last time they had met. The amnesia must have changed his thoughts, or he simply realised what a dark and foul object the magical book was. Minerva looked sympathetic as she walked forwards, giving him a friendly, reassuring pat with a warm smile on her face.

"Don't worry, we'll take it off your hands, and you'll never have to see it again," Minerva said soothingly, and Mr Goods nodded. He passed the book over, which Addison came and grabbed, passing a bag of money over as well.

"Thank you. You can't believe how relieved I am to get rid of this!" Mr Goods said with a nervous smile as his face relaxed, and Minerva nodded understandingly. Then, in a single swift movement, a syringe was jabbed into the side of his neck. Charles gasped as Mr Goods collapsed to the ground, clearly unconscious, and Minerva simply smiled and pulled the needle  
out, looking down at her handiwork.

"I thought you said no violence?" Charles asked.

"How was that violent?" Minerva replied. "I knew he was a bit off in the head since his dealing with Petrol or whatever that guys name is, so I thought some much needed rest will do him some good. It's best if he forgets about us completely in case he sees our faces in the news at some point and freaks out."

"Smart woman," Addison said, and Minerva curtseyed. Charles still thought it was a bit unnecessary and decided to turn around so he wasn't tempted to voice his feelings. From this high vantage point he could see all across Hearthome: the tall magnificent buildings, the grand Contest Hall and Gym, the wonderfully ancient architecture. It was a breathtaking site, and Charles looked down to examine the park. However, instead of looking at the wide ocean of grass, his attention went towards a large figure whose roar reached them up here: an Onix, leaping through the air towards another Pokemon. Charles thought this was pretty odd, but then he saw a white figure standing nearby, her features indistinguishable from up high, but Charles knew instantly who it was.

"Sahara…" He whispered and glanced back towards the other two. Minerva was heading for the door, clutching the book firmly in her hands, smiling up at Charles as she passed by. "That is book does bring trouble, you know."

"I'm well aware of it, and so is Cyrus, but I don't think that let us stop his plans," Minerva replied with a grim nod. She was looking down at the book with the same look Mr Goods had worn, and simply sighed as she clutched it under her arm. "Let's just get back to Hearthome unnoticed, get back to base and we may never have to see this book again."

"If only we were that lucky," Addison said with a smirk, and the two females began to walk back down the hills, talking animatedly to each other. Charles glanced towards the figure of Smash the Onix, the only thing he could truly see clearly. He wanted to go and see Sahara, but despite the evils the book possessed, he knew it would be nothing compared to Vanessa's rage if he broke his promise. With a sad sigh, Charles wandered off after them, Sahara replacing the fearful thoughts about why Cyrus wanted the book in his head.

Vanessa glared across at Mr Adiem as he simply smiled warmly, leaning back in his luxurious chair. Vanessa glanced around at the room they were in: it was a small office, with no windows, the light coming from two dusty light fittings above her head, and no personal touches. The polished desk and two chairs were the only objects in the room asides from several boxes in the corner, making it seem more like a cupboard than an actual office.

"It is lacking a bit in personal touches, but no one really occupies this space much," Mr Adiem explained as he followed her eyes. "I have brought some of my own possessions along though," he said with a wink, and pulled a large glass bottle with brown liquid inside along with two glasses. "Brandy?" He asked, but Vanessa didn't reply. She vividly remembered their last encounter, and wasn't ready to ignore being blasted out of building and manhandle after coming so close to killing him.

"Now Vanessa, do you really think killing that boy in the middle of a crowded hall would do you any good?" Mr Adiem sighed, pouring the brown liquid into both glasses.

"I really don't care, I just want to see him suffer," Vanessa replied bluntly, and Mr Adiem sighed and nodded.

"Well, at least don't stain the carpets, it costs too much to clean them," he explained, leaning back in his chair with his drink.

"Now, I have reason to believe you are investigating into the Adamant and Lustrous Orbs, and the reasons behind Team Galactic's interest in them, yes?"

"How the hell do you know that?" Vanessa gasped, taken aback by how knowledgeable the man was. Mr Adiem simply laughed and sipped at his drink.

"Nothing gets past me Vanessa, especially not in Sinnoh."

"Really? Then how did Clarisse Slapper get that report about the Dex Holders to air?" Vanessa hissed back, and Mr Adiem's confident smile wavered. He put his glass down and stared seriously back at Vanessa, who was glad she'd pressed the right button.

"Clarisse knew that Lucinda failed to get the story with footage of you and your friends to air, so she simply went behind my back and didn't get the story approved. I was very annoyed when it went to air, but I am unable to fire Clarisse due to her contract. For the time being she is going unpunished, but that doesn't mean I'm any happier about the report going to air," Mr Adiem explained, and leant closer to Vanessa. "You must realise that Dex Holders have a bad reputation for bringing trouble and getting involved. I was hoping that this year would be different, but Team Galactic has ruined that plan. I received numerous letters and emails from people expressing their fear about Dex Holders being around again, and asking what trouble they will bring, what destruction we'll be faced with."

"We don't bring trouble upon ourselves. It's usually there waiting for us," Vanessa replied, and Mr Adiem allowed a smirk to cross his face.

"That is all very well, but if people find out you are Dex Holders, you may find yourselves being tracked, abused or maybe even arrested," the aging man explained. "The only way to prove that Dex Holders are for the good is to stop Team Galactic in their paths."

"Good, so your going to tell me what their up to?" Vanessa asked happily. "They have the Adamant Orb, they were scanning Mt Coronet the other night, they've been trying to steal all resources available to the country. And then there is Sahara, but she's whole other can of crazy," Vanessa laughed, taking a drink from the glass in front of her and shivering in excitement as the liquid went down her throat. "So, where is the Lustrous Orb, and how can I get it before they do?" Mr Adiem paused for a moment, his eyes turning, an expression as if he was tasting wine and trying to find the right words to describe it.

"The Lustrous Orb has been hidden safely away after the incident in Eterna City," he said after nearly a minute. "It is unlikely that Team Galactic will be able to get to it without being stopped quickly. There is nothing for you to worry about. As for the time being, I believe looking into what Team Galactic is planning won't be beneficial for your safety or mental health. There is a time where you will be told, but now isn't that time," and with that, Mr Adiem leant back in his chair, finishing off his drink and pouring another. Vanessa breathed in and out deeply as she mulled his words over, choosing the proper way to respond, thinking of what to say. Than, she grabbed her glass and threw it at his head.

"You dick!" She shouted, leaping up as the glass shattered against the back wall. "Why the fuck won't you tell me anything? I have fought these people more times than I can bloody remember, yet you won't tell me what Cyrus is up to so we can actually stop him?"

"You don't need to know!" Mr Adiem shouted back, wiping drops of brandy off his face. "If he knew that you knew his plans, you'd be dead faster than you can say Ditto! What Cyrus is up to is demonic and twisted, and he knows very well that you and your friends are the only people that can stop –" but it was at these words that Mr Adiem froze, and Vanessa paused as she took in what he said and the 'I shouldn't have said that' expression on his face.

"What do you mean we're the only ones that can stop him?" Vanessa whispered back.

"Ignore those words Vanessa if you know what's good for you!" Mr Adiem said in warning tones, but Vanessa backed away, the words reeling through her head, thoughts and pieces clicking together: that was why Cyrus hated them and was trying to kill them. Somehow, they were the people that could stop what he was planning.

"You won't tell me why because if we know what he's planning, Cyrus will have to stop us from unlocking his secrets," Vanessa said, explaining things more to herself than Mr Adiem. "Who made this prophecy, where can I find them?" Mr Adiem was looking furious, his empty glass of brandy clutched in his hands like a weapon.

"I told you to drop it!" He hissed, his calm demeanour disappearing. "I have invested too much money into keeping you safe, and I won't have some fiery little madam go and ruin those plans being stick her nose where it doesn't belong!" Vanessa stared back at him, feeling her own rage boiling up. Were they being watched or followed by some of his men, making sure they were being safe? If they were, why hadn't they been saved or helped in the past? Unable to stop herself, Vanessa slammed a fist into his nose, the anger leaving her slightly as Mr Adiem fell backwards in his chair.

"I've been taking care of myself for the past four years, I don't need anyone's help now!" She hissed, and clutched her umbrella tightly, the sword still sticking out. Before Mr Adiem could stop her, the blood pouring from his left nostril, Vanessa pulled her five PokeBalls out and kicked the door.

If she wanted her answers, she was going to prove that she could do things her way.

After over an hour of appeals, the judges were given few minutes to decide upon who would move on to the battle round. Only 16 people were able to be slotted in, and Matthew sat in worry with Milotic and Misdreavus, hoping his name would be called out. He forgot all about his father as he reflected on some of the appeals, wondering if his could compare.

Harrison's performance was number 31, and his Skiploom and Pidgeot to produce a blazing sunlight that set FeatherDance on fire, creating a fiery tornado when combined with Pidgeot's Tailwind that caused multiple Energy Ball to explode. Cheryl was number 38, her Mothim and Shellos creating spinning stars out of Psybeam, Mud Bomb, Hidden Power and Water Pulse that turned into spinning rainbows around them. Mira was one of the last at number 46, and Matthew was interested as he recognised the same combination between Kadabra and Sandshrew he'd seen back in Eterna.

Matthew had a feeling he would make it through, but just wasn't sure if it would be good enough. He had a rulebook open, checking through some facts and getting ideas for combination moves. Some of the appeals had been rubbish, others spectacular, but he gathered around with several other coordinators to watch from one of the televisions as Felicity reappeared, looking much happier than she had when arguing with Adrian.

"I am pleased to say that we have our sixteen coordinators who will move onto the next round!" She announced, and the audience clapped along with the coordinators grouped backstage. Felicity's image was replaced with sixteen animated cards, which would flip as the name's were read out.

"The coordinator's moving on are: Jenna Smith, Kuno Yutikoro, Harrison Maude, Jordan White, Cheryl Sapling, Matthew Pearl, Adrianna Jones, Mira Hawes…." Matthew ignored the rest of the coordinators, excitement flowing through him as the coordinators began to disperse, their names clearly not being called.

"We did it, we made it in!" Matthew cried, and Misdreavus and Milotic smiled widely as he gave them both a hug. "Thanks a lot you two, you did a grand job!"

"Congratulations on making it through," a voice said from behind, and Matthew turned to see Harrison and Lucinda walking in. Both were smiling widely as they entered, and Matthew beamed back, shaking both of their hands. "I saw your appeal, it was _amazing_!" Harrison continued, flashing his white teeth.

"Thank you! Congrats to you as well, your appeal was just grand as well!" Matthew replied, and Harrison nodded in agreement.

"I know how handy it is to have a father in my corner with some actual power," Lucinda stage whispered, and she burst into a fit of giggles as Matthew felt his happiness fade. Thoughts about his father came back to him now, and he tried to push them back out of his mind and focus back on the upcoming battle.

"Glad to see you stayed with this after your loss, a lot of trainers just give up when they lose," Harrison explained, bringing Matthew back in.

"Oh yeah, I was never going to give up, been my dream for a –" Matthew paused mid sentence, looking behind the two media workers as Cheryl walked in, semi ignoring him and staring up at the television instead.

"Nice to find a quiet room. Jenna Smith and her friends are all screaming in the one next door," Cheryl laughed before diving into an introduction with Lucinda. Matthew wanted to edge forwards and talk to the older girl, hoping to explain about his lies before, but with the coordinators all read out Felicity was back again.

"Congratulations to these sixteen, and better luck next time to those who have sadly been eliminated," she said sincerely.  
"But the show must go on, especially with our fabulous mystery prize up for grabs! Our Random Battle Generator is matching our coordinators up, and I believe it has chosen the match ups! They will be shown from left to right in order of battle," Felicity explained, and the sixteen faces reappeared. Matthew gasped as he saw his face was first, and than his jaw dropped as the arrow pointed down to the youngest face on the table: Mira.

"Damnit," Matthew sighed, causing the other three to glance at him. "Thanks you two for all your help," he told his Pokemon, and Misdreavus and Milotic nodded as they were brought back inside their PokeBalls. He shoved them in his bag, putting the rulebook back as well, and quickly wheeled around. "Good luck for your battles," Matthew told Cheryl and Harrison, and rushed quickly down the corridor, pulling Piplup and Beautifly's Poke and Net Ball out as he went. He wanted more time to prepare for the battle, and his thoughts about strategy and ways to utilize their respective moves played out above thoughts of his father, Cheryl, and the fact he was going to have to battle –

"Hey opponent!" Mira chimed, appearing alongside as Matthew rushed towards the end of the corridor. "Been having some _seeeeeeeexy _thoughts backstage? It would really help relieve your stress before this _very _important match, wouldn't it?"

"Oh bite me," Matthew hissed back, and the two walked into the arena to a chorus of applause and cheers from the crowd. Mira simply giggled and waved at Matthew before skipping off towards the opposite end, leaving Matthew seething and ready to wipe the floor with her Pokemon.

"Our first battle of the first battle round is ready to begin!" Felicity called out. "We have Matthew Pearl with Piplup and Beautifly, and we have Mira Hawes with Togetic and Porygon! Both of this trainers have not won any ribbons in their careers, but have battling experience and are amazing coordinators, so I'm sure we're in for a grand battle!" Felicity finished, and Matthew threw the two balls in his hand into the air almost before she stopped speaking.

"Piplup, Beautifly, let's do this!" He shouted. The balls burst open, sending two giant hearts spiralling downwards, smaller hearts streaming off them. The hearts flashed pink as they neared the ground, and Piplup landed perfectly on the arena floor, Beautifly flying above.

"Togetic, Porygon, show Matthew what a fun time we can have!" Mira giggled, and released her two PokeBalls. A shower of confetti, red and blue, showered out of the two PokeBalls, floating towards the ground and beginning to form together. In seconds a confetti Togetic and Porygon stood there, before they shook and revealed their true forms. Matthew simply nodded as he looked at the two new arrivals, and was interested to be up against such strong opponents, especially from Mira. Porygon was an exceptionally rare Pokemon, and Togetic had special abilities and attacks that made them worthy opponents.

"I was hoping for a challenge," Matthew muttered, and smiled at his Pokemon. "Beautifly start off with String Shot on Togetic, and Piplup use Brick Break on Porygon!"

"Magical Leaf on Piplup Togetic, and Porygon, use Psybeam on that String Shot," Mira chimed out. Beautifly quickly released the sticky white string, flying across the arena so it wouldn't have to reach out as much. Piplup rushed forwards, one of her tiny arms raised and ready to hit.

"Tic Tic!" Togetic called out sweetly, and flapped her glowing green wings. Glowing leaves shot out, heading straight towards Piplup before she'd even gotten to the halfway point. Matthew knew that it would hit anyway, but he had a sneaky plan.

"Keep running Piplup, get towards Porygon before it hits!" He shouted. Piplup nodded and began running desperately, managing to side step the leaves and sprinted towards Porygon. The Virtual Pokemon's eyes were glowing, and rainbow rings shot out towards the String Shot. The Psybeam disintegrated the speed decreasing string, leaving Beautifly flying in mid air a few metres away from Togetic.

"PIP!" Piplup cried as the Magical Leaf struck, sending her spiralling and crashing into the ground besides Porygon. Mira was smiling widely from across the arena, and Matthew scowled as he thought about his next move.

"Do the same again!" He shouted, and was glad that Piplup had managed to get close enough to Porygon to execute her move this time. Mira simply smiled though, and Matthew wondered what she had planned.

"Togetic use Flamethrower, aim it towards Beautifly! Porygon, use Conversion!" She called, and Matthew cursed at this: Flamethrower would damage Beautifly and Conversion would make Porygon immune to Brick Break by changing his type. He watched tensely as Beautifly managed to wrap Togetic up in the String Shot, and then as Piplup scored a powerful Brick Break that knocked Porygon backwards. But than its eyes flashed pink, a wave of pink following across his body. Togetic then opened her mouth, firing the Flamethrower forwards. Matthew knew Beautifly was going to be done for if the move hit, but a realisation came to him that could save him.

The Sinnoh Contest Rulebook he had been reading a few minutes ago had added a controversial new rule late last year that had previously been implemented in Hoenn. Pokemon were now no longer required to 'wait their turn' as they had to in normal battles. Instead, Pokemon could use multiple moves if they were setting up a combination or were working in teams. Most people ignored the rule, but Matthew knew it was one way that he could win the match.

"Now Piplup, spin and use Water Pulse, and Beautifly use Absorb !" Matthew shouted, and saw Mira's jaw drop.

"LUUUP!" Piplup cried quickly, a ball of water in her mouth. Togetic was being slowed by the String Shot, and didn't realise as pulses of water shot into the air. They struck the Flamethrower, casting a wall of smoke and steam across the arena, and leaving Beautifly protected and unharmed for now.

"Matthew Pearl has just implemented use of the 2009 No Wait Rule to great effect to save his Beautifly!" Felicity told the audience, her voice shocked as well. "I can't wait to see where the battle goes from next!" Matthew felt a bit dirty by using the rule, but he knew that if he hadn't, Beautifly would have easily fainted under the pressure. Now he just had to redeem himself and pull off some combinations to defeat the two. Porygon didn't seem like much of a threat at a moment, but Togetic was proving to be a difficult one.

"Beautifly, use Hidden Power and then disperse it with String Shot!" Matthew shouted, hoping his risky plan would work.

"Piplup, BubbleBeam and Water Pulse combined!" Mira was looking angry now, her smirk disappearing off her face.

"Two can play this game, Pearl!" She shrieked. "Togetic, use Flamethrower and than Extrasensory on it! Porygon, you use Recover!" It was going to turn into a battle of the combinations, but Matthew was ready for it. He watched as Piplup opened her mouth, firing a torrent of closely knit bubbles, as Beautifly formed the multiple green ovals and fired them, adding a String Shot that stretched out as the Hidden Power spread.

"Fly Fly!" She called, and Mira gasped as Togetic became entangled in the String Shot, the Hidden Power crashing down onto Porygon. The Bubbles exploded against Togetic, releasing jets of water as she remained trapped under String Shot. Togetic squirmed in discomfort, but she was hanging in there, and looked angry as she opened her mouth wide to release a second Flamethrower. But as the jet soared upwards, her eyes flashed a dangerous pink, and Matthew gasped as the fire suddenly began to twist and turn, taking shape and growing into a much more deadly creature.

"I can't believe this!" Felicity gasped. "The Flamethrower is turning into a giant Togekiss!" Matthew squinted, and his mind clicked as he recognised Togetic's evolved form, portrayed as the elegant but deadly fire being. Beautifly had nearly stopped flapping her wings in fear, and even Piplup was taking a step backwards. If Matthew didn't act soon, the ferocious beast might consume his team.

"Beautifly, use String Shot to throw Piplup towards the fire!" He shouted, thinking quickly. "Piplup, fire Water Pulse as you approach as you spin and use Aerial Ace, which you shall aim for Togetic!" His Pokemon were ready to fight for him, and Matthew smiled as Beautifly fired the string at Piplup, Togetic struggling to control the growing mass of flames.

"LUUUUP!" Piplup shouted as she was sent spinning. She became a blue blur, but a torrent of water suddenly appeared out of her beak magnificently, striking the Flamethrower Togekiss as she began to fade through, turning the orange and red to a single mass of grey steam, leaving Piplup disguised.

"Magical Leaf as Piplup comes down!" Mira bellowed desperately. "Porygon, use Aerial Ace on Beautifly!"

"Counter with your Aerial Ace!" Matthew shouted. The air was suddenly full with the three Aerial Aces: Beautifly flew forwards with glowing wings as Porygon rose into the sky, its body shifting to create two large glowing, block-like wings. Piplup burst out of the steam, still spinning rapidly and glowing brilliantly as her arms glow and became sharper. Togetic swished her wings weakly, suddenly the glowing Magical Leaf forwards. Piplup practically ignored the attack as it struck, and Mira gasped as the Penguin Pokemon smashed into the Happiness Pokemon. A small cloud rose up, leaving Beautifly and Porygon center of attention as they headed for each other.

"Beauti!" Beautifly cried as her right wing collided with Porygon's right imitation one. There was a flash, and both of them flipped around. Porygon crash landed a few feet in front of Mira, just as Piplup bounced backwards. Togetic was tangled up in the String Shot, eyes shut and body limp.

"Togetic is unconscious!" Felicity announced. "This brings Mira down to just Porygon, with Matthew with the advantage! Will he be able to pull this off?"  
_  
I hope so… _Matthew thought, and readied his latest combination, not stopping to celebrate the win. "Beautifly Absorb and Piplup Water Pulse!" He called out, and waited to see what Mira would order. But Mira wasn't even staring at Porygon, her face looking down at the ground. Porygon glanced around, its face blank but Matthew knew it was waiting for an order. He could only watch as a green ball touched its head, energy being drained towards Beautifly, and than see him fly as the Water Pulse struck with amazing force. The audience fell silent as Porygon hit the ground, and Felicity rushed forwards, staring excitedly down at its face.

"And Porygon has fainted!" She boomed, and the two giant television screens that were place between the crowds lit up, Matthew noticing them for the first time. His face was dominating the screens alongside pictures of Beautifly and Piplup: he had down it, he had won his first match of the day!

"That was amazing!" He cried to Piplup and Beautifly moments later as they rushed back towards him.

"Pip!"

"Fly!" They chorused, and he tightly embraced them. Felicity spoke about highlights from the battle, but Matthew barely listened, instead watching as Mira brought Togetic and Porygon back. Her face was full of sadness, and she gave him a sombre nod as she turned as walked out through the corridor opposite. Matthew was glad to have won, but he didn't know why she was so sad, and despite this victory, a nagging voice in the back of his mind seemed to be holding him back: would the rest of the battles be this easy to win?

"Hidden Power!"

"Ominous Wind."

Sahara had quickly realised Smash wouldn't be able to withstand the powerful Force Palm, and quickly pulled him aside, saving him from complete destruction. She thought that Hammer wouldn't have anyone to go up against, but than Xavier had appeared, very tensed up and with Fantina in tow. He didn't even introduce Sahara and Fantina, simply telling her that Drifloon would battle. It was a perfect way to test Hammer's power: a Pokemon with immunity to Bide and Force Palm, and with moves able to counter him.

However, Hammer was putting up a good fight. He dodged several Will-o-Wisp's and Ominous Winds, getting hit twice by Astonish but withstanding his own and getting a few Hidden Powers in. Sahara was excited to be battling with him, leaving Fantina to watch as she sat next to Nutty on Smash's long body. Xavier was showing no emotion, and Sahara didn't want to push him too much in case she set him off, his tension hinting towards some serious emotional issues ready to explode.

"FLOOOON!" Drifloon shouted, excited for the battle. The powerful burst of ghostly wind struck Hammer before he could move, and he struggled to hold his balance against the strong attack, but clearly getting to the peak of his power.

"Meditite Med!" He cried, the black ovals still managing to form.

"Come on Hammer, you can do this!" Sahara shouted. Hammer glanced around at her, and she gasped as he nodded at her. He then thrust the Hidden Power forwards, and Drifloon cried out as she was sent spiralling backwards. Her berries fell from her, but Xavier quickly caught them and then her.

"I think Drifloon has done enough training," Xavier said as he passed the berries back. "I think she could use with a rest, don't you?"

"Sounds fair enough," Sahara said with a nod, and glanced down at Hammer with a beam on her face. "Yeah, I can't believe you battled, and so well too! Good job!" Hammer simply nodded, and then crossed his legs and sat down, clearly needing to meditate again after the exhausting battle.

"Balèze!" Fantina cried, leaping to her feet and applauding softly. "That was exciting to watch! Sahara, I think your Meditite would benefit from learning a move to counter Flying types, and possibly replace Bide with a Psychic move – Psychic itself, perhaps? And Xavier," but Fantina paused, not sure wheter to continue. But Xavier nodded as he gave Drifloon a delicate stroke. "Xavier Diamond, I believe your Drifloon should learn Natural Gift and Shadow Ball to provide stronger moves and the chance at more variety." Xavier nodded and continued to stroke Drifloon, appearing to be deep in thought as Drifloon nibbled on her berries. Sahara and Nutty exchanged looks, but Sahara didn't want to upset Xavier. She had her own personal connections to situations like his, and decided to push the thoughts away and walked towards Fantina, a question brewing in her head about Hammer. But as Fantina rose, smiling warmly at her, Smash's long neck suddenly rose up alongside.

"What is it?" Sahara asked, surprised to see him staring away.

"OOOOONNN!" Smash roared, and Sahara, Xavier and Fantina all turned in shock to where the Rock Snake was staring, Hammer even opening his eyes. Three figures were sprinting across the fields, heading towards the little bridge that Xavier and Fantina had crossed. Their faces were unrecognisable from afar, but Sahara instantly recognised the outfit the boy at the front was wearing, and felt a pang in her chest as she seized up, remembering the last time someone had worn it.

"OOOONNN!" Smash roared, and he smashed his tail into the ground. Jagged rocks shot out of the ground, flying towards the tiny bridge. Fantina squealed as the Stone Edge obliterated the elegant structure, but the noise snapped Sahara out of her emotional freeze.

"Its Team Galactic!" She quickly said to Xavier, who simply nodded.

"Icy Wind!" He ordered, and Drifloon nodded, swallowing the last of her berries before rising up and spinning around, the frozen wind shooting out towards the opposite side of the field. Addison screamed as she tried to run forwards but slipped over on the freezing grass, but Minerva and Charles stood there with their faces shielded, the strong burst enough to stop them in their tracks.

"Bugger, I knew they would recognise us," Minerva cursed, and Charles simply nodded, though he wasn't as angry. He wanted to be able to be near Sahara without breaking Vanessa's threat, just to try and sort out the strange feelings that had been troubling him for weeks. But now that he thought about it, Charles realised that he was going to have to battle her, and that would hardly do wonders to sort things out.

"I'm not letting them stop us: we need to get to our teleportation pad and get this book back!" Minerva growled, pulling one of her PokeBalls out. "We defeat or kidnap them, otherwise just try and cross the next bloody bridge!"

"Got you boss," Addison growled, brushing the ice off her jacket and pulled a Heal Ball out. Charles pulled two of his out, ready to fight but ready to protect Sahara if necessary.

"What is going on?" Fantina asked frantically, watching as the three people advanced and Xavier and Sahara gathered together.

"These are members of Team Galactic, and we are willing to defeat and capture them," Xavier explained, his voice filled with a sense of anger Sahara hadn't heard before. But she was furious as well, and they both had good reasons: Carolina's death and Crystal's transformation had huge effect on both of them. Sahara wasn't letting it show, but her body still ached horribly and for no reason. She was trying to train Hammer to find his true power so she would always have him around in case something else horrible happened to her, leaving the fate of those around her in jeopardy.

"Team Galactic!" Fantina gasped, and Sahara nodded grimly. The gym leader looked shocked, but she thrust her chest out and walked forwards, putting a calm and sensible face on. "Than I will most certainly fight alongside both of you!" And with that she sent her Drifblim out, the large ghost type floating up into the air besides Drifloon. The two smiled at each other, and then the group stood tall and firm as Team Galactic approached.

"LUDICOLO!" Minerva shouted. "Block me," she added in whisper, and took a step backwards. A large, tree-looking Pokemon formed in her place, its smile almost as wide as the plant-like hat it was wearing.

"Victreebel!" Addison shouted.

"Elle, Ampharos, out you come!" Charles cried. Elle and Ampharos formed besides him, whilst another plant-like Pokemon with a large leaf over its yellow body. For a second, there was a pause, the people and Pokemon all staring at each other. Sahara and Charles' eyes met, and she felt a pulling sensation in her back, but quickly ignored it and stifled a sob.

"Force Palm Eevee, Slam Ampharos and Spark Ludicolo!" Sahara shrieked.

"Icy Wind on Victreebel!"

"Shadow Ball on Ludicolo!"

"Surf them Ludicolo!"

"Focus Blast Onix and Shadow Ball Drifblim!"

"Leaf Storm Onix!"

The attacks were quickly fired, and the trainers stepped backwards. Smash dived forwards, crashing into Ampharos and sending his tail spinning, knocking Victreebel flying. Drifloon fired the Icy Wind from afar as Drifblim released the purple, ghostly ball to knock into Ludicolo. He barely recovered before Nutty fired the Spark, sending him toppling backwards.

"Eva Eve!" Elle cried, leaping towards Hammer and shaking her tail. But as she opened her mouth, Hammer simply smirked and moved his hand. Charles gasped as Elle was sent flying, crashing into him and sending him flying.

"Great job Hammer!" Sahara called happily. She looked around the battles, seeing Nutty's Sparks light things up and Drifloon and Drifblim dodging the Leaf Storm. As Smash's tail moved, still battling against Ampharos, Sahara saw Minerva standing back from the rest of them. A large black book was open, and she was skirting through the pages rapidly.

"What is she doing?" Sahara shouted, and Xavier and Fantina turned to stare. Minerva looked up at them and smiled, flicking through several more pages. "Nutty, use Charge Beam on that book, now!" Sahara ordered, but Minerva simply smiled, staring viciously down at the group. All attention turned to her, the Pokemon stopping in their battles as they focused on the book with their trainers.

"Attack me if you want, but I have the spell book to stop you!" Minerva sneered, and triumphantly she raised the book up. Fantina seized up, eyes wide with fear, and Charles stood up clutching Elle, wondering if Minerva knew what she was doing. Her eyes looked nervous as she selected a spell, beginning to read it nervously.

"I summon darkness… I summon power… From the shadows … From the dead… She will rise up for your final hour…"

As the final word was read, Sahara suddenly screamed. All eyes turned in shock and interest, the scene frozen except for Sahara as she collapsed to the ground, her whole body twitching violently. She looked up, her eyes turning a vivid black that made Addison gasp.

"Sahara!" Charles cried as Nutty and Smash moved forwards, but at that moment a wave of energy suddenly knocked them all over. A rushing of wind came over them, and ghostly echoes sounded as they all remained pinned to the ground. Sahara lay there, breathing deeply and squirming, making Xavier the first to rise up. He showed no worry or signs of discomfort, simply walking towards Sahara.

"Sahara, are you fine?" He asked. Sahara stopped moving at his words, almost frozen. "Sahara, what has happened?" Xavier stopped a few feet away, staring down at her, the others all watching in fear. Suddenly, Sahara leapt upwards in a spring like movement, her hands clasping his neck and Minerva, Addison and Fantina screaming. He hair was darker, her eyes pitch black, and a shiver went through the spines of the silent watches, fear flowing through Charles' body.

"Sahara isn't here right now," the body that looked like Sahara cackled, "but don't worry Xavy, Jaki's here to make things better!" Minerva dropped the book as she gasped, and everyone simply watched in horror as Jaki began to laugh, the grass around her feet beginning to turn to black.

The Grand Hall was still crowded, more people gathering as the talks and debates drew closer. More beauty, more dresses, Vanessa's outburst forgotten over the glasses of champagne and talks between old school friends. Social groups from years before began to reform, pointing out the failures in their old school mates and talking as if they were still in the school yard. Hardly anyone noticed the guards that were beginning to patrol around, under strict instructions to catch Vanessa if she emerged from the office. She was the prime threat to the day's events, and wanted her to be escorted out away from eyes, making sure she did nothing to spoil the day.

Unfortunately, the guard's simply thought she was an average fourteen year old girl, and weren't paying much attention to the door. They didn't notice as it was kicked open, and hardly noticed the orange and black blur as Vanessa shot out, sword and PokeBalls out and prowling for her victim. It was easy to escape into the crowd, and the guards were stunned to see that Vanessa had escaped them.

Vanessa didn't care about guards, and shoved her way through the crowd of beautiful, rich and influential people, looking for  
Emerson's distinctive leather jacket. People gasped and shrieked, their eyes following her as she ran, but Vanessa didn't care, her blood boiling in her rage with Mr Adiem. She was going to kill Emerson wheter people were there or not, her only hope being that it was speedy and she could get away.

"OI, GINGE!" The gruff voice of a guard boomed from the crowd, and Vanessa turned to see several fit men running towards her. Quickly she raised her sword in a defensive move, but two more guards were rushing in on the other side. Vanessa cursed and looked around, trying to find a way to escape before she was properly screwed. That was when she saw the face she was looking for: Emerson's moody, pasty face, his eyes wide in horror at the sight of his enemy so near by and so readily armed.

"Perfect," Vanessa purred, and dropped her five PokeBalls. The guards came to a halt as Monferno, Staraptor, Luxio, Dustox and Murkrow formed around her, forming a guard of honour. But as they formed Emerson turned and sprinted, and Vanessa had no choice but to chase after him.

"Use whatever you want to!" She told her Pokemon, and knocked Vivian Winters over as she side stepped a guard and tore after Emerson. He was racing towards one of the buffet tables, glancing nervously back at Vanessa as he ran. She was focused entirely on him, blocking out the sounds of explosions and screams from her Pokemon battling behind. Emerson was trapped, and Vanessa could feel the victory, the joy, the celebration rising up in her, and raised her sword up as Emerson stopped at the table, ready to slit his throat….

"Hello Vanessa," Emerson sneered, and he wheeled around, holding a carving fork that the sword clattered into. "Now, why on earth are you being so violent? What have I done to you to deserve this?"

"Oh shut your face!" Vanessa snapped, and began trying to push the fork away. Emerson simply smiled, holding his own and stopping her from pushing back.

"I was surprised to see your still alive, but knowing you, you probably teleported away with Abra, didn't you?" He hissed.

"That would've been the sane way, yes," Vanessa replied, "but I don't do sane, do I now?" And she quickly lashed out, kneeing him in the stomach. Emerson doubled over and she rammed her palm into his head, thrusting him backwards onto the table. She raised the sword up as the fork cluttered to the ground, but Emerson kicked out himself, sending the umbrella flying backwards. Vanessa turned furiously to see it landing a few metres away into the hands of a guard.

"I got it!" He boomed to his colleagues, waving the sword around. A second later a black blur smashed into him, the cry 'STAAAAAR' sending the room into a frenzy. People were beginning to run away, screaming as Monferno and Luxio took two guards down simultaneously.

"It looks like your Pokemon need a bit of control," Emerson sneered, and Vanessa looked back around as he threw his six Dusk Balls to the side. More people screamed as Magmortar formed first, grinning deviously, followed by Pupitar, Machoke, Donphan, Graveler and Probopass. The Ground, Fighting and Rock types joined in at grinning stupidly, and Magmortar pointed towards Vanessa's Pokemon. Monferno saw them and let out a roar, speeding forwards and hitting Graveler with a Mach Punch. Staraptor dived down with an Aerial Ace, knocking Machoke down, and the fighting instantly began.

"You better not hurt my Pokemon," Vanessa snapped at him and quickly swung a punch. She was annoyed about not having her umbrella, and would have to make do until she could retrieve it. As Emerson clutched his jaw, Vanessa pushed him backwards onto the table. The carving fork was the only sharp object near, but Emerson had kicked that away. With little else to do, Vanessa smashed his face against one of the long white plates containing small pastries that burst open on contact.

"Why are you working with the Slayers?" Vanessa asked, beating him against the hot food. "Were they working with Team Galactic? It seemed convenient that they decided to blow up the bridge on the day you were there," and she pushed Emerson along towards a jug, tipping freezing water over his face.

"I didn't know those people were there!" Emerson growled, wiping his face clear with his free arm. "I was being paid to bring you to the bridge so I could battle you, unarm you and leave you for the Slayers to kill you, I had no fucking idea about Galactic! I don't even work with the Slayers anymore! Now let me go you psychotic bitch!" He yelled, and tried squirming to break free. Vanessa put a finger to her lips, humming and pretending to think. Than she grabbed a fold of the nearby curtain and pulled it over as she pushed Emerson towards a punch bowl. He screamed as she wrapped the fabric around his head, and he tried to squirm, but Vanessa simply shoved his head deep into the ruby red liquid. She held it there for about five seconds before pulling his head out, feeling rather happy at this sadistic attack

"Do you think it makes me any happier?" Vanessa hissed to him through the curtain. "You were going to sell my life, am I supposed to just let you walk away?" And she pushed his head back into the bowl, taking the time to check out the fighting. Murkrow was taking on Machoke now with a few furious Pecks, Staraptor now trying to take on both Probopass and Pupitar with multiple Close Combat. Monferno was dancing around Graveler, swinging Mach Punch after Mach Punch and trying to avoid his attacks. Dustox used Confusion to send Donphan stampeding through the crowds, while Luxio struggled to blast his electricity against Magmortar, holding him back from getting towards Staraptor. Vanessa wondered if Emerson had planned for her to be there, as Magmortar seemed rather determined to get to Staraptor, the gleam in his eyes obvious from afar. But as Vanessa thought this, she didn't realise Emerson's flailing arms clasping on a nearby knife.

He slashed out with it, and Vanessa gasped as the blade tore through her dress. Her hands loosened, and Emerson quickly shoved her backwards. Stumbling on the plates beneath her, Vanessa toppled backwards out a three tiered white cake behind her. It failed to hold up her weight, and she sunk like a stone through the desert. Emerson struggled to pull the sodden curtain off, but he managed to free his head and gasped for breath, looking over at Vanessa with hatred burning in his eyes.

"You're a psychotic bitch, you realise?" He growled, and reached for the knife. Vanessa had simply been laying in the cake, her dress turned to white, but she looked up at his voice and reacted, pulling her acidic green pen out of her pocket and spraying it. Emerson gasped as the knife melted away, but when he looked up Vanessa was over him, holding a large amount of meat wrapped around a bone.

"You cut my dress," she hissed, her voice at its angriest. "This was in honour of a friend's parents death. I don't know if you know what that feels like, but I do!" Vanessa growled and swung, whacking Emerson backwards. He tried to kick her backwards, but his foot collided with the plate that simply sent the pen spiralling away to the middle of the table.

"I know what it is like, you self centred bitch!" Emerson shouted back at her. "Get off your high Rapidash and learn to associate properly with people, tart!" Vanessa simply stared down at him, examining his words. She didn't want to bother with him anymore, and wanted to hurry up and prove herself and get revenge. Without much thought, Vanessa raised the meat up, ready to drop…

There was a sudden creak, and Vanessa froze. She jumped quickly off the table as it suddenly folded in, Emerson screaming as he slid down into a hole along with the food. Vanessa landed and rolled across the ground, coming to a halt and watching as the table fell, Emerson squirming and screaming as he was crushed by the wood. The acidic pen lay below where the hole had been, but melting the table had been its final act, a large plate stacked fill of vegetables crushing it in half.

"Never liked healthy food," Vanessa smirked. There was a shout that arose suddenly nearby, and Vanessa stepped out of the way as Graveler shot past, smashing into the wall behind her. She had forgotten about the battle in her confrontation, and looked around the room. The guests were all gathered at one side of the room, watching in both fear and amazement at the scene unfolding in front of them. Emerson's Pokemon were putting up a good fight against Vanessa's Pokemon, but they still had an advantage. Machoke was taking down as Murkrow used Peck between his legs, leaving him severely injured and unable to battle. Murkrow was now helping Monferno and Luxio against Magmortar, the fiery Pokemon still trying to blast its way forwards. Staraptor sent Probopass flying across the room with a powerful Close Combat, where it smashed through the wall and joined Graveler. Dustox fired more Confusions at Donphan, causing it to roll after a helpless Pupitar.

"Staraptor, I need my sword!" Vanessa shouted. The Starling Pokemon nodded, looking a bit tired but still ready to work. She dived down towards the umbrella, which lay untouched at the back of the hall, and quickly scooped it up in her talons. As Staraptor shot forwards, Vanessa noticed Magmortar's eyes waver from his battle, watching her with a strange sense of pleasure.

"MORTAR MOOOR!" He roared, and he suddenly glowed yellow. Staraptor kept flying, leaving Vanessa to watch in shock as Magmortar directed one of his arms up, a large bolt of electricity shooting out.

"Dust Dust!" Dustox quickly flew forwards, his eyes glowing pink. Staraptor flew past as the Thunderbolt was redirected, hitting the chandeliers that had remained undamaged so far. They shattered in an explosion of glass and electricity, sending the guests flying to the floor in a series of screams. Staraptor swooped down and covered Vanessa's face, the glass pattering off her wing.

"Thanks," Vanessa said with a smile, and Staraptor nodded as her trainer took the umbrella.

"MOOOON!" Staraptor stepped aside, and Vanessa watched in amazement as Monferno smashed his fists, which glowed brown, into the ground. A reverse Rock Slide occurred, with the stones shooting out through the carpet and blasting Magmortar, Pupitar and Donphan backwards and sending the guests screaming and running for the doors. Vanessa simply smirked and turned back towards the table, ready to finish things before the place became destroyed. Emerson was emerging from the closed table, looking furious and completely covered in food. Vanessa flashed a smile, glad to see that he was unarmed, not focusing on the rocks rumbling past or noticing that Vanessa was behind him. It cold blooded, cowardly to kill him this way, but Vanessa knew he deserved it. If he had it his way, that was exactly how she would have died.

"See you in hell, mother fucker," she hissed, and raised the sword up. But as she moved to slash it down, Vanessa found it torn from her hand. She looked up to see the distinctive pink blur of a Psychic attack over it, and quickly turned around for the answer. It wasn't hard to find the culprit: Vivian Winters stood a few metres between Vanessa, her Pokemon and the surrounding guests, some of whom were recording the incident on phones. Her Togekiss, the angelic, mostly white, flying evolved form of Togetic, was staring at the umbrella, her eyes pink with Psychic.

"Please, stop this violence!" Vivian said. "You two have already caused so much damage, ruined such a lovely event. Is there really a need to cause anyone any more harm? Do you really need to kill him, or even hurt him?" Vanessa stared back at the influential therapist, anger rising up as she tried to grab the umbrella. She didn't care what she had to say, and frankly wanted to throw the umbrella at her head. There was a clapping behind her, and Vanessa turned to see Emerson nodding in a very serene manner.

"Well put, Miss Winters," he said, reaching for his Dusk Balls, "there isn't any need for Vanessa or I to fight anymore. I think its time we went on our way," and he brought the unconscious bodies of Graveler, Donphan, Pupitar and Probopass back. Vivian Winters nodded, and several people began to applaud, mostly in relief, but Vanessa noticed Emerson wink over at Magmortar, and then smile at her.

"Get down!" She screamed, and pulled Staraptor down, reaching for her own PokeBalls. Magmortar raised his arms up, two jets of flame shooting out towards the crowd. As everyone leapt to the floor screaming, Vanessa's umbrella fell down, landing a few feet away. Luxio, Murkrow and Dustox were brought back, but Monferno tried to get towards Magmortar, screaming and ready to fight.

"Mortar Mag!" Magmortar growled, and swung his right arm in a Brick Break. Vanessa watched as Monferno soared and she rushed over, quickly catching him and falling to the ground. She looked up as Magmortar blasted a hole in the windows, running over to join Emerson. He stood on one of the tables, looking around and giving her a wave.

"See you around!" He shouted, and laughed as he leapt through the shattered glass with his Pokemon. Smoke detectors were ringing, sprinklers being activated, more people screaming and crying. Staraptor rushed forwards with the umbrella and her bag, and Vanessa sighed as she reached into a pocket and felt for her touch device, pressing several buttons by memory.

"Nice work," she told Monferno, who nodded weakly before turning to energy. Vanessa put the PokeBalls back, grabbed the umbrella and bag and grabbed one of Staraptor's wings. She glanced around, watching as a bleeding Mr Adiem emerged from his office, seeing Vivian Winters helping back up guards usher people through the doors. The event was ruined and so was the hall, but Vanessa didn't care. She hated wealth and the people more, and wished she had time to deal with them more. But a white light appeared before her, attracting Mr Adiem's attention, but Abra was already pulling Vanessa and Staraptor away, Vanessa ready to go and find Emerson and finish the job.

It had been an intense series of battles, but Matthew was now in the finals.

He was gobsmacked as he stood in the same doorway he had entered four times that day. After defeating Mira, Matthew was pleased to find his next battles weren't particularly difficult. His second opponent, a novice trainer who had entered with a muscular-based appeal rather than attractive, had a Geodude and Machop that he hoped to win with. It took less than a minute for a series of Grass and Water combinations to Geodude down, than an onslaught of Aerial Aces sealed the deal. The Wormadam trainer was up next, using a Mothim and a Sandy Cloaked Wormadam, and proved a tougher adversary. Beautifly and Mothim fought it out brutally, whilst Piplup took care of Wormadam with a series of Water Pulse and BubbleBeam. Through another double up of Aerial Aces, Mothim fell, and Matthew was now into the finals.

He was shaking with nervousness, watching the blinding lights, waiting for his cue to be called. Matthew didn't know what to think about all this, and his body could barely take it. He had little doubt this morning that he would win, but here he was, only a few minutes away from either winning or losing.

Matthew wanted to think he could win, but he hadn't counted on a certain opponent: Cheryl. The green haired coordinator had fought with a mixture of power and grace, her Makuhita performing a powerful series of attacks against her opponents, whilst her Chansey filled in the beauty and combination role, making the attacks sparkle. She had gone up against Harrison in the semi finals, and had ended with his confused Vaporeon knocking out his Masquerain before Makuhita delivered a final, well timed Vital Throw for the win.

_I can do this, I can win this! _Matthew told himself. His mind was focused entirely on winning, hoping with crossed fingers that Piplup and Beautifly weren't too tired after all their battles. This would be one of the most important battles he'd ever done, and Matthew knew that Cheryl would be tough, especially as she was still angry with him. But he would fight and perform his best, and he would win.

"Matthew!" It was barely a minute left until he would have to battle, but Matthew turned around to find his father rushing towards him. Adrian Pearl looked more flustered than he had earlier, and was clutching his Silph Company Mobile in his hands.

"What do you want?" Matthew asked, sounding ruder than he intended. But he was annoyed about what happened before, and remembered the last time his father had confronted him.

"There's been some bad news, I'm sorry," Adrian said, breathing deeply. "Felicity's little slip about you being a Dex Holder caused a bit of a stir, and that began to snowball after you used the No Wait Rule. Now your in the finals, and I can't ignore the cries anymore," Adrian said sombrely, and Matthew felt his body tense up, not wanting to listen to this, needing to focus.

"People think that I've rigged things in your favour. I'm sorry son, but I need you to –"

"No!" Matthew shouted. He couldn't hold his anger back any longer, and stared determinedly up into his father's shocked eyes. "I don't care what some random people I don't care about think! This is the furtherest I've gone, and I'm going out there and I'm going to battle my hardest! I'm sorry if you don't like this, but that's final!" Adrian was taken aback, it being the first time Matthew had ever shouted at him, but he quickly recovered and looked stern.

"Son, it isn't that simple. Your Vanessa friend has caused a stir at the Arcethian Assemblage: no one wants a Dex Holder to win this!" Adrian explained. Matthew was curious about Vanessa, but had to focus on the matter at hand.

"I don't care, she can deal with those things herself, they won't affect me!" He retorted, just as he heard Felicity introduce him and Cheryl.

"Think about how it would look!" Adrian protested. "I have never won this contest myself, it would look suspicious!" Finally, things clicked for Matthew, and he felt his anger boil over. His father didn't want him to win because it would look badly on him: his losses, being accused of cheating. He didn't care for Matthew at all, only his own appearances. Without another word, Matthew turned and walked out into the arena. Adrian called out to him, but the roar of the crowd was beginning to drown it out, and Matthew tried to calm himself down, shelf his anger away and focus.

"Here are our contestants, Matthew Pearl and Cheryl Sapling!" Felicity boomed into the microphone, and Matthew looked up as he reached his position to see Cheryl standing opposite him. She looked calm and relaxed, and gave Matthew a nod as she reached for a Heal and Dusk Ball. Matthew wanted to be calmer, but his rage at his father was building up rather than decreasing.

"They have five minutes to see who shall win the mystery prize as well as the much sought after Hearthome Ribbon!" Felicity exclaimed to more cheers. "Now, let the match begin!"

"Chansey, Makuhita, one last battle for victory!" Cheryl chimed, and she threw the balls into the sky. Ribbons and streamers burst forth, wrapping around and around as they descend towards the arena floor. As the streamers danced almost merrily, flames suddenly erupted around them, but it was beautiful than frightening. The streamers faded, and Chansey was revealed smiling to the audience, whilst the small yellow, gloved Makuhita simply scowled over at Matthew.

"Piplup, Beautifly, let's end this!" Matthew shouted, his voice angrier than he wanted. Piplup and Beautifly formed from their giant hearts, fully healed and ready for the final battle.

"Let's make this one a show!" Felicity called. "GO!"

"Egg Bomb Beautifly Chansey, and Makuhita use Fake Out on Piplup followed by Vital Throw!" Cheryl called out dramatically. Chansey had not used Egg Bomb yet in the battles, and Matthew was taken back by this command: clearly Cheryl wanted to end the battle quickly and intensely.

"Piplup, ready a Water Pulse for next time, and Beautifly use Hidden Power on the Egg Bomb before Aerial Ace on Makuhita!" Matthew ordered. There was a sudden blur on the field, and before Piplup could even open her mouth Makuhita appeared, smashing his fists across her face. Matthew gasped as Piplup spun around confused, stunned at the speed and the power produced.

"Chansey Chance!" Chansey chorused happily, then pulled the egg out of her pouch and threw it across the field into the sky. It hurtled at an alarming speed, but Beautifly reacted quicker than she was used to, releasing the green Hidden Power that wrapped around the Egg Bomb. It exploded prematurely, sending a beautiful shower of green that gave Matthew boosted points. He smiled to himself as Beautifly's wings glowed white, and she swooped down and slit them across Makuhita. His face made an 'ooooh' expression as he collapsed to the ground, but Makuhita quickly recovered, grasping onto Piplup's right wing and throwing.

"PIIIIP!" Piplup screamed, and Matthew gasped as she whacked into Chansey, bouncing off and rolling a few feet away. Cheryl's Pokemon had amazing power, and it was going to be difficult for him to let it out.

"Oh dear, things aren't looking good for Matthew!" Felicity gasped into the microphone. "Hopefully he'll have some skills from his father to pull him through the next attacks!" Matthew had almost forgotten about his dad, but now the angry thoughts came back to him, clouding his judgement.

"DoubleSlap Piplup, then use a close range Egg Bomb!" Cheryl commanded. "Makuhita, use DynamicPunch and Vital Throw on Beautifly!" Matthew was trying to think of a way around this, but his anger at Adrian was rising Up. Beautifly looked around at him, waiting for orders that probably wouldn't come.

"Lup Lup Lup!" Piplup cried, as Chansey rushed forwards and raised her hands. Suddenly, Piplup was being slapped repeatedly, Chansey still wearing a smile on her face as she did so. Makuhita was advancing towards Beautifly, getting ready to leap up. Matthew was feeling angry… he wanted to vent his feelings, but he mostly wanted to win, and show his father up.

"Brick Break Chansey in the pouch! Beautifly, use String Shot on Makuhita than on Piplup to pull her away!" Matthew roared. Beautifly quickly fired the String Shot, and Makuhita was tied up, unable to jump up. Piplup rammed his fist into Chansey's pouch, where the egg had reformed. Chansey gasped as she was pushed backwards, suddenly disappearing inside a large explosion erupting from inside. Piplup avoided it though, Beautifly quickly pulling her in on a String Shot.

"Aerial Ace Makuhita and String Shot Chansey!" Matthew commanded quickly, watching with a strange feeling of savagery.  
He looked up to see Cheryl looking rather stunned about the last bout of moves, and was clearly thrown off by it.

"Okay…," she said nervously, "Chansey use Softboiled and then try for a Pound on Piplup, and Makuhita use Vital Throw on Piplup!" Piplup was still soaring by the pull of Beautifly's String Shot, and her arms quickly glowed and mimicked wings, allowing her to slash across Makuhita's body as she dived down.

"HITAAA!" Makuhita cried, bouncing backwards and crashing near Matthew's legs. He ignored him though, watching as Beautifly fired the String Shot, wrapping Chansey's arms and egg to her body, leaving her out of action and Cheryl's faces dropped.

"Matthew has made good use of String Shot and Aerial Ace," Felicity informed the audience, "but neither trainer has made use of combinations! If someone doesn't faint, it'll be hard for the judges to decide on the winner! This is a contest, remember!" Matthew, who had been delighted about leaving Cheryl's Pokemon weak, felt his face droop as Felicity announced this. He could see Cheryl pondering, obviously planning some sort of combination that would blow him away.  
_  
I have to win this, I have to prove my father wrong! _Matthew thought, and quickly examined the surroundings. Piplup and Beautifly were both staring between him and the bound up Pokemon, waiting for their orders. Piplup still had String Shot tied around her waist, and Matthew suddenly had an idea.

"Alright! Beautifly, use String Shot and bring Makuhita and Chansey together! Than, tie yourself to Piplup and get over the lights overhead," Matthew said, pointing to the spotlights above them. Beautifly and Piplup exchanged looks, but Matthew knew it was worth a shot.

"Fly Fly Beaut Fly!" Beautifly chorused and she quickly shot out a String Shot. It hit Makuhita, and she pulled him and spun him towards Chansey, firing another one as she twirled. There was applause for this move from the crowd, the two Pokemon now trapped together in the center of the arena.

"Piplup Pip Pip!" Piplup chimed as Beautifly lifted her up, flying up and over the lights so the two were even, and Matthew punched the air in delight that this part of his plan had pulled off.

"Now I need you two to spin around, Piplup you fire a Water Pulse down to mask yourself but spin into that as well…" Matthew drifted off, wondering if the second part would make sense. Piplup and Beautifly nodded, looking a bit uncertain, but the Butterfly Pokemon began to fly, causing Piplup to spin around as well.

"LUUUUP!" She called as she span, the rings of water beginning to be released. They become caught up in the spinning, and a wall of water formed as Piplup and Beautifly gathered speed. Matthew saw Cheryl and Felicity's jaws drop in surprise, and knew he was nearing a win: Chansey and Makuhita would be weakened by the water around them, and Piplup and Beautifly were gaining a lot of momentum.

"Now, finish this up with an Aerial Ace and Brick Break!" Matthew boomed dramatically. Piplup and Beautifly burst through the wall of water, fists and wings glowing, gaining an extra boost before diving through the crashing waves. They became engulfed in the extra protection as they dived down towards Cheryl's Pokemon. There was an explosion of water and cries from the Pokemon, but Piplup and Beautifly swung up looking happy. Cheryl clasped her hands to her mouth as the water began to disperse, revealing Chansey and Makuhita laying there helplessly, unconscious, the battle lost. "We have a winner!" Felicity announced to the audience, and the crowd roared in approval. Matthew froze up in shock, his mind blank, completely in shock. The shouts and applause around him were toned out as a single thought crossed his mind: _I've won….  
_  
"I won…," Matthew whispered, his face beginning to light up, "I WON!" He shouted, and ran onto the field. Piplup and Beautifly cut themselves free, and he caught them as they fell.

"WE WON, WE DID IT, WE WON!" He threw his other PokeBalls into the sky, and Misdreavus and Milotic formed, stunned for a moment, but quickly put the pieces together: Matthew, Piplup and Beautifly cheering, their faces on the television screens, the crowd roaring and clapping.

"We did it guys, we did it!" Matthew cheered in delight, and his Pokemon cheered with him, all as happy as he was for the win they'd trained so hard for. At the opposite end of the arena, Matthew saw Cheryl bringing her Pokemon back. She looked sad, but she glanced up and gave Matthew a warm smile, before turning and walking gracefully away. Matthew hoped to catch up with her later, but now Piplup was pointing excitedly to one side, and he turned around, still giddy about the win.  
Felicity was walking up a podium that was sliding out of the wall. The three judges were descending the staircase, something large and covered being held by Tiffany and Johnny. Smiles and cheers surrounded Matthew as he headed for the podium, still overwhelmed by the win, still quivering in excitement.

"You were all amazing, I can't thank you enough," he whispered to his team, and they simply smiled and nuzzled him. Matthew began to climb the staircase, breathing deeply, ready to accept his ribbon. But as he reached the top, Matthew found Felicity was no longer smiling, a finger on her ear and a scowl on her face. She sighed, looked up at Matthew and mouthed _I'm sorry_, causing him to freeze.

"Attention," she boomed into the microphone, "there has been a change of plans! Adrian Pearl, Head of the Sinnoh Pokemon Contest Board, has challenged his son for the contest title!" Silence came to the stadium as if it had been turned off. Matthew felt as if his entire body was suddenly being crushed, and he looked at first at his appalled Pokemon, than stared around in shock. His father was descending the stairs opposite, a grim smile on his face. Matthew's happiness faded as quickly as it had arrived, leaving him feeling defeated, betrayed and furious. He wanted to know why his father was doing this to him, taking this victory away, but first he knew what he would do: Matthew would battle his father, and he would win once more. He walked back down the steps, his Pokemon following him, ready for what would be his toughest fight yet.

Fear rippled through Amity Park, all eyes still focused on Jaki. She was smiling at the scared and shocked faces, her hands still moving around Xavier's neck. Addison and Fantina were both shaking, while Charles clutched Elle tightly, moving slowly towards Ampharos, not wanting them to get hurt.

"It feels good to breathe again," Jaki purred to them all, and melodramatically inhaled and exhaled. "I wasn't expecting to be out so soon. I can feel Sahara's rage, and her heart and mind were both swelling with emotion," Jaki said, shooting Charles a curious flance at this, "but the thing that pulled me out… that was true power! It was strong, ancient, glorious!" Jaki explained, flashing a creepy smile. The Pokemon were moving towards their trainers, as scared as they were about the sudden transformation. Charles watched fearfully as Jaki looked around, her eyes lighting up as they came across the book clasped in the silent and shocked Minerva's hands.

"Ah, The Spells of a Ghost, how I've missed you!" Jaki hissed deviously, and quickly waved her hands. A strange wind suddenly picked up, and their eyes all watched as the book was blasted out of Minerva's hands. Xavier was shoved asides towards a scared Drifloon as Jaki grabbed the book, a smile creeping across her face.

"Oh… the power…," Jaki whispered, her eyes alive with malice, "it's almost orgasmic. This is the most amazing object I have encountered in my entire life… what is it doing back to me, why has my creator returned to me?" Charles was shocked by these last few words, before he got time to think them over, Minerva took a dramatic step forward,s looking furious.  
"It is mine, I have brought it, that is why it is here!" Minerva shouted in a shaky voice. "I want it back, you cannot have it!" Jaki simply raised an eyebrow, a smirk creeping back onto her face as she began to laugh.

"That's sweet, but the book is mine now," she replied. "I would give it to you, but you seem quite unstable… aren't you?" Minerva looked shocked and Jaki tipped her head back in a laugh. "Didn't you hear me before: I can read people's emotions, their innermost thoughts, a gift my master had given me. You, Miss Minerva Eleusis, are seriously troubled. You are finding yourself falling down the same old path, but you aren't sure wheter to keep walking down this road or take a different path, am I right?" Minerva tried to retort, but she simply stuttered, and Jaki flashed a smile. She nodded and turned towards Addison, who was clutching Victreebel fearfully.

"Addison Moore… hmmm… emotional unstable as well, but you are definitely regretting your past choices, aren't you?" Jaki sneered. "Foolish girl, you should have known better," she added viciously, and Addison began to sob, her Victreebel raising her leaf in defence, and Jaki simply smile as she turned towards Fantina. The gym leader looked proud in her facial movements, but her eyes were as fearful as the others. "Your… guilty, about something, though I can't quite tell what it is. But it's eating away at you like a parasite, isn't it… what a shame," Jaki said with a false pout, and Fantina simply gasped, clasping her hands to her face. Jaki giggled and looked over towards Charles, malice in her face. Charles didn't want her to read his mind, and clutched Elle fearfully, ready for the insult.

"We don't want you here," Xavier said, and Jaki turned reluctantly away from Charles, looking down at the Dex Holder below her. Xavier was getting to his feet, his face looking rather pained as he rose up to face Jaki. "I want you to go, I would rather talk to Sahara than you. We can win through battling, you can only win by standing afar and speaking," he said, and Jaki looked rather shocked. Anger flashed across her eyes, but a smile formed across her face. She tossed the book back to Minerva, sending her flying to the ground as she caught it.

"You don't want to talk to Sahara," Jaki hissed, sliding a finger down his face, "you want to talk to your mother. You feel conflicted, don't you? You hate her for how she treated you, but you know that it's wrong, and you want to talk to her, sort things out, don't you?" Xavier tried to take a step backwards, but Jaki used her right hand to grasp his collar, making Drifloon gasp. "Don't run away from it Xavy, I can make everything better. You can have that last little chat if you want, it is very _very_ easy," Jaki finished, and her eyes twinkled wickedly. Still clutching Xavier's collar, Jaki extended her free left hand out over a patch of grass, concentrating very hard.

Suddenly, the ground began to move. It was as if an earthquake had started, and Addison screamed as she was bowled over. Nutty clutched onto Smash, cowering in fear as Jaki moved her hand over the shaking earth. Charles and Xavier both watched intensely as the ground split under Jaki's hand, black light shining through. Ghostly wind rushed through the park, screams echoed out from the trees, and the grass began to shrivel up and die beneath their feet, the evil being unleashed.

There was a sudden scream that forced them all to clutch their ears, and the ground under Jaki disappeared. What replaced it was mind blowing: an expanse of blackness, swirling madly beneath their feet. It was as if she was staring on bubbling pot of tar, but they all knew what Jaki had down. She had made a portal, a portal to another world, possibly another dimension. It was trying to suck them all in, and Jaki stepped backwards, looking satisfied.

"Thanks for giving me that power boost by summoning me," she told Minerva, who was staring at the book in horror. "Next them, make sure you know the proper spell: its _he_, not _she_," Jaki said with a wink, and began to laugh as she turned towards Xavier. He was staring at the slowly expanding hole with a blank expression, making Jaki smile viciously. "This is the Distortion World, Xavy. Your mother is waiting there for you. Your mother wants to talk to you. Why don't you go and speak to her?"

"Drifloon Floon Floon!" Drifloon cried, rising into the sky and looking straight down at Jaki. But Xavier ignored her, and Fantina gasped as he began to step forwards, walking towards the black hole.

"Xavier Diamond, don't do it!" Fantina shouted tearfully. "It is a trap, you will be killed!"

"Shut up you old tart!" Jaki roared and clapped her hands together. Fantina suddenly soared backwards, crashing into Smash's tail as he reached out to catch her.

"Blim Blim!" Drifblim gasped, and she made to move forwards, swelling with rage. But Drifloon quickly soared in front, putting one of her string-like arms out and shaking her head. Drifblim looked down at Xavier, then back at Drifloon and nodded. Jaki watched the exchange and burst out laughing, clapping her hands together happily.

"Oh goody, the haunted balloon is going to try and stop me! I love it when stupid Pokemon think they can stop me," Jaki said and danced happily on the spot, turning away from Xavier as he walked slowly towards the hole. Charles could see Drifloon's face, swelling with anger, eyes full of determination, a look he had seen on Elle's face when she blasted Mars through the wall: Drifloon was ready to defend, no matter what.

"FLOOOOOOON!" She cried, spinning around and firing out an Ominous Wind. Jaki was still dancing and was taken off guard, being pushed away and sliding across the ground. She growled and raised her hands, ready to fight, but Drifloon had already thrown a Will-o-Wisp towards her. Sahara's white jacket burst into flames, and Jaki quickly brushed them off, scooping them up into her hands.

"TAKE THIS!" She shouted, and released the flames upwards. A ghostly blue Gengar formed, smiling teeth of flame, and dived towards Drifloon. She looked scared for a moment, but she shut her eyes and went spiralling through it. The flames simply diminished and Drifloon kept going, stopping a few feet away from Jaki.

"DRIIIIIIIIIIF!" She screamed ghostly, her face swelling as she used Astonish. Jaki simply raised an eyebrow, clearly not impressed, but Drifloon just smiled and turned around. She had a single berry left, and quickly smacked her two heart-shaped hands together. Jaki screamed as the Cheri Berry juice got into her eyes, blinding her.

"Unconventional attacks, I like it!" Fantina said approvingly, and Drifblim and Smash nodded in agreement. Nutty looked frightened, whilst Hammer watched with one eye opened, interested by what might happen. Minerva, Addison and their grass types were moving behind Smash for safe keeping, but Charles, Elle and Ampharos remained in the open, watching.

"Pharos Ampha Ros?" Ampharos said, and Charles shook his head.

"This is Drifloon's fight, not ours," he replied, though he was concerned about Xavier. He was getting closer to the edge of the hole, staring at it blankly, at a loss to the rest of the world around him. It seemed as if he was no longer with the world, just staring deeply in thought into the giant hole.

"BITCH!" Jaki screamed, and now everyone was truly scared: her face was twisted and seemed to be glowing in a demonic manner, and her hands were now dancing with black fires she had conjured from nowhere. Completely ignoring Xavier, Jaki began to throw balls of black flame into the sky, her aim thrown off by the juice that still burnt her eyes. But Drifloon, now without a berry to hold her down, was moving at expert speeds. She dodged all the flames with elegant twirls, all as she began to dimly glow white, seemingly beginning to swell and grow at the seams.

"Stockpile," Charles and Fantina said together, Drifblim looking excited as its pre-evolved form began to absorb in energy.

"YOU CANNOT ESCAPE ME!" Jaki screamed, and readied her next attack. She couldn't see that Drifloon was Stockpiling, or that the Balloon Pokemon was twirling down behind her back. Glowing a nearly blinding white and swelling to near bursting, Drifloon wrapped her arms around Jaki's waist, positioning herself unknowingly against the tattoo that was burning beneath the layers of clothes.

"FLOOOOOOOOOOON!" Drifloon screamed, and she released all the energy she could.

"AAAARRRRGGHHH!" Jaki screeched, the sound a horrible cry. The Spit Up energy blasted through Sahara's body, white energy bursting through her mouth and shining through her eyes. Her body spasmed and the scream burned into the ears of the surrounding trainers. Drifloon, a pained look on her face, released her arms and Sahara was tossed aside, blasted into the ground and stopped a few feet from Smash. The Spit Up faded away, and Drifloon floated into the air, breathing deeply but smiling. Silence fell in the park, horrified eyes staring at Sahara, Nutty rushing down towards her. Charles wanted to go and help her, and made to move, but Ampharos grasped hold of his shoulder, and another hand touched his right. He looked around to see Minerva staring blankly forwards, but she titled her head ever so slightly to both sides.

"Tres Fantastique!" Fantina exclaimed, leaping to her feet and applauding. "You have defeated the evil! I have heard of the spellbook in my days as a ghost trainer, but I have never heard of it being overpowered!" Drifloon simply smiled, flying down to Xavier's discarded bag and grabbed some berries, glancing back towards her trainer.

The hole was still there, but now the process was being reversed. Xavier was still staring into the strange pit, his eyes wide and blank, lost in deep thought. He hadn't noticed any of the battle that had raged behind him, his attention fully focused on the darkness beneath the split earth. Xavier didn't know what to do, different words from Jaki and Fantina pounding into his beating mind, images of his mother swirling into his face. He had to know why… he just had to know why…

"Mother," Xavier whispered, and stepped forwards.

"DRIF!" Drifloon shouted, but she was too late: Xavier fell into the darkness, eyes shut, the shadows swirling up to greet him. Fantina screamed, Charles' jaw dropped, and even Addison looked horrified as he fell away. Drifloon was going to be too late to catch him, but she suddenly began to glow white. Everyone gasped as she began to grow and extend, her arms shortening as the rest of her expanded. Drifloon, turning to Drifblim, grabbed Xavier's bag and raced away before she could finish evolving. Xavier was disappearing, the ground was healing, but the Blimp Pokemon dived in after him. There was a final ghostly wail, a crackle of black, and the ground was back. Xavier was gone, Drifblim was gone, Jaki was gone, and the darkness with them. Silence fell once more, Fantina and her Drifblim staring at the hole in shock, while Sahara's Pokemon gathered around her.

"What do we do now?" Addison asked, wiping tears away from her eyes. Minerva let go of Charles' hand, who was now too shocked to move. She clasped back onto the book, staring over at Ludicolo.

"Looks like we've got a few gifts to make things up to Cyrus, don't we?" The receptionist said. Ludicolo nodded and moved forwards, followed by Victreebel. Charles simply shut his eyes as the battle began again, clutching Elle and pulling Ampharos into a hug. He was too shocked by what had happened to say or do anything, and simply wanted to head into the city, find a bed and lie down, desperate to escape the evilness and get back to a normal life.

He just hoped that Sahara, healthy and clear minded, would be there to help him.

"Frankly Matthew, your father's a douchebag."

Matthew simply nodded, not paying much attention to what Lucinda was saying. She and Harrison stood one either side of him, both as angry as the rest of the crowd was. The arena was as loud as it had been before, but the buzz of noise was angry, furious, the whispers full of gossip, questioning and rage. Adrian Pearl stood defiantly at the opposite end, ignoring both the crowd and the desperate cries of Leah as she stood besides him, whispering through furious tears into his ear. The three judges stood on the podium with the prizes, just as confused about this as the others were: Adrian had never challenged anyone to a battle since become Head, so why now?

"Make sure you slaughter him!" Harrison cried. "If you beat the person who beat me, I'd rather see you win then some old guy with a stick up his ass!"

"Not like your going to opposed to that," Lucinda said with a smirk.

"Oh shut up, hag!" Harrison snapped, but Lucinda simply giggled again.

"Will you two be quiet, please?" Matthew said irritably. He was still confused about why his father was doing this to him, but his anger was making easily annoyed. Lucinda and Harrison took a step backwards, and Matthew felt a bit guilty, as they were just trying to be nice after all. Felicity took a step forwards, a scowl still on her face, and she reluctantly raised the microphone back up to her lips.

"This rare, unusual, frankly unnecessary," Felicity began, mumbling under her breath, "decider match is going to begin! Good luck to Matthew Pearl, and Adrian Pearl…" Felicity paused in fake thought, making the crowd laugh and Matthew smile. Adrian stepped angrily forwards, mouthing at Leah to back off, and pulled his PokeBalls out. Matthew stepped forwards as well, pulling his two PokeBalls out, hoping he had made the right decision. Lucinda and Harrison gave him excited thumbs up, and Matthew took a deep breath, clearing his mind and getting into battle mode.

"Alright, go!" Felicity called.

"Blaziken, Zangoose, now!" Adrian roared, and threw the balls to the ground at his feet. Not bothering with seals, the Fire-Fighting Hoenn starter and Cat Ferret Pokemon formed in front of their trainer, looking both proud and vicious. Matthew smiled to himself, raising his Poke and Dusk Balls up, a step closer to winning.

"Piplup, Misdreavus, let's do this!" He called, and the balls burst open. They were seal-less as well, causing the two to form simply on the arena, doing their best to try and look tough against their dominating opponents. Matthew hoped Adrian would look scared, but his father simply smiled widely.

"Blaze Kick Misdreavus, Giga Drain Piplup," Adrian commanded.

"Piplup, spread your BubbleBeam out, and Misdreavus use Shock Wave on the bubbles!" Matthew called out, hoping things would work. Unfortunately, they didn't: Piplup had barely opened her mouth, a single bubble rising up, when Zangoose ran forwards, a large green ball in his claws. He threw it forwards, the ball the size of Piplup's head.

"LUP!" She shrieked, collapsing to her knees as large amounts of her energy were drained away. Matthew's jaw dropped, and Misdreavus went forwards to help out, unaware that Blaziken was running forwards and leaping into the sky, his left leg erupting into flame.

"PHASE!" Matthew screamed. Misdreavus looked up just in time to see the burning foot, and she her eyes, concentrating tightly. The Blaze Kick phased through Misdreavus' body, and Blaziken crashed into the arena floor.

"MIS MIS!" Misdreavus screamed, and a ball of electricity formed in her necklace. A Shock Wave was released, blasting Blaziken and causing him to spasm. Zangoose waved his hands, stopping the Giga Drain, leaving Piplup lying on the ground looking severely pained and exhausted. Matthew knew his father would be tricky, but hadn't anticipated he would be this brutal. He had half a mind to pull out now, but Matthew wasn't willing to throw away the battle, and his rightful win, after one turn. Piplup was getting to her feet, as was Blaziken, and it seemed the next moves were ready to be ordered.

"Try that combination again, quicker this time!" Matthew cried.

"Flamethrower and Shadow Claw Misdreavus!" Adrian shouted, but Piplup and Misdreavus had already begun to move. Bubbles shot out and began to bounce around the field as Blaziken readied his attack, and Misdreavus' necklace quickly glowed again. Piplup covered her head as the Shock Wave created a web between the bubbles, trapping Blaziken and Zangoose in, zapping their energy away.

"BLAAAAZ!" Blaziken shouted, and he fired a jet of fire towards Misdreavus. There was no way she could avoid, simply shutting her eyes and withstanding the pain as it forced her backwards. The Shock Wave ended, the bubbles bursting and sending sparks everywhere, forcing Piplup to cover her tiny body.

"GOOOOSE!" Zangoose cried, and leapt towards Misdreavus, right claw glowing a mixture of black and purple Matthew knew was a Ghost move, and knew it wouldn't be very good for Misdreavus.

"Piplup, spin and sue Water Pulse on Zangoose!" He shouted. Piplup nodded and leapt upwards, going into an instant twirl. Her mouth opened wide, a ball of water formed, and she let out a loud but beautiful scream. Rings of water were unleashed, spinning into a glorious tornado that sent Zangoose flying upon contact, leaving the tired Misdreavus alive for now. The Normal type landed a few feet away from Adrian, who glanced towards his son looking furious. Matthew had been happy about Piplup's move, but was now left concerned due to the scowl coming his way. His father was a sore loser, and always had a hissy fit or cheated when they had family game night and things didn't go his way. An angry glint formed in Adrian's eyes, contrasting with a smile widening across his face, and Matthew knew that he was about to deal the finishing blow.

"Zangoose use Detect, and Blaziken put all you energy into a Blast Burn!" Adrian boomed, and the audience gasped in unison. Matthew nearly stumbled backwards in shock, his mind and body freezing in horror as Blaziken began to glow a deadly mixture of red and orange. He saw Piplup and Misdreavus seize up in horror, watched as Leah rushed towards Adrian, trying to talk him out of it, saw Felicity as she dropped the microphone to the ground. Matthew couldn't believe his father was doing this, and couldn't believe that he was about to lose, just when he'd been so close.

"BLAAAAAAAA!" Blaziken shouted in an ear piercing scream, his body erupting into flames that swirled around his body. Zangoose smiled as he glowed white, and Piplup and Misdreavus clumped together, bracing for impact.

In a single second, the arena exploded.

One second Blaziken was simply a flaming figure, the next flames were pouring out of him in an explosive shock wave. Blast Burn was one of the most powerful moves a Pokemon could learn, and despite shielding his face, Matthew still felt the searing burn and saw the light through his lids. Lucinda and Harrison screamed behind them, and Matthew turned to see them, but the force was enough to knock him to the ground. Light fittings exploded, the audience was crying out, and Matthew knew that Piplup and Misdreavus would be done for, along with his winning dreams.

"NO, STOP THIS!" A single voice sounded, and Matthew forced his eyes to open. A continuous torrent of red and orange was rising above the field, the energy emitting from it causing the crowd to rush backwards, though Matthew could barely see it. He was looking around for the voice, his eyes shut under the light from the Blast Burn.

Suddenly, the inferno began to glow pink. The heat disappeared and the fire quickly began to diminish. Matthew froze and stared, transfixed, as the fire began to spiral and turn, morphing as Togetic's has only a short time ago. The flames turned into a magnificent ribbon, about three metres high and twinkling like a Christmas light. It remained for a moment, a beautiful symbol that every eye left turned towards, before it fizzled out and died. The arena was left dark and hideous, the walls covered with ash and most of the lights dead. Matthew was confused about what had happened, and turned towards the field.  
Piplup and Misdreavus stood in the middle, looking the same as they had before the Blast Burn. Misdreavus opened an eye at Matthew and winked, and Matthew was stunned to see that she had phased without being commanded. Blaziken lay on the floor panting, recharging from the exhausting attack. Adrian, Leah and Zangoose all looked stunned, and now their eyes were turning towards the podium, a direction that Matthew copied. Felicity was standing there, a Gardevoir floating by her side, the initiator of the Psychic. She looked furious, and was staring defiantly at Adrian, who looked gobsmacked.

"YOU BITCH!" He roared suddenly, taking several steps forwards. "You can't do this to a battle, especially such an important battle! Your fired!" He shouted, and Lucinda gasped behind Matthew. Felicity stared down at him for a moment, still looking mad, but than she smiled, giving him the purely demonic but sweet look many girls could pull off.

"Fine, fire me then! I was just trying to stop you from torturing those poor Pokemon and your son, he doesn't deserve this!" Felicity snapped. "Your arrogant and a coward, and I hate that in people!" The announcer turned towards Matthew, still happy but was burning with an undeniably rage that made him step backwards. "Your father didn't want you to win because… because he's had an affair with the woman who gifted the mystery gift!" Felicity announced, her voice carrying in the silent stadium. Adrian's face turned red, and Leah made a shocked gasp that sent a chill down Matthew's spine. "Some woman dropped an egg off, and I overheard her saying that Adrian owed her for keeping their affair under wraps for so long! He didn't want you to win because he doesn't want you to trace the Pokemon that'll hatch back to the original owner!"

"HOW COULD YOU!" Adrian screamed, but his eyes were fill with more worry than anger, and he turned backwards towards Leah. Tears were streaming silently down her face, hands clasped to her mouth, and Matthew wanted to rush forwards and care for her. He didn't care about his father, the figure standing in the arena nearly dead to him. But when Matthew tried to walk forwards his legs suddenly buckled, and Lucinda and Harrison caught him. Anger that he hadn't felt at all today rushed through his blood, but confusion more irritating than anything else he'd experienced caused him to clutch his head.

"I… I…. I…" Adrian tried to say something, addressing the audience that had fell silent except for the few gossiping whispers carrying through the seats, but for once in his life words failed him. He pulled his PokeBalls out and brought his two Pokemon back, leaving Piplup and Misdreavus alone and confused in the middle of the arena. Adrian turned towards Leah, but she shook her head, the tears falling faster now. With a backwards glance at Felicity and the shocked judges, and a look towards Matthew that he couldn't quite determine what emotion to use, Adrian quickly headed for the doors, moving as fast as possible.

The crowds began to leave, the talk getting louder and louder as they departed. No one seemed to care about the prize giving now, having received enough to talk about for months now. Felicity walked towards Matthew and give him a hug as he sat down, whispering 'I'm sorry' into his ear, before getting up and walking away from Gardevoir. Matthew barely noticed, his focus upon his weeping mother, who was now being joined by a shocked and crying Peter. Piplup and Misdreavus made their way nervously forwards, and Matthew pulled them into a hug. He simply sat there, dwelling things over, wondering why his father had cheated and when. Mrs Richards, the day's head judge, walked over and placed a gold trimmed purple rosette besides him, and Johnny put the covered prize that was now known to be an egg. Matthew didn't want the prizes anymore, and as the first tears began to stream, he wished that he'd never made it to the finals, the consequences too severe, and simply hugged his Pokemon and hoped the pain would go away.

Hearthome City managed to look even more beautiful as the sun began to set. The beautiful mixture of oranges and pinks in the sky looking almost painting like, and magnificent shadows were cast upon the noiseless streets. The street lamps began to flicker into light, providing a dim yet pleasant amber glow that lit up the path in perfect little circles. The alleyways between the grand buildings were as clean and quiet as the rest of the city, though were much darker and gave a very dark and gothic feel to passer bys.

It was the perfect place to sneak through though.

Addison had gone on ahead and found the mini teleportation device that Minerva had hidden in an alleyway on the other side of the city. It was practically a miniature version of the one used in Eterna City, and was easy for the grunt to bring to the first alleyway by Amity Park. Than, she had to help Charles, Minerva and their Pokemon carry their hostages.  
The battle had been short but violent, though the element of surprise had worked well in Team Galactic's favour. Ampharos, Ludicolo and a helping hand from Addison's Hitmonlee got Smash out, with Sahara, Fantina, Nutty, Drifblim and a tied up Hammer (he'd been particularly difficult) on top. The streets were empty, but the group still moved quickly, not wanting to be seen with their special group. They thought there was a figure around the Contest Hall, but didn't stop to bother about it.

"Come on, move faster!" Minerva snapped, passing Smash's tail over to Addison and getting a proper grip on the spellbook. Charles was up the front, helping hold the rough and large head up with Ampharos. Elle walked alongside, giving Charles an odd look every so often.

"I can't go against them!" He hissed down to her as they neared their alleyway, right opposite the Contest Hall. "I feel just as bad about this as you do!" Charles looked up towards Sahara's limp arm, sadness filling his body. He knew that Jaki would have revealed all if Xavier hadn't interrupted, and he was scared to think about what would have been revealed. But Charles was even more frightened about what Cyrus would do to Sahara when they arrived back at the headquarters.  
Suddenly, a soft tinkling noise sounded in the silence. Charles stared down as a pebble rolled towards him, and he looked up to see several diamonds sparkling in the dim light, the orange glow of ginger hair in front of him, matched by the orange glow forming from a weapon…

"DUCK!" He shouted, and leapt asides as Vanessa fired the energy gun. Ampharos stood forwards, raising a fist and energy gathering. The beam hit the Focus Blast, releasing a shockwave and enough power to blast Ampharos backwards. Smash fell to the ground, those on top of him falling off as well.

"Get to the pad, now!" Minerva shouted, and she and Addison sprinted forwards, Ludicolo and Hitmonlee alongside. Charles turned around to face Sahara: she lay still, a slight bruise forming on her head, but otherwise alright. Fantina and Nutty were stirring, and Charles smiled to himself as he got up, glad that she was alright.

"What did I warn you about?" Vanessa's voice hissed in the semi-darkness, and Charles turned to see her walking forwards, energy gun replaced with her trademark sword. Unbeknownst to the Galactic Grunt, Vanessa was extremely pissed off. After the incident at the Conference Hall, Vanessa had searched every inch of the city to find her leather-clad rival, but Emerson was nowhere to be seen. Her frustration had built up, trails of damaged buildings left behind her, and Vanessa was ready to kill someone as brutally as possible. She was just glad she'd come across Charles, and raised her sword.

"Hello Vanessa, lovely to see you," Charles said with a smile, picking Elle up. Vanessa simply glared back at him, the sword glinting in the lamp light. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I really need to get going."

"You broke my rule, I'm not letting you leave!" Vanessa hissed, getting ready to jab. Elle let out a whimper, but Charles knew how to stop her.

"Sahara turned into Jaki and sent Xavier to some weird hell-like place, just so you know," he explained, and Vanessa froze, looking shocked and confused. Chares looked down at Elle and gave her a tiny nod, and she winked up at him.

"EVA EVE!" She cried, a white ball forming that began to bubble brown. Elle fired it before Vanessa could react, the Secret Power knocking the umbrella into the alleyway. Charles sprinted forwards, Ampharos leading the way towards the teleportation pad. It glowed brightly as Hitmonlee was sent back to base, and Ampharos quickly leapt in, the machine automatically taking her away. Charles remembered a warning about cross-cell mutation from Charon and threw Elle in first, who squealed in displeasure, and turned around as Vanessa ran forwards, looking like a beast ready to kill.

"Thanks for saving her," he called out, and stepped backwards onto the pad. Though his body compressed and his mind turned to jelly, Charles shut his eyes to the pink light and hoped that Sahara would be alright, and that the next time they met was under better circumstances.

Vanessa watched as Charles turned into light and disappeared. She had half a mind to rush in after him, her angry boiling over and clouding her better judgement. But there was a sudden sparking noise, and Vanessa grabbed her umbrella and stepped backwards as the pad exploded, the corresponding bit attached to a building falling off as well. Vanessa froze for a second, staring down at the shattered pad, and then swore as loudly as she could.

"FUCKING BASTARD!" She screamed, and stormed back towards Sahara. Vanessa made a mental note to kill Charles the next time they met, and forced herself to repress her anger for now: Sahara was beginning to stir, while Fantina and the Pokemon were already awake.

"Oh my goodness, you won't believe what happened!" Fantina cried to Vanessa, both of them moving towards Sahara. "We were horribly attacked by Team Galactic, and then poor Sahara got possessed, and Xavier… Xavier Diamond…," Fantina began to cry, and Vanessa gave her a reassuring one armed hug.

"I understand, I've dealt with Team Galactic often enough," she explained. "I'm good friends with Sahara and Xavier. I'll make sure Sahara's awake, then I'll go and try and find Xavier."

"I don't know if you'll be able too!" Fantina sobbed, hugging Drifblim, "It was dark magic that pulled Xavier away! The blonde woman who led them had a spellbook, a very rare, powerful and dark book that even us Ghost trainers fear! That was what brought, um, Jacquie, out, that is what gave her her power! She sent Xavier Diamond to see his mother, and he and his Drifblim disappeared into the darkness!"

"It's Jaki with a K, she ain't that classy," Vanessa said, noting Fantina's interesting accent and way of pronouncing the name, but there were bigger issues to deal with. As Vanessa stroked Sahara's hair, she wondered if the magical spellbook was something Mr Adiem knew about, and pondered what the repercussions would be now that Team Galactic had it.

The Hearthome Contest Hall doors slid open for the final time, and Matthew walked slowly out of the hall. Leah had her arms wrapped around him, tears still streaming from her bloodshot eyes, but her sobbing had been silenced. Peter walked behind them, too in shock to say anything, but had brought his Mime Jr. out to play with. He now sat on his shoulders with a saddened Piplup, holding Matthew's egg in his hands. It was brown and cream striped, and Peter wanted to talk about it. But the Pearl's walked out in silence, too shocked by what had happened to say anything.

"Matthew, aren't those your friends?" Leah whispered hoarsely, and Matthew looked up, surprised to see Vanessa lying besides the stirring Smash, a purple hair woman alongside. Another third female moved into the light, and Matthew's face lit up a bit to see Cheryl had been waiting for him, sitting at a bench in the hall's garden. "You go talk to them," Leah said, pulling herself away from her son.

"Oh, no Mum, no!" Matthew said, turning back towards her. "You can't be alone tonight!"

"I'll be fine darling, I have Peter and my Pokemon," Leah said quietly, ruffling Peter's hair in a way that made him smile. She gave Matthew a kiss on the check and a quick hug that ended up lasting several moments. Matthew wanted to stay with her and comfort her, but he had a stronger desire to see his friends and find out what had happened, and an even stronger desire to find his father. He didn't care if he wouldn't see him until the Sinnoh Grand Festival: Matthew would just win his contests and get enough ribbons to make sure he was there.

"See you later Feraligatr," Matthew said to Peter, giving him a quick hug and picked up Piplup and the egg that had caused all this drama.

"Tell what it hatches into!" Peter said excitedly, before clasping his mother's hand and walking off. Leah gave Matthew a quick, sad wave, and Matthew and Piplup returned it.

"Piplup Pip Pip?" Piplup asked, and Matthew looked at the egg.

"I'm not sure, but I'm going to find out," he replied. "It caused all this trouble, I should at least see what it holds," and Piplup nodded in agreement. Vanessa looked up as Matthew walked forwards, giving him a slight nod before returning to examining Sahara's body with Nutty and Hammer. Cheryl rose up from her seat and walked through the garden, a wide smile on her face, and Matthew turned to face her, pleased to see she was smiling.

"MATTHEW!" An unfamiliar voice shattered the silence around them, just as Matthew had been about to say something. He turned around to find a blonde haired girl running towards him, red in the face and short in the clothing. "Thank… god… I… caught… you…," the girl wheezed, coming to a stop. "Very important… need you too… need you…"

"Excuse me, but who are you?" Matthew asked, exchanging glances with a confused Cheryl.

"Oh, my name is Bebe!" The girl said, extending a hand for Matthew to shake, which he did so reluctantly. "I manage the Pokemon Storage System, and that's kind of why I'm here. I was doing a routine check up when I noticed something odd was happening, over near Solaceon Town. I contacted my superior, Bill in Kanto, and he told me I had to find a Dex Holder straight away."

"What do you need me for?" Matthew asked, staring over at Vanessa. She shook her head as she moved backwards, Hammer managing to pick Smash up and use it to hide them as they slid away into the darkness.

"It is very important, but I can't tell you here," Bebe said, managing to catch her breath back. "Will you come with me, please? I swear it is important!" Matthew was a bit uncertain, as he had been looking forward to relaxing after the day's events. Than again, it was nice to be the one called upon to deal with these sort of issues. He looked over at Cheryl for some advice, and was surprised to see she was taking a step forwards.

"Of course he'll help, we both will!" She said, shaking Bebe's hand. The technician beamed happily and did a little a dance.

"Incident? Is there something I may help with?" Matthew turned as the purple haired woman walked forwards, and gasped as he recognised her as Fantina, the famous ex-coordinator turned Ghost gym leader.

"Oh Fantina, your help would be really appreciated!" Bebe said, looking more excited by the minute. "Come on everyone, I'll take you to my car!" Fantina nodded, she and Drifblim walking alongside. Cheryl gave Matthew a smile and headed off, and the coordinator followed after. He gave Piplup a warm smile, confused about both his father and what new mission he was about to go on, but excited about new adventures, what the egg would hatch into, and getting to know Fantina and Cheryl more. Piplup smiled back, and Matthew held onto her as they strutted through the darkening streets.

"Thank god, I don't think I could have dealt with that woman for too long!" Vanessa said with a smile, her head poking out of the alleyway. Smash had Nutty and Hammer on his back, with Sahara in between them still out to the world. Vanessa sighed as she flopped down on the Rock Snake, very tired and sore after her fight with Emerson. She was ready to fall asleep and turn her brain off, simply let the problems slide past her. But Sahara was still unconscious, Emerson was on the loose, Galactic had a fancy book and Xavier was stuck in darkness: with Matthew buggering off, Vanessa was stuck with all these things to deal with.

"I better get cracking…" the red headed girl sighed, and the meditating Meditite alongside her nodded in agreement. Vanessa smiled down at him and gave him a soft pat as she got off of Smash. "Oh Giant Rock One, will you lead me back to where Xavier disappeared?" She called up, but was annoyed to see Smash wasn't listening, his attention focusing on the ground instead. "What is it now?" Vanessa sighed, and walked up to where Smash was staring at. A purple box had suddenly appeared on the ground, a rainbow mixture of colour glowing in the very center.

"On!" Smash growled, his face getting closer towards the light. Vanessa was puzzled by how it had gotten there that she didn't remember something Xavier had told her, something involving the Underground back at Eterna City…

"Smash, wait!" Vanessa cried, grabbing the jagged bit on his head to pull him back.  
But it was too late.

Vanessa cried out as she fell through the darkness, feeling her umbrella against her leg and Smash around her body but seeing nothing. She wondered if Sahara, Nutty and Hammer had remained on, her stomach churning as she turned upside down, light rising up to greet her…

With a painful thud, Vanessa landed, a cloud of dust filling her eyes and nose. Laughter and cheering erupted around her as the ground shook violently, Smash letting out a furious roar. Vanessa could barely see, but she could make figures out in the darkness: burly men around purring machines, shouting things such as 'we've got her' and 'REVENGE!' The pieces quickly came together in Vanessa's fast moving brain, and dread replaced the anger inside of her head.

"Oh fuck," she growled, and turned around to see who she'd been expecting: Emerson, leaning over her, his face hideous as always but now spotted with several bruises and cuts. He was smiling a vicious, nasty smile though, and had a rock clutched in his right hand.

"I lied. Oops!" He said, and laughed as he thrust the rock forwards. Vanessa was too sore and too tired to react, and allowed the rock to smash into her temple, leaving an unconscious Sahara undefended, both of them at the mercy of The Slayers.  
At least she was resting.

Darkness had fully settled at Team Galactic's headquarters. The main building had most of its lights off, saving the unregistered power they had for their experiments in the morning. Only one room was well lit, and had every reason to be. Cyrus' office was plainly decorated to the average eye: a simple oak desk in front of windows overlooking a large, sprawling city, maps of the different regions, photographs of snowy mountains and ancient towns, a tall bookcase packed to bursting, and several pot plants to give it an good office feel.

Charles had not stepped outside of the training facility before, and was left in awe as he and Addison stood at the back of Cyrus' office, impressed at how grand and well decorated it was. However, he felt as if there was more to the room, something Cyrus was hiding behind the green and brown walls. Minerva stood a few feet in front of them, stiffly posed and worry in her eyes, glancing towards the man whose home they were in.

Cyrus had been flicking through the spellbook for some time, his back turned against them, his emotions and reactions unknown. They could only presume he was happy with them, as he wanted banished or harmed them yet, instead snatching the book from Minerva's hand and began prowling through the pages. Charles wondered how much power the book contained, though based on how it brought Jaki out, he was slightly concerned about what Cyrus planned on doing.

"Excellent!" Cyrus boomed after fifteen minutes, turning around against the light coming from a lamp on his desk. His face looked demonic in the shadows cast against his features, and Addison let a yelp escape that summed up Charles' thoughts.

"You have done brilliantly, and you will all be rewarded in due course! I would give you your praise now, but there is an urgent matter to deal with," he explained, clutching the book against his chest like a soft toy.

"What is it now?" Addison asked, a slight whinge coming into her voice. Cyrus stepped forwards, smiling a smile of both happiness, insanity and rage all at once, and Charles knew that their next goal wasn't going to be a walk in the park. Cyrus stopped next to Minerva, extending the book out towards Charles, a mad glint in his eyes.

"Are you ready two ready to raise the dead?"


	19. Boo

**Boo!**

Sahara awoke with a start.

She had no idea where she was. She had no idea who she was with. The last thing she could remember had been battling against Xavier in Amity Park, but she was certain something had happened since then. Sahara had no idea where she was in darkness, or why she could hear laughter echoing all around her. She wanted to find out, to see what had gone wrong, where she was, and who had possibly captured her. But a feeling rose up in her throat, and Sahara couldn't stop herself as she threw up, not sure if the hard, cold spot was on was clear.

"Fuck me…," she groaned, retching once more, the feeling in her mouth disgusting. Sahara wiped her mouth on her sleeve. She was still trapped in darkness, but now there was small shufflings of noise from the side, and Sahara turned around frightfully, wondering if someone had captured her and put her in a pit with a group of vicious Pokemon.

"Pachirisu Pach Pachi!" Nutty suddenly appeared before her, her white fur glowing yellow with electricity. Sahara was delighted to see her, but the light was blinding in the darkness and she had to squint as she adjusted.

"Hey there! What's going on, where are we?" She called with a smile, staring curiously around the room. The large outline of an Onix and small shadows created by a meditating Meditite told Sahara that more of her Pokemon were out, but someone lying unconscious nearby attracted the real attention. "Who is it?" Sahara asked in shock, scrambling across the ground, rocks stabbing into her hands and knees. Nutty ran alongside, and the yellow glow revealed a head of flaming orange hair and a variety of sparkling diamonds. "Vanessa! Is she alright? What is going on, why are we down here?" Sahara asked quickly. She shut her eyes and tried to remember seeing Vanessa, but all she could remember was seeing Xavier and possibly the gym leader Fantina, and than a cold, horrible feeling seeping through her…

"Pachi Pach Risu Pachi!" Nutty squealed and ran forwards, taking the light with her. Sahara felt around Vanessa's neck for a pulse, all while watching where Nutty had run to: the sparking light revealed a large wall of misshapen rocks piled tightly together, not fitting in with the smooth wall of rock on either side.

"Let me guess: someone has kidnapped us and trapped us in here?" Sahara asked in an almost bored tone, and Smash grunted in acknowledgement, causing Sahara to sigh. "I should've known… is there a bomb or some sort of booby trap here as well?" Smash growled again, and Nutty fired a weak Spark upwards. It exploded, temporarily illuminating a large steel box that was placed high above them. "Oh, of course! What fun," Sahara groaned. She was getting pretty sick of people trying to kill her that it was beginning to get boring. No one else seemed to be around, but the laughter on the other side told her someone was waiting for them to die, and had clearly thought that Sahara, Vanessa and their Pokemon would be completely incapable of managing to escape in some degree. But Sahara quickly realised that if it was easy to escape from, than Smash or Hammer could have used a move to free themselves.

"This may be a bit harder than I'm thinking, won't it?" Sahara sighed, and Nutty and Smash nodded again, and they slumped down on the ground. Sahara stared around the strange cave they seemed to be trapped in, wondering how long it will be until the bomb went off, and thinking of a way to escape. They would need a powerful force to break through the rocks, something stronger than Smash, Hammer and Nutty combined. Sahara was tempted to send Aqua out and see if that did anything, but she highly doubted it would help. But the idea of water suddenly put an idea in her head… it would be risky, very risky, but it might just be the only chance they had to finish this quickly….

"Nutty, I need you to shock me," Sahara said, boldly getting to her feet and staring towards the rocks, hoping this plan would work.

Outside, the Slayers were roaring with laughter and becoming a bit giddy with glee. After the death of The General, they had laid low for a few days, trying to work out a revenge strategy. They heard the news of the Mt Coronet incident and realised that the Dex Holders, namely Vanessa, must have been involved. They headed towards Hearthome City, where they encountered Emerson once again. He helped them set up a plan, the teenage boy just as willing to kill Vanessa off as they were. Vanessa had quite easily fallen into it, and quite soon she would be blown to smithereens.

"I cannot wait until we hear the boom," Armstrong, current ring leader until an official vote was taken in a few days time, said maliciously as he stared towards the rocks. Emerson simply nodded, too focused on the eventual outcome to bother speaking. Motorbike headlights were filling the dimly lit tunnel, providing a perfect spotlight for them when the rocks would finally came crashing down in front of them. But as they stood there, several dozen of them, all laughing and jeering, they watched the rocks vibrate suddenly, enough force to jut a few smaller rocks out and cause dust to trickle down.

"What is that?" Emerson said anxiously.

"It is probably just that Onix trying to knock the wall down," Armstrong replied, showing little care at the possible flaw in their plans. "The wall will hold up until the bomb explodes, don't worry about it!"

"I am worrying," Emerson snapped, turning towards the older man. "I thought we'd be torturing them or something, not locking that bitch up and blowing her to pieces! I agreed to help to get a show and get some proper revenge, not cowardly hide behind some rocks and let a little box do all the work!" Armstrong turned to Emerson and pulled a long knife out of his pocket that managed to shine in the tunnel's dimness. He held it threateningly up to Emerson's face, and opened his mouth to say something, when there was a sudden explosion. The cave wall they had created was blown to pieces, an orange cloud blasting through the rock and sending the closest motorbikes, and their riders, spinning back into the darkness of the cave. Emerson and Armstrong smashed against the opposite wall, the knife cutting across the bridge of Emerson's nose. They had barely slumped to the floor unconscious, their last thoughts wondering why the bomb had exploded so close to the entrance, when figures stirred in the dust rising up from the entrance.

"Such silly little boys," Crystal laughed as she walked over the limp body of one of the gang members. "Such attractive boys, yes, but still very silly to be so close to an exploding bomb." Nutty and Smash simply growled as the Onix moved out of the cave, Hammer placing the still unconscious Vanessa on his back. Crystal stared around at the destruction she had caused by redirecting the bomb's shockwave directly to the blocked off entrance: many of the bikes lights had been smashed out, and most of the bikers lay slumped over rock or machine, the ones still conscious trying fearfully to move away.

"I would like to exercise the body a bit more," Crystal said in a high pitched laugh that caused Nutty to roll her eyes, "but as Sahara did let me come out, I think I won't push my luck for now and do my job then, shall I?" Nutty and Smash nodded, and Crystal smiled as he hands turned a shining pink. "Hang onto your ginger tarts," she said, laughing once more, and smashed her palms into the ground. The entire ground turned a glowing pink and seemed to jitter slightly, similar to how Mt Coronet had practically turned to jelly several days ago. Crystal smiled warmly and smashed her hands once again: the ground shook violently, moving in a way not normally possible. The entire Slayers gang was sent flying aside, and Smash began to glide across the rippling surface as well. Nutty leapt onto his tail, and his tail wrapped around Crystal who was laughing with glee at what she had just done. The force was enough to cause her eyes to turn pink, the telekinetic being pulled away for the time being.

Once Sahara's eyes returned to normal, she collapsed sideways on Smash, and the ground came to a steady stop. Smash jolted forwards, causing everyone onboard him to fall and pile onto the ground. Nutty let out a groan while Hammer simply put himself into a more comfortable position, continuing to meditate. Sahara and Vanessa groaned and began to stir, rubbing their heads and other body parts as they began to get up.

"Where are we, what happened?" Vanessa moaned, and than looked down. "Damnit, I'm still wearing this. If its after midnight, someone's going to have hell to pay!" She said threateningly, and Sahara forced a smile as she leant up against Smash.

"You've got a few minutes, don't worry," she said, checking her Poketch, and Vanessa sighed with relief. "And in answer to your prior questions, I believe some people kidnapped us and locked us in a cave and were going to blow us up."

"I remember now – it was those fucking Slayers and Emerson!" Vanessa hissed as she unzipped her dress and discarded it in the tunnel. "Did they get blown up in the explosion?"

"No idea, Crystal was out, and –," Sahara began, but Vanessa made an 'ah' sound and nodded.

"That was convenient, good timing on her part, for once," she chuckled, pulling a plain white blanket out and wrapping it around herself. "So she got rid of them for us? How nice of her! I would love to stay and chat and tell you about what you got up to today, because that sounds very interesting, but I have a splitting headache and feel like having an early night so we can find a way out in the morning."

"Sounds like a plan," Sahara said with a smile, and slipped her clothes off out under her coat and pulled her sleeping bag and pillow out. Vanessa nodded and nestled up next to Smash, and seemed to fall asleep almost instantly, a skill she was quite capable of. Sahara pulled Nutty in close, and Smash wrapped her up closer to him and Hammer, who seemed to ignore them. Sahara began to fall back to sleep herself, but couldn't help but wonder why Vanessa had been so quick to presume Crystal had come out, and why Sahara had been so quick to play along…

February 3rd 2010

Dawn was fast approaching the Sinnoh Region. The moon was creeping back to the horizon, drawing out the inky navy colour from the sky. Shining oranges, yellows and ambers glowing from the east as the sun began the process of rising into the sky, dim light being brought with the beautiful arrangement of colours. Nocturnal Pokemon were returning to their homes, whilst other Pokemon were beginning to rise, ready for a fresh day where many of them wondered if they would be captured.

On the hills above Solaceon Town, a place that barely awoke until around midday, a teenage girl sat staring at the sunrise, resting upon a smooth rock. There was a glazed look in her grey eyes, only a hint of yellow left in them. Her once bronze skin was now a strange shade of grey that made her seem much older than fourteen, and her long brown dress had since faded to a similar colour, much of the fabric badly damaged and almost transparent.

Teenage was the operative word to describe this girl's age: technically, she was over 2000 years old. And dead.

Charlotte Vile sighed as she watched the sky lighten up above her, a flower floating in front of her, the petals slowly being picked away by invisible fingers. She had been resting when the voice of the being that killed her whispered around her, summoning her to the usual spot. Charlotte had enjoyed a peaceful period since the last ordeal she'd gone through, and hoped that this order wouldn't be the start of anything too time consuming.

The top of the sun suddenly peaked over the hilly mountains behind, sending golden light shining through. The light fell upon Charlotte, and she shut her eyes, bracing as there was a dazzling flash and a soft thud behind her. This was invisible to the naked eye, Charlotte the only thing, living or dead, that could see this.

"You know, some people just use this thing called a telephone now days," Charlotte grumbled as the flower burst into the flame, a soft wind scattering the burning petals into the sky. She turned around the rock to face her master, but found that, as usual, he was hidden away in the shadows of the trees. "What do you want this time?"

"I have another job for you," a voice said: it was very masculine, but sounded more powerful and intimidating than a normal male voice, yet retaining a hint of grace and kindness.

"Oh surprise surprise!" Charlotte groaned. "When was the last time you called me up just so we could go dancing? What happened to you man, you use to be cool!"

"I don't have time for your silly jokes," the voice boomed.

"_I_don't have time to be running around being your little bitch!" Charlotte snapped back.

"Your dead."

"That's doesn't mean I don't do anything! If I don't scare all those mournful little humans, who will?" Charlotte retorted, smiling widely. The thing the voice belonged to sighed, sending a cold rush throughout the area.

"The team that has been causing trouble in Sinnoh, you know of them?" He asked, ignoring Charlotte's humour, and the ghost nodded back. "They are currently trying to attract all the Dark and Ghost Pokemon towards the Lost Tower, hoping to bring Spiritomb out, and are also trying to raise the dead Pokemon. Some people are going to try and stop them, but I want you to be on hand to help out if necessary. And, while your there, would you mind trying to make it easier for a Dex Holder to escape from the Distortion World?"

"Do I really have any choice?" Charlotte sighed, turning and staring towards the tallest building in the area. "It does seem like a lot of hard work, really… what exactly is in this for me?" She asked, floating along the grass, wondering about the voice's plans.

"Charles will be there." In a flash Charlotte's mood changed: her pale lips turned from a slight scowl to a wide beam, and her dead eyes nearly glinted in happiness as she came to a halt in floating.

"Charles.. the hot one, from Johto?" She said happily, twirling her hair around. "I would've liked it if he'd accepted that Declan boy's advances… such a handsome pair they would've made… wait, that little Lyla whore isn't going to be there?" Charlotte asked, suddenly turning vicious. The voice simply said 'No' and Charlotte lit up again. "I think I'll be able to spare some time in my busy schedule… I haven't had any decent eye candy for a while. Just don't bother me for a few weeks after this though, alright?"

"Agreed," the voice said, and Charlotte smiled warmly, floating back towards the edge of the hill, only a few metres away from her rock.

"I shall do my best to honour you, oh Great Voice of the Trees!" She said, giving the voice a one fingered salute that made it scowl. She turned around laughing, and poised to jump over the edge. "Fuck ya later," Charlotte called, and fell down the hillside, exploding into a shower of dust a few metres down. The voice waited for her to go, and sighed as his body began to glow a dazzling gold, illuminating a giant horse shaped silhouette across the slowly lightening hillside.

"I really need to stop trusting her," the creator of the universe growled as he disappeared into the sunlight. As the golden ball of fire in the sky moved higher into the sky, casting more light and changing the inky sky to a magnificent blue, all traces of the conversation had disappeared. No one would have thought that the one being that existed on this planet that could truly help save it had just been there, along with the god that had killed her so many centuries before.

Xavier had no idea where he was.

As his eyes began to open, all he could feel was coldness, a chilling feeling that seemed to coat his entire skin and move with his blood as it flowed through his body. Xavier tried to listen to many noises that sounded around him: it mostly sounded like a lot of wind was coming past, but he couldn't feel anything pressing against his skin, and knew that whatever was causing this coldness, it wasn't going to be win.

From the last thing Xavier could remember, he had fallen into a dark hole, into a realm of darkness that Jaki had opened up, and he had so easily being manipulated into entering. Xavier didn't know if there was a name or location for this place, but he knew it had something to do with his mother… had he possibly entered the Underworld from the stories he had read as a child? Was this some demonic dimension where the dead went, and now Xavier was a part of this world?

"Drifblim Blim!" Xavier turned around at this new voice, though he still lay on the ground, and saw a Pokemon floating next to him: a large purple Drifblim, smiling warmly down at him as his bag rested in the curved bits that served as arms.

"Drifloon, you evolved, congratulations," Xavier said giving her a pat on the side, and Drifblim smiled warmly back at him. She lowered down and scooped Xavier off the ground, lifting him steadily onto his feet. Xavier nodded respectfully at her, but was unable to look away at the sight that behold him as he looked around.

It literally seemed like a demonic dimension: darkness and blackness swirled around Xavier, as if the sky and wind had just been dyed a horrific colour. There didn't seem to be any sun or moon, yet it was glowing as brightly as the middle of summers day. But was what was strangest was the ground Xavier was standing on: it was hard brown rock, yet it was only about the width of an average footpath, and than there was nothingness on either side. Xavier walked to the edge and stared down, not knowing if this world he had entered even had a bottom or if he would simply fall for all eternity. He did notice there were more sections of rocky land of varying sizes down below, along with some sections of rippling water and whole forests of trees, all in ground that seemed unconnected and floating in the mid air.

"Drifblim, do you have any idea what this place is?" Xavier asked curiously, almost as if he was asking what the definition of a word was. Drifblim shook her entire body in response and Xavier nodded, pulling his bag up onto his back. "I would like to wander around and try to find a way out, but I am not sure if that would be possible," Xavier explained, and Drifblim nodded in agreement, twirling around, trying to see any possible exits herself. Xavier walked further forwards, moving towards the edge of the ground he was on. It simply came to a sudden stop, a large gap of nothing between this land and the one on the other side, which had several trees swaying slightly.

"There must be a way of getting around this place," Xavier grumbled. He was more annoyed about the perplexing set up of this world than he was about being in it: the fact there was no clear path or way of occupying it logically was confusing and frustrating him, and Xavier began to forget all about his mother and Jaki as he kicked dirt from the ground, hoping for some sort of sign.

There was a sudden rumble, and Xavier and Drifblim looked up: a section of land was moving across from the other section. It was about the size of a floor tile and Xavier wondered how it would possibly be able to hold him up, or how it was possibly moving forwards. But as the moving ground tile came to a shuddering stop in front of him, Xavier was able to realise something: if he remained on this floating lump of earth, there was no way he would be able to find his way out of this realm.

"Come on then Drifblim: onwards seems to be the only way," Xavier said, and he stepped forwards onto the tile. It shuddered and began to move forwards, and Drifblim hovered alongside Xavier as he stared around at the various lumps of earth scattered around the atmosphere, wondering where he was and if an exit was even possible.

At first glance of the Lost Tower, Matthew decided he didn't really want to be heading inside.

The tower was bland and grey, and could easily pass off an average five storey office building that just happened to be located in the middle of a roughly dug pit. The only striking features the tower possessed are its intricately designed pointed roof with that found a giant carved PokeBall and its columned doorway heading into the Pokemon graveyard. There were no windows but gaps to breathe, and it gave off the illusion of getting narrower as it got towards the top, but was otherwise perfectly normal.

It wasn't the boringness of the tower that put Matthew off. It was the sense of coldness and dread he felt as he, Cheryl, Fantina and Bebe walked towards the natural staircase that led down towards the entrance. Matthew could feel his entire body shivering slightly, and was convinced that his heart was beginning to slow in its beats. He had been to graveyards before, but there was something evil about this place, and after fleeing from exploding bridges and burning forests, Matthew had been hoping to go to a less dark and depressing place.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Cheryl asked nervously, and Matthew was glad that someone else was as nervous as he was.

"According to my calculations, this is the place," Bebe replied, and her eyes looked rather wide with worry as well. The previous night, Bebe had explained to them as she drove them out of Hearthome that some sort of signal was influencing the Ghost and Dark types in the Solaceon Town area. It was influencing the local Pokemon Center as well, causing Pokemon to be dragged from the PC System and move without control of their bodies towards a location. Bebe did some complicated technical work, and worked out that the signal was coming from the very top of the Lost Tower, around the triangular roof, and they indeed saw Pokemon moving towards it.

"There is no need to be worried!" Fantina boomed dramatically, her loud voice cutting through the scared silence Matthew, Cheryl and Bebe had created. "I come here all the time to do training with my Pokemon! Lots of people don't like it because they think that ghosts are going to come and gobble them up or something silly like that, but nothing like that has ever happened to me! Besides, the wild Pokemon that roam here respect me, so you shall be fine if you stick with me!"

"We'll be fine until whoever's causing this signal decides to attack us," Cheryl grumbled. "This has Team Galactic written all over it… doesn't it?" She said, turning awkwardly round to Matthew.

"It seems like something they would do. They are always catching Pokemon whenever we are up against them, so I can see them doing something like this to get a few Dark types in their midst," Matthew replied, still staring up at the tower and wondering about the feeling that crawled through his body, leaving him feeling like an emotionless shell. _This__must__be__how__Xavier__feels_Matthew thought, and a smirk crossed his face at his little joke.

"CHERUUUUUB!" A noise erupted from the many bushes that were located nearby, and all of their heads turned around towards the source: a huge Mightyena suddenly bounced from the bushes, eyes glinting madly and mouth open wide to reveal sharp, shiny teeth. Cheryl and Bebe screamed as the Dark type bounded forwards, leaping down the stairs and towards the entrance.

"Bloody hell!" Cheryl gasped, clutching her chest and breathing deeply.

"That Mightyena couldn't have made that noise," Matthew said seriously, staring back towards the bushes. There was a slight rustling of leaves, and the other three looked around a tiny Pokemon came scuttling out: it looked like a large pink berry had sprouted legs and was trying to run from something, though the leaf on its head looked rather limp.

"Poor thing!" Matthew cried and rushed towards it, pulling his PokeDex out as he ran. The Pokemon stopped scuttling as he approached, looking up at him with big tear filled eyes. "It's a Cherubi. It must have been trampled by that Mightyena," Matthew explained in a sad voice, scooping the crying Cherubi up into his arms. It looked at him with its huge eyes that were swimming with tears, and he felt even more sadness rise up in him. "Are you alright?"

"Rubi Cheru," the Cherubi replied, looking even sadder as Cheryl came rushing forwards with a Super Potion, beginning to carefully spray it onto the bent leaves.

"You'll be fine, Cheryl won't hurt you," Matthew told the Cherubi softly, and it nodded, still looking very sad and trembling slightly, looking up at the two faces high above. Matthew smiled warmly at her and rubbed its soft pink skin gently, and the Cherubi began to relax slightly. Cheryl gave Matthew a pat on the shoulder and smiled at him, and the teenage boy smiled back, feeling slightly warmer at her kindness.

"We do need to get going!" Fantina called out. "We can stop more innocent Pokemon being hurt if we get inside and put a stop to this!"

"Right, of course!" Matthew said. "We can't leave this little sweetie though… do you want to come with us for the time being, and than we can cure you once we've done this little task?" The Cherubi seemed to think for a moment and then nodded, still looking a bit shaky and sad but managing to relax now.

"We can take turns holding her," Cheryl said, and Matthew nodded as they walked back towards the stairs, Fantina and Bebe waiting at the bottom. Bebe's machine was bleeping, and a 3D analysis on it showed a signal to be coming from the very top of the tower.

"We're going to have to climb, just so you know," the technician told them nervously. "Make sure we stick together, have our PokeBalls ready and try not to disturb anything!"

"The ghosts will lead us towards them and provide us with protection," Fantina said, and she took the first step forwards towards the entrance. Coldness was seeping back through Matthew, but he had promised Bebe that he would help her, and he wanted to prove himself in front of Fantina, a great coordinating legend, and to get close to Cheryl, who he wanted to clear the air officially with.

"Let's get this over with," he said, and followed after, a shuddering Bebe and deeply breathing Cheryl on either side. The Cherubi buried its head into Matthew's chest and quivered, and Matthew couldn't help but feel like turning around and hiding himself, not knowing what horrors this Pokemon graveyard might hold for them.

Charles didn't think he had seen so many Pokemon crammed into one room in his entire life. And after this experience, he didn't want to suffer through it again.

Arriving in the early hours of the morning alongside Roshonda and Addison, Charles found himself entering what appeared to be Draco's own private Dark and Ghost type zoo. A large metallic black antennae sat upon what appeared to be a computer hard drive, and Draco had been transmitting the signal for over twenty four hours in order to tap into the minds of these two types of Pokemon, drawing them towards the tower and towards large cages that were waiting for them.

It was quite pitiful watching furious Mightyena, howling Gastly and Haunter, glaring Misdreavus and Mismagius, squawking Murkrow and Honchkrow, Crawdaunt, Cacturne, Umbreon, Shuppet, Dusknoir, around thirty different species of Pokemon fighting against the specially designed cells that prevented them from biting or phasing their way out. The cages took up most of the space on the top floor, the rest being taken up by some of the more extravagant Pokemon graves Charles had ever seen, including what looked like a mausoleum made of marble with a single Goldeen buried inside.

"Some of this stuff is really…," Charles had begun saying when they walked in.

"Over the top, snobby rich people bullshit?" Roshonda had finished for him, and Charles and Addison sniggered as they gathered near Draco. The Pokemon Poacher and Grunt Trainer had been busy adjusting all of the cages to get them in the right position. He seemed a bit more on edge than normal, and looked startled to see the three grunts had been teleported to him already.

"Do you have the book?" Draco asked quickly, rushing forwards and beginning to pat the grunts repeatedly, as if the spell book would suddenly leap from their clothes. Charles reluctantly pulled the thick, dark spell book out of a bag that Charon had given him, staring down at the purely evil object in his hands as he passed it over. He knew the power that the book held within its pages, and knew that in the wrong hands, it could go down very badly. And as Draco snatched it away like a toddler grabbing candy, Charles knew that its current owners weren't best suited to the job.

"Excellent!" Draco hissed, cradling the book like a newborn baby for a few moments before softly placing it next to the transmitter. "We will only need it at the end of this little mission. We stay here until a certain Pokemon arrives that Cyrus thinks would be very handy when on our side. For the time being, just guard the cages and the hostages I snatched up upon my arrival, and when a Pokemon arrives put it in a cage, alright?" The three grunts nodded, and Draco sent them off to work.

It had been several hours since then, though Charles had lost count in the severe boredom he was suffering under this job. Elle was out to keep him company as they sat down on a gold plated gravestone for someone's Machop that had died decades ago. Charles was hoping for something exciting to happen soon, but whenever a Pokemon arrived, the latest being a Mightyena, Roshonda would leap forwards and put them into a cage with help from her Nidoqueen.

"Eva Eevee Eve," Elle sighed, yawning and stretching out on the dirty floor and giving Charles a moody look.

"Hey, I'm bored as well!" Charles said, giving her a wide eyed glare. "Let's just wait it out and see what happens when this other Pokemon arrives, alright?" Elle simply grumbled and curled up into a ball, her tail beating the ground furiously.

"If your bored, how do you think we feel!" An angry voice boomed from the corner of the room, and Charles and Elle glanced towards the three hostages that Draco had captured as they mourned the loss of a loved Pokemon. Charles only knew that the parents were called Jim and Carol and their teenaged son was Brody, but hadn't bothered to try and make conversation with them. They screamed of being rich though, with Carol wearing an elegant green dress and Jim in a flash three piece suit that seemed rather unnecessary to mourn a dead Pokemon. Carol had been whimpering for most of the time Charles had been there, and Jim was constantly shouting angrily at the grunts, but Brody simply sat there looking moody and reluctant, glancing constantly towards Addison and her pulled up Galactic skirt that Charles was sure to be on the boy's mind.

"You people are disgusting!" Jim yelled furiously, fighting against the chains that tied him and his family to a gravestone. "When I get out of here, I am calling the police and going to report every last one of you! You will be hunted down and thrown in jail for the rest of your lives, you miserable little punks!"

"SHUT UP!" Addison roared, and she grabbed one of the machine guns that Draco had in his supplies. Jim stopped talking as the weapon was pointed directly in his face, and Carol burst into more tears at the sight of it. "Keep your voice down or I will give your wife some lovely crimson make up, got it?" Jim nodded, shaking slightly as he stared down at the deadly device, and Addison smiled and curtseyed down at them. She strolled off with a scowl on her face, and Charles definitely caught Brody's eyes following after her.

"I think you may have an admirer," Charles said as Addison came by, and she flipped her long hair around as she turned, catching Brody as he turned awkwardly away. Addison shrugged and sat down next to Charles, Roshonda walking over to join them.

"He can stare as much as he wants, I am not a fan of rich little boys who have probably taken a lot of money from their parents," she said, tossing her machine gun asides as Persian leapt over another gravestone to join them. Elle saw the sharp clawed beast and quickly hurried away next to Charles.

"What do you have against rich people?" Roshonda asked, and Addison simply shook her head, her long beautiful hair shaking with it.

"Oh, it is a long story, one that I would gladly tell," she said, glancing towards Charles, "if only someone else wished to divulge a few of their own stories." Charles sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I've told you before, I'm not going to talk about my life in Johto!" He growled, glancing away to avoid the glare of the two women. "It would be too long of a story anyway, and I don't really want to talk about…," but Charles suddenly stopped mid sentence, staring in shock towards another mausoleum only a few feet away, and seeing the two familiar faces that were smiling back at him.

One was an elderly man, sitting cross legged with a warm smile on his face. Charles had not figured out where he recognised him from yet, but knew it was the same man who had spoken to him twice at the Sandgem Pokemon Center. There was no Pokemon by his side this time, but only something that was a lot more terrifying: a smiling teenage girl, waving her right hand slowly and giving Charles a seductive look, her legs apart and her left hand running slowly up her side. Charles shivered in repulsion and felt Elle move around his legs, but by the time she had gotten up to examine things, Charlotte was silently laughing and dragging the old man backwards into the mausoleum.

"What is up with you?" Roshonda asked, walking into Charles' line of vision and staring towards the spot. "You look like you've seen a ghost or something!" Charles simply nodded, too in shock by what he had just seen to make any noise. Though Roshonda and Addison kept asking questions, he tuned them out and stared down at Elle, who knew what he would have seen, and was just as horrified as he was.

It wasn't just a ghost he had seen… it was the creature of Charles' nightmares, and he knew Charlotte wasn't here to make things easy.

The Underground was always a relatively quiet place, yet it still felt very eerie walking through the dirty passages in silence. Sahara, Vanessa, Nutty and Monferno walked together in a row, Nutty and Monferno providing extra light for their trainers through the occasional spark and Monferno's constant tail flame. Strange shadows were cast against the roughly dug walls, and Sahara kept thinking they were Pokemon lurking in the shadows, waiting for them to pass by. Noises sound off in distant tunnels, passages and caves, and Sahara tried her best to keep to a brisk pace.

They had been walking for over an hour, trying to find someway of exiting or someone to help them out, but the tunnels were deserted and there were no handy green EXIT signs glowing down in the darkness. They both knew it would be hard work, Vanessa due to some pass travels here and Sahara due to her family's history in this place, and were not looking forward to the walk. The only things they could see clearly were jewels and objects glinting away in the walls, and Vanessa, dressed today in an all black ensemble of leather jacket, denim mini skirt, high heels and gloves, kept pausing to grab a few of the looser objects from the dirt, but didn't have the appropriate tools and was afraid of attacking the walls with her weapons in case a cave in was caused.

The two walked in silence, Vanessa wanting to focus on any sounds that occurred around them, which Sahara was willing to agree to. They seemed to have decided to leave their kidnapping by the Slayers behind them, presuming they had been killed by the explosion, sent away by Crystal or simply fled. Sahara still hadn't mentioned how she had allowed Crystal to come out, and decided that it was best to let Vanessa think what she thought and not risk receiving any lectures or judgement for not controlling the personalities. Vanessa had mentioned about Jaki and Xavier, and Sahara struggled to think about where Jaki had sent her friend, if he survived and what else Jaki might have done during her brief outburst.

"Stop," Vanessa suddenly said, and Sahara came to a quick halt, the sudden stop sending all thoughts of her personalities out of her head. "Can you hear that?" Vanessa whispered as she reached for her umbrella.

"I can't hear any – wait," Sahara said, and she focused upon a sound coming from the nearest tunnel: it was loud and noisy, and sounding as though a lot of people were talking.

"Think its more Slayers?" Vanessa hissed, grabbing her umbrella firmly as Monferno raised his fists.

"No, I don't think so," Sahara said, taking a step forwards. "It sounds similar to a market I use to go to when I was younger. Maybe there is some sort of under ground black market going on down here?"

"Interesting," Vanessa said, letting her umbrella fall to her side and the two girls stepped forwards and glanced around. A lot of light was shining from halfway down the tunnel, and a lot of people seemed to be moving around what looked like tables and displays: something was definitely going on. "Looks market like to me. Want to check it out? We can probably find a way out."

"Hopefully," Sahara said, picking Nutty up and leading the way down. Vanessa and Monferno followed a few steps behind, and the two ventured down towards the crowd and noise. The closer the got, the louder and brighter things became, and Sahara turned back and beamed at Vanessa as she clasped her hand, who clasped Monferno's hand in return, and they dived excitedly into the mass of people.

The stalls and people were all very different as they squeezed between people and glanced over heads and between bodies. Most of the stalls seemed to be selling rare objects found in the underground to a variety of people: people covered in dirt and wearing tatty clothes, wide eyed collectors reaching out to try and grab the jewels, bushy beard mountain men with big stomachs and even bigger packs, and a few normal looking people just interested in grabbing the objects.

More stalls began to venture off fossils and multi coloured shards and towards slightly more normal things: gigantic books that looked more like leather bound bricks, bags of special "Underground Manure" with a picture of a smiling Sandshrew next to a pile of dirt, a strange array of necklaces and bracelets that were attracting people with long hair, long robes and a smell that Vanessa told Sahara to not question if she knew what was good for her.

"This place is really quite amazing!" Sahara called out over the noise from the around two hundred people crammed into this one tunnel, and Vanessa nodded, not bothering to shout back a response over the noise. Beautiful and repulsive smells mixed together in the air, and Sahara was constantly turning around, staring from a rack of clothes to a table laid out with second hand junk, wondering where to stop and start shopping.

"Pachi Pach Ri Ri!" Nutty suddenly called out, and Sahara spun around as she felt her Pachirisu leap away, not quite sure where she had gone too. There was a white blur over the head of a tall woman with pink hair, and Sahara quickly squeezed through.

"Why did she come here?" Vanessa asked, thumping up against Sahara as they pushed between people. There were shouts as Monferno angrily pushed his way through, shaking his fist grumpily at the people standing packed together, and Vanessa patted him on the head. Sahara, however, was focused at the table Nutty had landed on and the variety of objects on display: from jewels to bone, indistinguishable knick knacks to tightly wrapped parcels, there was a lot of things here, but Nutty seemed to be focused on something else entirely. It was an egg, pink with white stripes, the bright colours being the thing to attract Nutty over.

"Pokemon Egg?" Vanessa asked, and the hiker who manned the stall nodded.

"I got it from a nurse, said it had been left behind by a Chansey that moved to another center," the dirt covered man explained. "She traded it for some rare Hoenn medicine, but none of the lot down here are interested in Pokemon – your Monferno and Pachirisu are probably the closest they've seen to one in months!" The hiker laughed, and passed several cookies that looked like they should be orange but had been burnt to Nutty and Monferno. Nutty nibbled on hers but shivered and spat it out.

"Nutty!" Sahara gasped, and Vanessa laughed. Monferno sniffed his curiously, eyeing at Nutty, but shoved the entire thing in and swallowed it, his face lighting up.

"Mon Mon Fer Fer Mon!" Monferno said excitedly and grabbed more of the cookies, making the hiker laugh but caused Vanessa to groan and she reached into her pocket for some money.

"Oh, it's fine honey!" The hiker said, shaking his hands. "It's only a cookie, I can always make more! I usually offer those to some of the folks around here, but that is probably why no one comes round anymore – they all had the same reaction as this Pachirisu!" Sahara and Vanessa laughed as Monferno grabbed some more and Nutty pressed her ear against the egg, clearly wondering if anything was inside.

"It looks like Nutty really wants the egg," Sahara said with a slight smirk, and examined the card placed next to it. "Ten thousand dollars! There is no way I can afford to buy this… sorry Nutty, maybe we can find something else for you to play with that isn't so pricey," Sahara said apologetically. Nutty moved away from the egg looking sadly at it, and Sahara felt a pang in her heart at the expression on her face. "Don't worry, there must be something here I can afford!"

"I highly doubt it!" Vanessa scoffed, causing the hiker to scowl slightly. "All these things are priced well in the ten thousands! That's probably what's driving customers away when they can get a lot of this stuff for half the price."

"BAH!" The hiker growled, taking the plate of cookies away from Monferno, who growled slightly. "Their stuff is all fake! I have dug and searched for all my things and traded to get these rare items! A Happiny or Chansey egg is usually priced double what I am offering it for, you should be grateful!"

"How is this rare and valuable?" Vanessa asked indignantly, grabbing a large rock off the table. It was looked heavy and very old, with a large dark crack down the middle with several different shaped holes alongside it. The hiker made an 'aah' sound and snatched the rock away from Vanessa, holding it up to view properly.

"Now this… this actually has a story to it! I found it in the deepest, darkest parts of these tunnels, using only a torch to see and my last, nearly broken pick axe," the hiker explained. "It was locked away inside a chest, and I knew from the ornate gold that is was something valuable! I had to use dynamite to blow it apart, and was a bit disappointed to find this rock. However, an archaeologist and scientist, Hansom someone, said it was a very rare object that he was looking for and demanded it. Of course, I won't just hand something 'very rare' over! I demanded a price which he refused, and still refuses to this day whenever we encounter each through these many tunnels!"

"This thing, rare? … Seriously?" Vanessa scoffed, putting the rock back down onto the table. "It was probably just some random religious object from centuries ago that some mindless moron accidentally buried. Who on earth is going to pay for that?"

"Oh, I think I'll be able to spare some change for it," a cold, almost metallic voice whispered behind. Sahara and Vanessa slowly turned around to face who was talking, and Sahara quickly seized up as Vanessa took a step backwards in shock. The silk suited man talking to them laughed at their reaction, but his face didn't show it: his smile was permanently fixed on his pale face, as were his squinting eyes, though nothing was behind his eyelids or within his mouth. Nutty took a leap backwards away from the masked man, and Monferno raised his fists, ready to fight if need be.

"Who are you exactly?" Sahara asked timidly, watching as Vanessa's hand crept towards her umbrella in her bag. The masked man looked down at Sahara, still smiling and squinting, and began to answer in his chilling voice.

"My name is Masquerade, and I would prefer it if you didn't attack me Vanessa, I would like to get the Odd Keystone and go."

"What do you think is the strangest part of this world?"

"Drif… Blim Drif Drif Blim."

"Really? Interesting… I think that the fact that this place seems so lonely is stranger than the colour of the sky and the set up of the sky."

"Blim Blim?"

"Well Drifblim, what is the point of this place? There has to be a reason why it has been created, but no one seems to live here. No houses, no roads, no signs or any order or structure. Something must be behind its creation, but why?"

Xavier's Poketch wasn't working, so he had no exact idea of the length of their travel. He had a feeling time was different here, along with everything else, and he could have walked for five minutes or five hours, no sun or moon to help map their path. Xavier based their process on distance instrad: they had walked past several forests, a number of varying sized ponds and a river of almost ghostly water that flowed from nowhere to nothing. Xavier had on walked on a dozen more moving bits of land, travelling up, down and 360 degrees sideways. Drifblim remained by him, the only companion in the lonely world, trying to help find an exit. But without any maps or signs, Xavier felt hopelessly lost and more confused than he had been in a while.

"It is a mystery Drifblim," Xavier continued. "Jaki must know what is here, otherwise she wouldn't have sent me here. And my mother… what does she have to do with this?" Drifblim simply nodded, not sure what else to say or do. Xavier continued walking in silence, thinking, another tree rising up alongside, another lonely thing in this world.

"Blim!" Drifblim suddenly hissed. Xavier came to a halt, wondering why she had stopped, and then heard it: a rustling, coming from within the branches of the trees. It was an unnatural movement, causing several leaves to fall to the ground, dying as they did so.

"Something is there," Xavier said, and Drifblim nodded, floating a few feet forwards as Xavier took several steps, the rustling of the tree getting more frequent and more erratic. Xavier should have been afraid, but he wanted to see what managed to exist and survive in this strange world, and if they could give a way out.

"YAAAAH!" A cry erupted from the tree that made Drifblim squeal, and Xavier watched as figures leapt forwards and landed in front of them. For a moment, Xavier thought they were human, but he quickly noticed the fact they were transparent, flickering from normally coloured to pearly white and grey. There were three figures in total, their dead faces angry and scowling, clear wounds across their body.

"They are wearing the same clothes and wigs," Xavier said as what he presumed to be ghosts advanced forwards. "They are the same clothes as the Galactic Grunts."

"Exactly android!" The lead one hissed, their voice high pitched and echoing before it left their mouth, making it hard to tell if this was a male or female. "You can't really call these clothes though, just the things we were murdered in that we are stuck wearing, thanks to that bitch ginger friend of yours!" The other two figures let out growls that sounded purely demonic, and Drifblim moved closer to Xavier, who was keeping calm.

"What exactly do you want from us?"

"Revenge!" The lead one roared, and the others cheered viciously. "In the name of Cyrus and the Galactic mission, it is time for you to die!" And with another roar, the three figures began to move forwards, their feet not touching the ground.

"Ominous Wind," Xavier quickly ordered, moving backwards, and the grunts stopped in their paths, their scowls turning to smirks as they looked at each other.

"Didn't you hear us – we're going to kill you! This isn't some silly Pokemon battle, you stupid little freak!" One of the other grunts snarled to the other's amusement.

"Your attempts to offend me won't work," Xavier retorted, "and neither will trying to kill me. You are disembodied spirits, after all." The grunts let out animalistic snarls and charged forwards once more, looking angrier than before.

"Blim Blim!" Drifblim squealed nervously, but managed to fire the dark wind. The three ghosts were blasted backwards, their spiritual bodies morphing together, unable to stop themselves from spiralling away from the landmass.

"Good job, I remembered Ghost is effective against itself," Xavier said, and Drifblim managed a smile. "We should move before they return. Interesting to see this world's role though, but I imagine there are even more spirits waiting for us." He began to move, wishing to get away from this mass before the ghosts returned. But Xavier had barely stepped forwards when swirling noises sounded on all sides, and Drifblim came in close as more figures materialized around them, walking forwards out of nothing. The similarities in outfits and fatal, cut upon wounds made it obvious more grunts had appeared, and none of them looked particularly happy.

"I really must talk to Vanessa about her murderous tendencies," Xavier sighed, watching as five more ghosts appeared. "I wonder if this is meant to be Hell… navigation is certainly a pain…"

"We must kill you now," one of the grunts screeched. "In the name of Cyrus and the Galactic mission, you die today!" Xavier nodded, looking towards Drifblim as he edged towards her. Drifblim nodded back slightly as Xavier grasped onto her, just as the grunts moved forwards in a blur of shouts and flailing bodies.

"NOW!" Xavier exclaimed, and Drifblim lifted upwards. The ghosts smashed into each other and exploded into particles, but the last few recovered in time to see Xavier being carried off above them. They launched themselves upwards, ready to give chase.

"Come on Drifblim, we can dodge them," Xavier commanded, holding on tight as Drifblim squealed in responded and curved down, avoiding the grunts and swerving around a waterfall that was possibly just a gravity defying river. Xavier could see the ghosts chasing after in the air, and held on as Drifblim plummeted quickly through the darkness to avoid them. They rocketed past more mounds of earth, flew past more moving sections and alongside rivers and waterfalls, and narrowly missed a tree. With her fast movements and quick dodging built up from battles, the grunts were soon left in Drifblim's dust, but Xavier could see the mass of translucent grey was getting bigger, more deceased grunts joining the chase.

"We need to find a place to hide," Xavier shouted as he turned back around, but was taken aback to see the largest mound of earth, about the size of a sports field, had appeared in front of them. Drifblim was trying to swerve out of the way, but was going to fast and was spinning out of control. Xavier clung tightly on as Drifblim sunk like a stone, unable to pull away from the ground that was flying upwards, everything around turned to dark, swirling blurs. Drifblim tried to lessen their speed, but with Xavier weighing her down and the speed they were hurtling at, it was practically impossible.

The ground rose up, and the force was enough to tear trainer and Pokemon apart. Drifblim, being circular, rolled further away, bouncing a bit as she did so. Xavier rolled several feet, his clothes being torn and his bag whacking against his back, but managed to come to a halt before he rolled over the edge. The eternal darkness that carried on for possibly forever lay in front, and Xavier pushed himself away, not wishing to stare down at how close he had come to being lost in this world forevefr.

"Are you fine Drifblim?" Xavier called out as he stood up, correcting his clothing and bag and turning towards the Balloon Pokemon. Drifblim lay on the ground several metres away, and stirred slightly as Xavier rushed towards her. She didn't seemed to be severely injured, only a bit dirty and sore from the impact, but Xavier didn't want to strain her. "I'm not sure if any of the other Pokemon will be able to survive in this world, so we'll need to find someone to hide." But as Xavier spoke, he glanced around and realised they were sitting ducks: this giant land mass had no trees, water or boulders on it, only him and Drifblim in the middle of nowhere. Drifblim floated up slightly, but she was in no fit state to battle: they were trapped.

"AAARRRGGGHHH!" The ghosts screamed high above, and Xavier could only stare up helplessly as the Galactic grunts got ever closer, moving like a large, vicious, transparent mass of ghostly evil. Drifblim whimpered and nudged up alongside Xavier, and he patted her softly, waiting to see what the ghosts would do to them.

"Back, get back, disgusting vermin!" The voice was high pitched and echoed like all the others, but Xavier seized up as he recognised the tones deep at the back of his mind. A brighter ghost stepped forwards out of nothing and floated between him and the ghosts, long hair and flowing dressing gown sparkling brightly in the dark world. The ghosts suddenly stopped charging, almost merging together as they came to their sudden halt. They looked angrier than they had before, but did not try to advance past this figure.

"This is not over, android!" The head grunt from earlier hissed. "We will get you again, when you don't have mummy for protection!" And in those final words, the ghosts all faded away into nothing. Xavier stood still, staring at their ghostly saviour, unable to believe what was happening but knew it was true.  
"Mother?" Xavier asked. Drifblim gasped, but the figure made no sound, instead falling deadly silent. Slowly, she turned around, and Xavier clung onto Drifblim for support as his mind began to spin around. Aside from a large wound in her neck and her floating, transparent body, Carolina Diamond looked the same as always, and even gave Xavier her usual smile as she stepped forwards.

"Hello honey. I think we need to have a little chat. Shall we walk?" Xavier simply nodded and walked after his mother, towing Drifblim at his side, ready to get answers to the issues that had been fogging his mind since her death, and hoping they would be what he wanted to hear.

"Alright… this should be the second floor, so we only have to climb another… two staircases… joy…"

Matthew and Bebe stepped onto the second floor of the Lost Tower simultaneously. It didn't take Matthew more than a second to see it was the same as the floor below: hundreds and hundreds of boxes containing the ashes of dead Pokemon, stored across the dusty, dirty floor for all eternity, unless their trainer or a relative came to retrieve their PokeBall – sized coffin. Cold, eerie mist hung all around, and stubby candles flickered only slightly in large metal brackets on all sides. There were many windows on either side, but the mist seemed to block all natural light from entering, and the group was relying on their other senses to avoid trampling on or tripping over the many coffins surrounding them.

"Can't we just cause a disturbance and bring Galactic down here?" Matthew groaned as he clutched Cherubi to his chest. The little pink Grass type had stopped getting upset, and was simply watching the proceedings from the comfort of Matthew's arms, occasionally laughing when Matthew or Cheryl pulled a funny face.

"That would be extremely risky," Fantina scolded as she appeared behind, helping to guide Cheryl out of the colder, darker and very poorly maintained staircase. "This building is unstable enough already, and bringing them down here for a confrontation could endanger the safety of this prestigious, iconic structure!"

"Fair enough," Matthew mumbled, but secretly wondered what the point was of protecting such an aged, creepy building in the first place. As Fantina and Cheryl caught up, Bebe pulled out a touch electronic device and tapped away at several buttons, her expression getting grimmer with each touch.

"According to this email the Sinnoh PC Storage System Central Hard drive, the entire system is beginning to glitch. It was just the Dark and Ghost types being drawn out at first, but that breach of defences in spreading. Whatever Galactic has done is close to overriding the entire system and all Pokemon trainers have caught will be released out of their electronic storage," Bebe explained, looking extremely nervous as she put the device away. Matthew, Cheryl and Fantina exchanged shocked looks, and the group briefly stood in silence, dwelling of the importance of their task.

"We need to keep moving then and dismantle their signal!" Cheryl said encouragingly. "If we can destroy it in time, than the damages to the system could be averted in time… right?" Bebe pondered this for a second and then nodded, looking slightly happier.

"The sooner we stop them, the sooner I can get back to the central hard drive and fix things," she said brightly. "All we have to do is get through this floor, than the third and fourth floors and we'll find them on the fifth!"

"As long as the ghosts don't get us on the way," Matthew grumbled as they set off again, him clearly the grumpiest of the group. He was sick of the cold, depressing feeling seeping through his body, and wanted to get out into sunshine and away from Galactic.

"I don't know if the Ghosts are even here at the moment," Fantina said in a concerned voice, spinning around in curiosity but managing to look elegant as she did so. "Maybe they have been scared away, or even worse captured!" The gym leader gasped and took several steps forwards. Bebe called out to her and chased after, not wanting to get lost from the expert on this building. Matthew smiled slightly, but he turned to his left and saw Cheryl standing next to him, smiling rather awkwardly, and he felt his lips curl up as well. They hadn't been alone since the contest, and Matthew remembered how they had nearly had a discussion after he exited the hall. The two had been ready to talk to each other then, but now, in this cold and ghastly environment, things just seemed awkward.

"Um…. how is that egg of yours?" Cheryl asked, breaking the tension.

"The egg! It's fine, very fine, tucked away in my bag nice and safely!" Matthew said brightly, glad to have something to discuss. "You were a brilliant competitor back there, I was honoured to go against you!"

"Thanks," Cheryl said, blushing slightly, "but you were excellent as well! You should have gotten the prize straight away, I don't know what your father – oh…," Cheryl paused, and began to blush in embarrassment. Matthew felt the tension build back up as he stared sadly down at a curious Cherubi: in all the drama, he had nearly forgotten about the shock revelation about his father shortly after he tried to take Matthew's winning title from him. It had been one of the most painful experiences of Matthew's life, and he felt as if he had lost more than he had gained.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think!" Cheryl said. Matthew tried to say it was fine, but Cheryl had already moved forwards and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, giving him a tight but reassuring hug. Matthew felt his heart skip a few beats, and was tempted to hug her back. He did find Cheryl attractive, even if she was a few years older, and had worried for some time if he had screwed their possible friendship up by not telling the whole truth.

"Cheruuuuu!" A voice squealed, and Matthew felt saddened as Cheryl let go, but realised Cherubi must have been getting crushed between the two.

"Sorry there!" Cheryl laughed, and Cherubi simply pulled a pouting face before smiling widely and giggling. Matthew was still taken aback by the hug, and wanted to say something about it when he heard a noise behind him. It sounded like the wind, but Matthew hadn't felt anything other than the mist and quickly turned around.

"Hey there, mind if I get in on that hugging action?" The girl standing behind Matthew said, causing the teenage to cry out and leap backwards. The girl giggled loudly as she stepped forwards, but Matthew and Cheryl collectively took a step backwards. "What's wrong, don't I get some loving either?"

"We don't know who you are!" Cheryl retorted.

"What is wrong with your skin?" Matthew retorted a little less nicely, but the girl's skin did appear to be… transparent. However, the girl simply laughed loudly and moved closer, causing Matthew and Cheryl to move even further backwards and Cherubi buried herself into Matthew's arms.

"Nothing is wrong with my skin, as technically I don't have any," the girl said, and she shoved her hand straight through her chest. She turned onto her side and Cheryl screamed as her right hand waved at them from out of her back, and the girl laughed shrilly. "Oh god I love scaring you lot, and I would gladly keep it up, but I believe we had work to do!"

"Get away from us!" Matthew shouted, half trying to be brave and half in fright, and grabbed Cheryl's hand and tried to flee. But they had barely turned around when the thing they could now see was a ghost dived through their arms, sending a freezing chill that made both Matthew and Cheryl scream and let go of each other.

"I am not going anywhere," the ghost girl growled as she stood in front of them. "I have been sent here to help rescue one of your friends and defeat those Team Galactic people, so you'd better learn some respect Matthew Pearl and Cheryl Sapling if you want to live!" Bebe and Fantina's voices sounded in the distance, calling out to the two, but Matthew and Cheryl simply stood there shaking in fright, not sure what to make out of this ghost girl that knew their names and was half snarling, half smirking at them.

"Why should we trust you?" Matthew asked, looking around for a place to run. The girl smiled and raised her hands high into the air before clapping them together. Cheryl and Cherubi both screamed as a rainbow of flames shot out of each Pokemon grave on the floor, creating bright yet frightening light that rose metres into the air. Matthew ducked to avoid violet and green flames the ghost sent above them and clutched tightly to Cherubi and Cheryl, waiting for this to be over. There was a strange click, and the light disappeared as quickly as it came. Matthew look up slightly, wondering if things were safe, and found the girl right up in his face, the mist visible through her smiling face, and he shivered and she began to hiss into his ear.

"You should trust me because I am a very valuable asset. You should trust me because I have been around a lot longer than anyone else you have ever known or will ever meet. You should trust me because I can do things that your carefully nurtured, politically correct and parentally controlled mind would never be able to think of or program if you saw it. You should trust me, Matthew Pearl, because I know your past and I know your future, and wheter I am use to you today or not, I can assure you I will be useful to you in the future, so it's best if you get on my good side now." The girl laughed as she pulled away and floated upwards, and Matthew and Cheryl continued to shiver as they rose up, unable to process this thing that had just appeared. "By the way, my name is Charlotte, and we'd better be getting a move on if you want to live." Matthew and Cheryl simply exchanged looks of wide eyed terror, but they found their legs moving forwards, and wheter it was their bodies reacting without their minds or Charlotte's magic, they had no choice but to follow the ghost and see where this purely demonic little girl would lead them.

After seeing Charlotte and the strange old man, Charles was even more on edge as they waited on the fifth floor. Several Gastly and Misdreavus had floated in, but there was no sign of the mysterious Spiritomb they were waiting for. In the eerie, tense silence, Charles couldn't help but want to leave, reflecting back on his lat encounters with the ghost girl, and knew her appearance wasn't the sign of anything good to come.

But if Charles was on the edge, than Draco was falling off the cliff at an alarming rate.

The poacher and grunt trainer paced around the floor, mumbling and staring constantly towards the window as if expecting a guest. He kept glaring angrily towards the wealthy family and even at the three grunts, as if it was all their fault that the Pokemon hadn't appeared. Charles didn't like the twitchy, angry look on Draco's face, and was tempted to move the spell book out of his reach to prevent any disasters.

"I am so bored," Addison groaned, kicking her legs against the tomb she was sprawled upon. Charles caught the rich body Brody staring at her thin, smooth legs as they moved and he smiled, glancing back towards Addison to see if she noticed, but her vision was focused entirely on Roshonda. "I know absolutely nothing about you girl!" She said, smiling mischievously, the same way she had in Hearthome when she tried to find out Charles' life story. "So, what's up with you? What brought you to the lovely Team Galactic?" Roshonda looked positively taken aback by this question, and stuttered as she tried to think of something to say. Charles was tempted to tell Addison where to go, but realised he didn't know that much about Roshonda either.

"Well, my parent's could be dead or alive for all I know," Roshonda explained, her usual brash and bold persona going out the window as she began to whisper. "They weren't the best people in the world… I had no choice but to leave, for my own safety. I came across a trio being picked up, and I asked if I could come along, not really knowing what to expect."

"Does Galactic just randomly pick people of the street?" Charles said, failing to hold down a smile, which faded as Roshonda and Addison both shot him angry looks.

"How do you expect us to get so many grunts?" Roshonda retorted angrily. "Cyrus sends people out on missions to get new members when our numbers are going down. I just happened to come across a group getting picked up, and I needed to get away from my family, so I went with them." Roshonda fell silent and glared back at Charles, who simply nodded. He had a feeling she wasn't telling the whole truth, especially as to what drove her away in the first place, but didn't question it.

"What about you?" Roshonda asked Addison, who seemed to be deep in thought as well.

"Me? I met up with a guy, thought he was pretty hot, he asked me to come with him when he went back to his group," she explained. "Sounded a bit like a cult, but I was up for a bit of excitement and came along. Been pretty decent so far. I haven't been killed, which is fine by me," Addison added to hysterical laughter, and Charles and Roshonda could only smile weakly. They had seen so many people die around them that Charles was surprised that they weren't all being sent out to kidnap aggressive children. Looking at Addison's laugh, he could tell there was more to her background as well, and wonder this beautiful girl had to hide in her past. Charles also began to reflect back on his own capture: it had been Cyrus, not some collector, who had come to get him. He had left Sahara behind, only taking Charles back to their base, and Charles could remember waking up on the airship, the faces of the admins hovering above him. Why had he received such special treatment, and now that Charles was thinking about it, why had they left Sahara behind, when he was getting the feeling they knew about her and her personalities.

"Will you lot just stop having a little gossip session!" Draco's roar sounded from the other side of the floor, making Addison and Roshonda jump up and their Pokemon raised their heads from their rests. Elle looked curiously up at Charles, who simply picked her up and watched as Draco came marching over. "You could all be doing something a little more useful! Mind the Pokemon cages, torture the family, clean these bloody floors for all I care! Just do some fucking work!"

"There's nothing to do though," Addison whined. "Can't we just use a spell and make this Spiritomb come here so we can go?" Draco glared down at her, raising his left arm and the wrist contraption respectively. Charles got to his feet, along with a furious looking Persian, and was about to snap at Draco about his anger when a laugh erupted from the corner. All heads, both angry and shocked, turned towards the wealthy family, with Jim the father laughing at the grunts.

"What are you laughing at?" Draco snapped, marching forwards with his contraption pointed towards him. Jim simply smirked, not even as frightened as he was before.

"You people are so clueless I'm surprised you've made it this far," he smirked, and even Charles felt a tad annoyed about this insult. "I've seen all the news stories about what you've done, and I was afraid of your group for a while. But now it just seems that your boss sends a bunch of incompetent teenagers out to fight his battles for him, and doesn't even give them all the facts!" Jim continued to laugh, despite the shocked looks from his family. Draco glared down at him and lashed out, punching him in the face. Carol screamed, but Jim quickly recovered, still smiling despite the blood trickling down his face.

"What are you on about? Tell me or I will kill your wife!" Draco roared.

"I manage a treasure finding business in the Underground. The greatest treasure anyone could possibly find down there is an object called the Odd Keystone. I don't know much about it personally, but everyone knows it is needed to summon Spiritomb," Jim explained, the smile still on his face. Draco's arm fell to his side, and Charles could see confusion running throughout his face. After all this time spent here, finding out that it was all a waste was not going to do well for his mind. Charles exchanged worried looks with Elle, and glanced over to see Roshonda looking shocked and Addison looking furious.

"Well…," Draco said, trying to find the right thing to say, and Charles didn't want to think what he was going to do, "thank you for that information. It looks as if there's no need to keep you now," and he raised his arm up again. Carol screamed as Draco pressed a button, causing his laser-like sword to come out, and Jim's smile faded as Draco rose his arm, ready to swing.

"Oooooh Chaaaaaarlllllessss."

The entire floor froze, all eyes trying to find the source of the high pitched, sing song voice, but after failing to do so, they settled upon Charles. Elle was shivering, her eyes wide with horror, while Charles simply stood perfectly still, hoping it was all fake.

"It's been a loooong time Charlie, but we're back together now," the voice echoed. "Why don't you come downstairs. I have _all_the answers for you!" There was a girlish giggle that caused Charles to shiver, and he glanced around, wondering where Charlotte currently was. Draco, Roshonda and Addison were giving him confused looks, and Charles' face turned red, not wanting to explain what that was.

"Grab these scum," Draco said, pressing a button on his wrist. The cages magically rose up, to the protest of the controlled Pokemon within, and the transmitter floated upwards as well. Roshonda quickly scuttled forwards and undid the chains, dragging the wealthy family to their feet, eyes still focused towards Charles. "I don't know what the hell just happened, but we're going to find out."

"No, we don't have to! It's probably a trap!" Charles protested, but Draco had already grabbed the spell book and was heading for the staircase, his unstable mind focusing together on this one thing. As the cages lined up and magically floated after, Nidoqueen rejoined Roshonda, and Addison smirked over at Charles.

"We are definitely hearing about your past next!" She laughed, and followed in front. Charles looked down at Elle and sighed, but the Eevee simply gave him a look that he had seen too many times before.

"I know, I'm not going to let Charlotte screw them over," he said, his tone clearly unwilling, and followed after the others, wondering what they were getting themselves into.

Vanessa looked down at the rock on the table, and then back at the strange masked man that knew her name. It seemed as if, beneath what plastic surgery costume disaster his face was, he really was smiling at her, taunting her, enjoying her surprise at knowing her name. Vanessa was use to all the strange things happening around her over the past month, but was not relieved to see this tall, frightening stranger telling her he wanted the rock.

"What do you want the rock for?" Vanessa asked, watching as Sahara backed away behind the table with Nutty and the hiker. Monferno stood proudly by her side, fists raised and ready to fight this 'Masquerade.'

"That information isn't for you to know," Masquerade said with a laugh. Vanessa always got annoyed when people patronized her, and she angrily whipped out her umbrella and thrust it up into his face.

"Vanessa!" Sahara gasped, but Vanessa ignored her as she stared up at Masquerade, anger running through her blood and keeping her hand held tightly on her umbrella.

"I have dealt with crap you probably couldn't even dream of!" She hissed. "I have been shot, nearly been blown up numerous times, have been knocked unconscious, and my friends and Pokemon have nearly died multiple times thanks to what I've gone through. Don't think I can't handle it!" Vanessa stopped shouting, and instantly noticed the change in volume around her. The entire market had fallen silent, all the traders and buyers staring towards the hiker's stall, wondering what was going on. A quick glance was enough to notice how every face looked frightened, and Vanessa could tell from who they were staring at it wasn't her.

"I know all you have down, Vanessa Backlot, along with you too Sahara Plattina," Masquerade hissed back, ignoring the fact that everyone in the tunnel seemed terrified by his appearance. Vanessa nearly dropped her umbrella in surprise when the man's head suddenly turned around 180 degrees, a sad version of the mask now in it's place. "I know your Pokemon, your families, your friends, where you've travelled and where your going to travel to next! And I know that you don't need to know the importance of the Odd Keystone, as you will only cause trouble!" Vanessa was tempted to turn the handle and cut of this guy's head, but she was taken aback by the knowledge and power this strange individual seemed to possess. She looked across at Sahara for help, but she was too frightened by Masquerade to help Vanessa in the slightest, and simply held tightly on Nutty. Masquerade smiled down at Vanessa, his head turning sickening around in order to do so, seeming very satisfied at surprising her.

"There is nothing you can do to stop me, Miss Backlot," he said, laughing again, as he pushed the umbrella out of the way. "I'll be taking the Odd Keystone, and I don't expect to hear a word out of any of you." His gloved hand reached out and clasped around the cracked stone, and he was about to lift it up when Vanessa snapped out of her shock, angrily grabbing onto his hand.

"Actually, Mr Masquerade, I think this stone would make a handsome paper weight, so I think _I_ might take it," Vanessa said with a sweet smile, and she brought the umbrella up, whacking it against his elbow and then spinning, ready to drive it into his stomach. There was a blur, and Vanessa suddenly found herself frozen, unable to move. Masquerade's masked smile somehow seemed to get bigger as he clasped tightly onto the umbrella, twisting it slightly in Vanessa's hands.

"You really must learn when to hold your tongue, Vanessa," he hissed through his happy face, and he let go of the umbrella in time to punch her in the face. Pain Vanessa had never experienced before burst through her nose as she was sent flying backwards, multicoloured circles appearing in her eyes as she flew through the air. The crowd screamed and parted as she flew, landing painfully on her back and rolling through the dirt. Vanessa could feel the blood pouring from her nose, the pain erupting around her bridge, and could see more coloured circles in her vision. Vanessa was on the brink of unconsciousness, but one thought was rushing through her mind: she'd seemed to have met a match.

"MOOOOOON!" Monferno screamed, and launched forwards with a flaming Fire Punch. Sahara simply screamed as Masquerade grabbed onto his face before Monferno could even get close and threw him through the fleeing crowd. The fire monkey crashed through three abandoned tables, ending up in a pile of clothes and shattered wood that completely buried him. Masquerade watched as the traders all fled, and turned with his permanent satisfied smile back towards Sahara and the hiker.

"Take it, just take whatever you want!" The hiker yelled, moving backwards, scooping some of his things into a bag. Masquerade nodded appreciatively, and he turned towards Sahara, allowing the hiker a chance to turn and flee towards the end of the tunnel they'd entered from. Sahara clutched tightly onto Nutty, not wanting to get hurt by the masked man leering over her.

"Let that be a lesson for you and your good friend," Masquerade hissed. "Never go up against an opponent you know nothing about, and never try and stand in my way again." As his gloved hand reached out for the Odd Keystone again, Sahara looked over at Vanessa, watching as her body twitched in pain, her umbrella laying discarded a few feet away. Vanessa: always a fighter, always a protector of the rest of them, not someone who deserved to be treated like this. It was time for Sahara to return the favour, rather than everyone always having to protect her from Galactic or herself.

"Hey Masky," she snapped, loosening her grip on Nutty and jerking her head towards the keystone, which was only a few centimetres out of Masquerade's reach as he turned around. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

"PACH!" Nutty squealed, and rocketed forwards. Masquerade was thrown, and went to grab it, but the Pachirisu had already scooped it up and was scuttling along the tables. Sahara clapped in joy, but could quickly see that Masquerade was not happy as his head turned around, back to the sad mask.

"HOW DARE YOU INTERRUPT ME!" He roared. Sahara simply shrugged and threw a Poke and Great Ball into the air. With a burst of red and blue light, Aqua and Hammer were suddenly there on either side of Masquerade, much to his surprise.

"Aqua Jet and Hidden Power!" Sahara yelled. Aqua was quick to shoot forwards coated in water, and had enough force to push Masquerade backwards into another table. Hammer simply sat on the hiker's stand, in a meditating mode, but Sahara was to focused on the battle to care if he got involved or not. Grabbing the pink egg for safety and putting it in her bag, Sahara picked up a handful of rocks and began to throw them at Masquerade.

"Why don't you take these, I'm sure their rare!" She yelled, half laughing, as Nutty and Aqua laughed. "Spark and Ice Fang, bring him down!" Nutty nodded and formed the ball of electricity, quickly releasing it forwards. However, Masquerade moved too quickly, grabbing a nearby table and swinging it with all his might. The Spark caused it be blown in half, but Masquerade used the remaining end to smash it into Aqua.

"FLOAT!" He yelled, flying backwards and crashing into a stall of ancient books.

"You were foolish to fight me, Sahara Plattina!" Masquerade shouted angrily, throwing the more damaged half of the table asides and marching forwards. Sahara looked desperately around for a weapon, needing something for defence, but by the time she noticed some metal from a stand, Masquerade was suddenly upon her. Sahara screamed, but Masquerade's powerful gloved hands enclosed around her neck, and instantly Sahara was silenced as she began to gasp for breath, the hands beginning to crush her throat.

"You and your friends have gotten involved in a foolish war that you can't back of now, even though you have little chance of stopping them from their ultimate goal," the suited man roared. "It would be kinder of me to kill you now, than Vanessa, and then take the Keystone and leave your bodies here to rot than to leave you to Cyrus' devices." Sahara was struggling to breathe, her vision going dark and her head spinning. Her limbs flailed weakly as she tried to force Masquerade away, but his hands were beginning to win. Sahara could feel something burning through her body, like a surge of power, and for one second she nearly blacked out, a strange laughter echoing in her head…

"MEDI!"

"FERNO MON!"

"PACHI PACHI!

The three cries happened simultaneously, and Sahara suddenly found herself gasping in oxygen as Masquerade's hands unleashed her throat. His body was glowing pink, his limbs outstretched, his head spinning constantly, and as Sahara collapsed to the ground, she could see Hammer's eyes were glowing.

"Psychic… thank you…," Sahara gasped, and her Meditite only nodded. There was a sudden screech, and Sahara turned as Nutty fired her Charge Beam against him, causing Masquerade to scream with pain. There was a burst of light to the side, and a giant ball of fire spun out from where Monferno had been, smashing directly into Masquerade's chest. Meditite's Psychic ended at the same time, and the masked man was sent flying down the passage, crashing against two tables and finally whacking into the wall, his suit on fire.

"That was… wow!" Sahara said as she massaged her neck, and Nutty and Monferno smiled warmly. There were groaning noises, and Monferno quickly ran to Vanessa's side, his trainer beginning to get up. "Are you alright Vanessa? Your bleeding!"

"Oh Sahara, it's not as if I haven't bled before," Vanessa smirked as she grabbed a singed piece of clothing still wrapped around Monferno and wiped her bleeding nose on it. Sahara wasn't convinced due to the large bruise across Vanessa's nose and the fact she sounded like she had a bad cold. Pulling out Aqua's PokeBall and bringing him back, Sahara passed her umbrella over and helped her to her feet.

"Masquerade's smoking in the corner over there, so hopefully we shan't have to deal with him," Sahara explained. Nutty leapt onto her shoulder, the Odd Keystone wrapped tightly in her hands. "I've got a feeling that this thing is going to be important, so we'd better hold onto it." Vanessa simply nodded, stuffing the fabric into her nostril's to stop the bleeding. "We need to get that checked out."

"We need to get out of here first," Vanessa retorted. "Any sign of where those spineless marketers fled to?" Sahara looked around the empty tunnel, but there was no sign of where anyone had gone, and definitely no sign of an exit.

"Medi Meditite," Hammer called out, and everyone turned as he walked over, a purple box floating next to him. It landed in between the two trainers, and a rainbow mixture of colours glowed in its center.

"I remember us getting sucked into this," Vanessa explained, and Sahara nodded, this box clearly their exit out. Hammer took initiative and touched the light. Sahara gasped as he turned into rainbow light, and a beam sent him blasting upwards through the ceiling.

"Well, that's extremely camp, isn't it?" Vanessa smirked, and held tightly to Monferno and her umbrella as she stepped forwards. Sahara stared back towards Masquerade as he burned there, wondering how he knew so much about them, how he was so strong, and what he knew about Galactic's plans. These just added to the number of questions and problems clouding her head, and Sahara sighed as she stepped forwards with Nutty, wondering when she would finally be free of this all.

Tension was thick in the air on the fourth floor of the Lost Tower.

Standing in a neat row was Matthew and Cheryl to one side of Charlotte, Fantina and Bebe on the other. Fantina and Bebe were stunned when Matthew and Cheryl caught up to them, bringing the fourteen year old ghost with them, but based on a look they exchanged, Matthew guessed they had heard about her. He imagined there weren't that many magical ghost girls roaming around Sinnoh, so maybe all the official people were aware of her existence? Matthew didn't know and didn't care that much: he was more interested in what other powers Charlotte possessed, and what she was going to do.

"I have a plan, just follow my lead," Charlotte had said only a short time ago before calling out to Charles, the grunt that Matthew and his friends kept coming across. He didn't want to think who else would come down, but Charlotte was convinced she knew what she was doing. She marched the group up to the fourth floor, where they now stood, waiting, wondering what her plan was.

Cheryl was on the verge of tears and standing close to Matthew's side, though he was nearly as petrified as she was and didn't think he would be much use. Bebe seemed to be trying to keep it together, though it was clear she wanted to get out of here and fix her computer. Fantina looked bold and fabulous as always, with her head held high and her hands on her hips, ready to do whatever was needed to win. Loud footsteps could be heard from the staircase, and Charlotte was smiling, wringing her hands together. Matthew was quite certain this girl was psychotic, and hoped he didn't have to deal with her again after today.

"Get your Pokemon out to battle," she said. "No Ghost or Dark types until the transmitter is destroyed, alright?" The group nodded, though Fantina looked down hearted, and Matthew cursed as he realised too that the gym leader, probably the strongest trainer here, only had Ghost types, therefore useless.

"Rubi Cheru Ru Ru!" A timid cry erupted from Matthew's arms and he looked down, seeing Cherubi leaping up and smiling widely.

"Do you want to take part in the battle?" Matthew asked, and Cherubi nodded excitedly. "Do you want to battle as my Pokemon?" He added, and Cherubi nodded so vigorously her smaller berry whacked Matthew's arm and he laughed, reaching into his bag for a PokeBall. A pink Heal Ball was the first thing on top, and Matthew thought it seemed appropriate for this cute little Pokemon. He touched the button to his head, and Cherubi smiled as she turned to pink energy and was brought inside. The ball shaked for a moment, and then froze and flashed red.

"Awww, how adorable," Charlotte said as Matthew's face lit up. "Now kindly stop having a period and get into battle mode, nancy boy!" Matthew glared at the ghost who simply smiled, and noted that Bebe had sent a Glameow out into battle, the grey Pokemon skulking around her legs.

"Alright then, I'll show you battle mode," Matthew grumbled, and he released Cherubi onto the floor, Piplup joining a moment later. Piplup looked at the new arrival and gasped, but quickly began to introduce herself.

"Looks like they'll be good friends," Cheryl said, her Chansey and Makuhita standing by her side. Matthew wondered if she was making a remark about their last battle back at Hearthome, but he figured that Makuhita would be best for countering a bunch of Dark types, and Chansey would be immune to Ghost. A sudden chill filled the floor, and every eye turned towards the entrance.

Draco walked in first, his Glalie floating by his side and his laser sword drawn. Behind him, over two dozen cages floated in, positioning themselves in the spare space between the coffins. Fantina gasped at the sight of all the Pokemon, and Matthew could understand why she would be upset by this site. Next in was Roshonda and her Nidoqueen, dragging her people in chains. Addison came behind with Persian, though Matthew didn't know her name yet, and finally came Charles and Elle. Charlotte clapped in delight at his appearance, but Charles simply looked embarrassed and scuttled over to the side. Silence fell between the two sides, people exchanging looks with each other, sizing up the Pokemon that had been sent out, Draco flexing his muscles.

"Well, isn't this just darling!" Charlotte said, clapping her hands together and they somehow produced noise. "So, Galactic people, I've been sent to stop you from trying to bring Spiritomb out!" Matthew didn't know who this Pokemon was, but Fantina and Bebe exchanged another look signalling insider knowledge, and Draco looked surprised to see she knew of their plan. "Oh, I love it when people get surprised, gets me all nice and horny, ain't that right Charlie?" Charles simply rolled his eyes and turned away, and Charlotte made a tutting noise. "Don't ignore me like I'm some regular old ghost you can just cast aside!"

"I told you last time I saw you not to bother me again!" Charles snapped. Charlotte stepped forwards and was suddenly all the way over by him, the bottom of her dress fluttering against Roshonda.

"Come now Charlie, that was just in the heat of the moment. Don't tell me you don't miss me, or I might get very, very _angry_," Charlotte explained, and her eyes literally filled with fire, causing Charles to take a step back and Elle to cower.

"We are not here to deal with whatever relationship you two have," Draco shouted, "and we are not going to give up our search for Spiritomb! We are going to take these Pokemon back with us and then we will go and find the Odd Keystone, and there is nothing you can do to stop us!" Charlotte gave Charles another wink before turning around, smiling in a forced, slightly aggressive way at Draco.

"Nothing, eh?" She asked in a high pitched voice. "Sounds like a challenge, and I always like a good challenge!" Matthew and Cheryl exchanged glances and braced themselves, watching as a ball of purple flames arose in Charlotte's hands. The female hostage screamed, and as the purple flames were thrown forwards, it was clear the battle had begun.

Draco leapt aside as the flames exploded, and Glalie quickly unleashed an Ice Beam. Charlotte waved her hands and the beam was diverted, causing Piplup and Cherubi to dodge getting frozen. Addison pointed forwards, and her Persian began to pound forwards, teeth bared viciously. Bebe's Glameow ran out to meet her, and the two began a cat fight in the middle of the floor.

"You take Glalie, I'll take Eevee and Nidoqueen," Matthew said, trying to keep his cool as Charlotte pointed her fingers, causing the coffins to magically explode with the force of a bomb, the tower shaking badly. Cheryl nodded nervously, and the two ran forwards, their Pokemon coming up on their sides.

"Focus on the transmitter Charlotte," Matthew cried as he ran passed, and Charlotte shouted back a 'yeah yeah' as she continued to explode the coffins. Draco was running to avoid them, Fantina and Bebe not far behind, dust trickling down from the ceiling and onto the cages of the roaring Pokemon. Matthew and Cheryl stopped running, Charles, Roshonda and Addison getting to their feet, their Pokemon joining them. Matthew was tempted to run back the other way, but glanced over at Cheryl for courage. She smiled warmly back at him, and Matthew smiled back as he turned to face them.

"So, how are we going to do this?" He asked sweetly.

"Painfully, hopefully," Roshonda said with a smile. "Superpower, go!" Matthew leapt to the side, shoving Cheryl to the floor as the red energy was blasted over their heads. There was a distant explosion, causing the entire building to shake. Cries erupted all around, and Matthew looked up to see Piplup, Cherubi and Makuhita were bombarding Nidoqueen with an onslaught of attacks. Roshonda appeared to be cursing as her Pokemon was knocked over by a point-blank strike of Piplup's BubbleBeam, and Matthew gasped as a Grass Knot sent her sprawling onto her back, clearly coming from Cherubi.

"Nice work!" Matthew called as he leapt up, so immersed in this victory that he forgot about Cheryl, but quickly brought her to her feet. Roshonda looked furious, and Matthew gulped as Addison joined her in pulling more PokeBalls out of their pockets, ready to hurtle more powerful Pokemon into the field.

"CHAAAAANSEEEEY!" A cry erupted behind them, and Matthew only had time to turn as an oval shaped egg hurtled through between his and Cheryl's heads. Roshonda had sense to bring Nidoqueen back and push Addison out of the way as the Egg Bomb exploded. It was powerful enough to shake the building and send Matthew, Cheryl, Piplup, Cherubi and Makuhita flying backwards. As he spun, Matthew could see Glalie crashing into the roof and heard the wealthy family scream as they got a full blast of it.

"STOP THIS, YOU'LL DESTROY THE TOWER!" Fantina bellowed, her accent thick in her yell of distress. Matthew really didn't care about this building as he hit the ground with a shudder, and quickly swivelled around to check on Piplup and Cherubi, who didn't look too bad. Charlotte was still firing her flaming balls at Draco, who, along with the unintended target Bebe, attempted to dodge them.

"Charlotte, just destroy the bloody transmitter!" Matthew bellowed as he scooped Piplup and Cherubi up. The ghost sighed and her head turned freakishly around on her neck, giving him a bored, tiresome look.

"Fine then, don't wet yourself," she scoffed, and threw her next flaming ball in the other direction. Draco's scream sounded over the cries of the captured Pokemon, Glameow and Persian's vicious cat fight and the moans of the burnt family, watching as the ball blasted the transmitter into pieces.

"YOU BITCH, YOU FUCKING BITCH!" Draco yelled, looking like a vicious beast as he searched around for his Glalie, only to find it embedded in the ceiling. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!" Charlotte simply laughed as everyone began to gather together, afraid of the confrontation between the two. Cheryl and Makuhita were on their feet and alright, and stood alongside Matthew with Chansey, her egg reformed, all watching in worry. Bebe was pressing buttons on her device, smiling nervously as some of the captured Pokemon were hit by an invisible laser, sending them rightfully back to their trainer's PC box, leaving the others looked very confused and annoyed. The three grunts gathered, unharmed, next to the rich family, and the two feline Pokemon rush back to their respective trainers, leaving an open expanse between Charlotte and Draco.

"What exactly can you do, foolish mortal?" Charlotte hissed, laughing loudly, though her laughter did nothing to ease the nervous tension on the floor. Draco simply smiled, his anger quickly fading, and he pulled something out of his coat: a thick black leather book.

"You fool!" Charles cried, but Draco ignored him, opening up the book. All eyes flickered towards Charlotte, and they could see why Charles had warned them: her ghostly fists had clenched, her eyes seemed to be bulging, her body beginning to flicker and distort. The look on her face kept changing rapidly between anger, shock and a look of somewhat childhood innocence, but everyone could tell that this wasn't a good sign.

"How dare… how dare you… my book… my life's work… against me… fool!" Charlotte hissed, her head shaking, floating up into the sky, entire body quivering. Draco ignored her, turning the pages before making an 'ah' sound and settling on one, holding it up.

"Let's see how you like a taste of your own medicine," he growled, and began to read. "The dead are not lost, the dead are not gone, the dead are waiting, their rise prolonged. Let them form, let them rise, let their power return and let the living being overturned!" Draco slammed the book shut, as if expecting that to be final. However, as the sound of the slamming echoed around, Charlotte let out a scream and suddenly spiralled around, hands on her face, clearly in pain. The sound was painful, and Matthew put his hands over his hands to try and block it out, but it seemed to creep into his body anyway.

Than, as if today couldn't get any weirder, Charlotte exploded.

Dust exploded across the entire room, causing all the candles to go out and plunging them into darkness. Everyone covered their faces, unable to see anything in the dust and wondering what had been brought on and what was going to happen to them. Charles opened his eyes slightly, wondering if, finally, the psychotic ghost was going to be gone forever. But than a voice whispered in his head, a voice he had only heard twice before in the Sandgem Pokemon Center: _Don__'__t__you__remember?_

_I__do__… __Damnit!_Charles cursed, and looked down at Elle and could see she looked just as worried as him, remembering the time this had happened. The dust particles were hovering in mid air, and everyone around them was looking confused as light suddenly began to emerge from the place where Charlotte's heart would be if she was real. Than, in a way that made everyone scream, just like it had made Lyla, glowing yellow eyes appeared, along with two feminine hands, and a voice began to speak in a high, cool, calming voice.

_On the first day, the sky shall turn against the earth, as hell is let loose and confined_

The hands waved, and clouds appeared, releasing lightning, rain, hail and snow onto the scared humans, and what looked like a mountain rose up in the middle of the floor. Everyone stared at it and gasped as they began to recognise it: Mt Coronet.

_On the second day, the mountain shall split in two, water seeping like blood, and the first victims will begin to be claimed._

Mt Coronet seemed to zoom in, the storm clouds shrinking, and to Matthew it seemed like they were being shown a 3-D presentation at a fancy company. But companies didn't show mountains exploding with water, bright lights and distant screams echoing from what should be a hologram.

_On the third day, the snow will turn red as blood seeps from every wound. The two sides will meet in a final battle, and as the ultimate minds face of once more, the sacrifice will be gathered, the end will near._

The hands caused the mountain to disappear, instead a blanket of snow forming at chest level. People seemed to be fighting, with many explosions happening on the ground and in the sky. A powerful beam of energy erupted in the middle of the field, followed by an explosion so powerful that it nearly blasted all the real people backwards. The voice began to shake now, as if it was now possessed, and the entire tower seemed to shake as if it was above an earthquake.

_On the fourth and final day, the end shall arrive. The most important blood will be shed, and the pillars of the dimensions shall fall. Time will breath, Space will move, Darkness will be unleashed, both fives will fail, as the world collapses around them and the almighty shall speak. _

Nothing changed now, only a bright golden light shining brightly. There was a rushing sound, and suddenly the dust flew back the way it came as if on rewind, and everyone was left shielding their eyes. Charlotte remained reformed and glowing for a few seconds, before the light disappeared, leaving everything dark, and she fell back to the ground. Silence fell across the floor, everyone in shock, staring around in disbelief at what had just happened.

"I don't think things could get any weirder," Addison groaned, leaning against a wall and glaring at the rich family.

"Now that you've said that, something's bound to have," Roshonda said with a smirk, and the two girls laughed. However, Charles hadn't just forgotten about Draco's spell. He glanced around, wondering why it hadn't come into effect yet, the one Minerva used on Sahara happening instantly. Was this one so powerful it needed to charge up?

"Eva Eve Eevee!" Elle shrieked, and Charles looked down as he heard a rumbling. The coffin in front of them was beginning to shake as if something was trying to get out. The ones next to it began to shake as well, and suddenly everything was rattling, hundreds of the jar like coffins shaking.

"Dead… dead rising… living overturned," Charles mumbled. "FOR FUCK SAKES DRACO, YOU JUST BROUGHT THEM BACK FROM THE DEAD!" His shout came as the lids burst open, and laughter filled the area along with the screams. Dust rose up, quickly beginning to form and spin around, turning into the Pokemon that have long sense been trapped in here. No one exchanged any words, no one stopped to make a plan: every foot was running towards the stairs, ready to escape the deadly menace that had just been unleashed.

Silence.

Xavier walked slowly behind Carolina, waiting for her to say the first words, but they never came. Drifblim remained noiseless, hovering slightly to Xavier's side as not to crowd him. Again, Xavier could not tell how long they had been walking, but they seemed to be going upwards based on the moving tiles of land he kept being led onto. But Carolina had not uttered a single word to where they were going, and Xavier simply followed after his mother like he usually did, wondering where they were going and wondering when they would stop.

Suddenly noise erupted above them, and Drifblim squealed as lightning erupted from overhead. The darkness above seemed to be alight, and Xavier watched in confusion as it began to swirl around, almost as if forming some sort of hole. Carolina had come to a halt, staring up at the hole with an emotional look in her eyes.

"This is where we say farewell," she said, her voice shaking slightly, and Xavier quickly realised that his ghost mother was sad, almost on the verge of tears. "You need to go now, before you miss the portal." Xavier nodded, but didn't move, simply staring at his mother. He knew he would have to ask these questions now, even though she was upset, as it would be the last chance he would ever get to ask them.

"Mother, I want to know something. That is the reason I stepped into this world in the first place," Xavier began to explain, holding tightly on Drifblim for support. "Did you ever love me? Did you ever accept my condition for what it really was?" A distant roar sounded in the distance, but Xavier ignored it as he stared intently at Carolina. She didn't seem to be able to cry in her current form, but simply nodded, sobbing loudly and sadly.

"You must believe me Xavier, I truly loved you," she whimpered, "and I thought I was doing the right thing by trying to make you normal. I consulted so many doctors and therapists, trying to get the right answers that never showed up, and simply tried to do things my own way. I just wanted you to somehow be happy, and I kept trying even though nothing seemed to be working. When I arrived here, I wonder what I had done to be put here, and it didn't take me long to realise that I have caused more damage to you than that creature in the lake ever did." Xavier paused for a few seconds, taking it all in: it seemed fairly logical, and his mother had no reason to lie. Her words would not stop the hurt and make it go away, but Xavier could see that she did indeed love him in her own special way.

"Thank you mother, that is all I needed," he said, and Carolina smiled, stretching her arms out before freezing, realising a hug wouldn't work. The roar sounded again, much closer this time, and Xavier could see something long moving nearby.

"You must leave now, before the master of this place arrives!" Carolina said quickly. Xavier and Drifblim stepped forwards, now directly underneath the portal that was glowing like a sun in this dark and depressing world. "If the message I received is correct, Drifblim is going to have to blast your way out," Carolina said, and Drifblim smiled widely at the opportunity to do good. "Good luck with defeating Galactic Xavier, I know you can do it!"

"Thank you Mother. Good luck with being dead, your fellow ghosts seem very violent," Xavier replied, and Carolina simply smiled and mouthed back a 'thank you'. The roaring was getting closer, and Xavier could see a snake like beast coming rapidly forwards. Carolina glanced nervously behind, but looked back and gave Xavier a smile.

"Blim Blim?" Drifblim asked. Xavier looked back at his mother, knowing that he had received his answers and they would be the only things he would ever learn. He nodded at Drifblim, ready to leave this world, and the Ghost wrapped around Xavier and began to lift him up.

"Xavier!" Carolina screamed out, and Xavier glanced down. "When it comes down to deciding who to trust, trust Cynthia over Palmer and it'll be the smartest thing you can ever do!" Xavier was confused by these words: why would he choose his aunt over his father? He wanted to call out to her, but something black was covering her, her screams mixing in with the same screechy roar. Xavier could only watch as his mother disappeared, and he became engulfed in a constricting golden light. Drifblim screamed in pain, and Xavier clung tightly onto her as screams sounded around them.

"Stockpile!" Xavier commanded, and Drifblim began to absorb in energy, the only thing they could do in this strange in between…

Matthew could remember doing runs and walks at the Arcethian Academy, and numerable P.E. classes, but he was pretty sure that he had never run as fast or as spastically in the rest of his life as he was now.

His feet pounded the filthy tiles, Piplup and Cherubi held tightly in his hands. Cheryl, Fantina and Bebe ran alongside, all of them screaming at the horrors happening around them. They had reached the second floor, all of them nearly out of breathe, and only to find that the lids of the coffins had already burst open. Deceased Pokemon were beginning to reform, and it took all their strength and willpower to run through them all, ghostly Flying types soaring above their heads. No one spoke to each other, no one tried to sort things out, they simply kept their heads down and ran as fast as they could move.

Team Galactic was hardly having any luck either.

The cages remained behind, Draco unable to use technology to transport them. It didn't take long for the locks to be destroyed, and angry, scared and confused Ghosts and Dark types fled from the building around them. Charles held tightly onto Elle as these beasts ran past, keeping a close eye on Roshonda and Addison as well. He didn't care if Draco was killed by the ghosts he had summoned, but could see him running behind, holding tightly onto the spell book that was causing all of this drama. The wealthy family remained behind, their screams following after them and Charles was sure they would haunt him tonight. But he had bigger issues to deal with then them.

The ghosts were everywhere. No one knew what would happen next, but they could all see what was happening now: spirits rising from their graves, begin to move around with freedom they hadn't enjoyed for range of years. Dust trickled around them, seemingly to bond together and reform them, and would either bring them back to life or turn them into deadly zombies, filling the spell of overturning the living. Charlotte wasn't around to reverse the spell, and Draco didn't seem to know how, so all anyone could do was run.

"Hold on, only one floor left," Matthew whispered to Piplup and Cherubi as he sprinted down the staircase. Spirits were beginning to fly through the walls, laughing in a deranged manner at them and causing Cheryl to shriek. Fantina was leading the pack, and Matthew was afraid she would fall in her high hells or trip over her skirt, but she seemed concentrated and determined to keep on going. Bebe was pressing buttons on her device, possibly calling for help, Matthew wasn't sure, but nobody seemed to be coming.

The first floor was just as bad, and the spirits seemed to be further along with being formed. None of them wanted to see what happened when they gained bodies, and they continued to run, but after several flights of stairs and running across two and half floors, their legs were beginning to get sore and they were rapidly running out of breath.

"We need to get out of this building now!" Bebe screamed. "Based on my calculations, this building is becoming increasingly unstable, and it is more of a safety risk than it was before we entered it!"

"So basically, it's going to collapse?" Matthew screamed back.

A creak in the floor answered this for him.

One second they were all running for their lives, all the dead Pokemon forming around them, and the next they were falling and screaming, their world spinning around them. Matthew, Cheryl, Fantina, Bebe and all their Pokemon landed onto the ground floor with a painful shudder, the remains of the first floor scattered around them. Screams echoed behind, and Matthew looked up to see the Team Galactic members falling down as well, unable to stop themselves from landing painfully.

"Let's trap them here and get the hell out of this place!" Matthew grumbled, checking Piplup and Cherubi hadn't been crushed by his falling body. A number of Pokemon had landed alongside them, most of them Bidoof, Goldeen, Magikarp and Shinx that young children across Sinnoh got as pets, but a large variety of practically every single Pokemon Matthew had ever encountered seemed to be forming around them, their bodies becoming more and more solid with each second.

"Sounds like a plan. Definitely what they deserve!" Cheryl growled as she got to her feet, alongside her Chansey and Makuhita. But as Bebe and Fantina stood up as well, Draco leapt dramatically to his feet, pointing his contraption towards them with one hand, the leather clad spell book in the other hand.

"Don't even think about it!" He hissed. Charles, Roshonda and Addison slowly got to their feet, and Matthew noticed someone that they didn't: the boy from their family of hostages had joined them, with what looked like blood stains down his front. "We're going to go now, and you can stay here and fix what has happened!"

"You has the spells, you can fix this yourself!" Fantina yelled, her eyes looking around at the solidifying dead Pokemon. Draco simply laughed and opened the book up, his smile wide with malice.

"You want a spell? Here's a spell for you!" He shouted, and looked down at the page, opening his mouth to begin reciting. But as he began to speak, something else happened to only add to the day's supernatural drama: a bolt of golden electricity burst through the upper levels, shooting down and striking the book. There was a bright explosion of dust from the point of impact, and it stretched out and touched the hundreds of dead Pokemon already around them. They instantly broke down again and began to rise up in one giant swoop.

"What have you gone and done now?" Addison huffed. Draco simply shut the book, clearly not wanting to discuss things any further, and pressed a button on his wrist machine. A pink bubble formed around him, the three grunts and, most likely by accident, the rich son.

"Until next time," Draco shouted, and the bubble glowed a dazzling pink. After a few seconds it popped, leaving nothing else behind.

"Teleportation, something Galactic has been able to master," Matthew grumbled.

"Good for them – why don't we teleport out of here as well?" Bebe said, glancing upwards, and Matthew followed her line of vision: all of the dust seemed to be forming together into one giant cloud, possibly one giant Pokemon. With nothing left to do, the four simply turned for the door and ran, too tired and shocked from the day's events to do anything else.

Clean fresh, late afternoon air felt glorious as the broke out of the building, and Matthew was tempted to collapse right there and simply breath in, but kept going up the staircase before finally falling to his knees. Cheryl and Bebe collapsed alongside him, their Pokemon just as tired as they were. Only Fantina remained standing, staring at the Lost Tower with a sense of sadness.

"What will happen to it?" She whispered, and Matthew glanced up towards it. The dust seemed to be seeping out of the windows, the very walls being pushed out by it. Based on how the first floor had collapsed, Matthew could tell the building wasn't going to survive whatever spell Draco had used, and he placed Cherubi and Piplup on the ground and walked towards the gym leader, giving her a gentle hug. Fantina simply smiled at him, her eyes swimming with tears, as they watched the building struggle.

Than several things happened at once.

A shout erupted behind them, and Matthew turned around to see Vanessa and Sahara were running towards them, and Matthew was about to wave at them when a light glowed and his attention was drawn back towards the Lost Tower, who refused to its dramas end. The golden light engulfed the entire building, which seemed to wobble due to it, and hands quickly pulled Matthew and Fantina backwards. The light shone as brightly as the sun, even though it was quickly nearing nightfall, and everyone could only shield their eyes as the sound of something exploded. Fantina gasped as the Lost Tower rumbled, the walls unable to hold it up, and the entire thing came crashing down. They quickly moved backwards to avoid any rubble, though the dust cloud quickly caught up to them.

Coughing and spluttering, the group collapsed to the ground, the cloud beginning to rise up into the air. Matthew's eyes and throat stung, and struggled to make out Sahara as she appeared before him, asking if he was alright, but Matthew turned back towards the tower, now reduced to a large pile of rubble, dust still rising up from it. It had a horrible, cold and depressing place, but for some reason Matthew felt bad, knowing that this was all their fault for causing this graveyard to fall.

"Well well well, look what the dust coughed up," Vanessa laughed, and Matthew looked around in confusion, but could quickly see what she was referring to: Xavier and a Drifblim were landing only a few feet in front of them, looking entirely unbothered about the collapsed tower, and more confused at all the dust covered people in front of them.

"Hello there. I had a rather interesting day, how about you all?"

"HOW COULD YOU HAVE FAILED SO HORRIBLY!"

Cyrus' rage echoed around the room, the brightly storage room where meetings were held and all Pokemon were kept. Charles had shivered at the sight of Sahara's Electivire floating in a capsule, but the Galactic Bosses anger was easy enough to distract him. Charon and Minerva sat in one end of the table on either side of the spot where Cyrus had been sitting until moments ago, when he finally learnt about the failure of the mission. Draco had teleported them back to the room, bringing back no Pokemon, no Spiritomb, only news of a failed mission and Brody, who was sitting nervously in a chair.

"YOU FOOL DRACO!" Cyrus bellowed, punching his fist into the table, making a tense looking Roshonda and Addison jump. Draco was keeping his head held high, but Charles could see in his eyes that he was worried and ashamed. "You destroyed our chances of getting Spiritomb! I told you to only use the Spell of the Dead only if necessary!"

"It wasn't our fault that random ghost girl or those trainers appeared!" Addison huffed. "And we didn't have that Odd Key thing… what was it?" She snapped at Brody, who simply shrugged his shoulders. But as Charles glanced back to Cyrus, he saw him exchange looks with Charon, a knowingness between them. Silence fell across the table that became rather obvious after about twenty seconds, and boss and scientist looked apart.

"Charlotte's interference should have been predicted and noted to you, yes, but I hoped that you would be able to take on whoever came and tried to interfere!" Cyrus growled. "Your lucky I don't send you all back to the Lost Tower right now to battle the dead yourselves!"

"Send us back then!" Addison snapped, leaping to her feet and glaring back at Cyrus. "We'll be just as unprepared as we were going there this morning! We should have had that Odd Keystone thing, and we should have been warned about that crazy ghost!"

"SHUT UP!" Cyrus roared, his face going completely red.

"She seems to know more about our plans than the rest of us do!" Addison continued to yell. "Space moving, Darkness unleashed, Time breathing: sounds like something I'd expect to hear from a druggie, but aren't we dabbling in Time and Space and all that jazz?"

"SHUT UP I SAID!" Cyrus screamed, and Addison finally fell silent but continued to stand. Tension rose back up in the room, and Charles watched as the three senior members exchanged more looks. He remembered something Looker had told him back in Eterna City, about how legendary Pokemon Dialga and Palkia were involved in whatever Galactic was planning: were they connected to what Cyrus had just said?

"Get out, all of you!" Cyrus suddenly snapped, and Roshonda leapt obediently to her feet. "You will train hard for the next few days and improve your Pokemon while I decide what to do next!" Roshonda nodded and scuttled to the door, followed by a grumpy Draco and a sour faced Addison.

"What about me sir?" Charles turned towards Brody, having not heard him speak before and was surprised by his very deep but calm voice. Cyrus stared towards him, his face showing he clearly didn't want to deal with him.

"Just make him a grunt and be over with it," Charon grumbled, and Cyrus nodded. Draco grabbed Brody by the collar and pulled him outside. Charles quickly rushed to the door, glancing behind to see Charon tapping on his computer as Cyrus and Minerva discussed things over. He closed the doors with a loud thud and found the other four waiting.

"Asshole," Addison growled. "We have a right to know what is going on! I'm not risking my life for some unknown cause!"

"I'm going to the workshop. You seem to have a lot to say, so you can show this one around," Draco growled as he shoved Brody forwards. Addison looked as if she'd just caught a ball of slime, and angrily dragged Brody down the hall, Draco walking off in the opposite direction. Charles and Roshonda both smirked at the smile on Brody's face, and watched as Addison dragged him away, huffing and puffing under her breathe.

"You know that ghost girl, don't you?" Roshonda said suddenly. Charles turned towards her and their eyes met, and Charles reflected on how much he had come to bond with her over the past few weeks. She was the only grunt he really liked and could put up with (Addison was far too annoying for his liking), and they had gotten on quite well during all the missions they'd undertaken together. However, Charles was not ready to tell anyone about his life in Johto: he didn't want to poison the memories with the dark life he currently lived, and could see all his old friends and Pokemon being disgusted by him if they knew he was working with the enemy.

"I do know Charlotte, but I really need to get to sleep, sorry," Charles said, and he quickly walked off, the sad and depressing thought resting in the front of his mind. He had fought so hard and so long against Team Rocket in Johto, but now he was throwing it all away for a plan that was about ten times worse. Was he just as awful a person as Cyrus or Draco was? Glancing backwards, Charles saw that Roshonda remained frozen, staring down at the tiled floor with a wounded look on her face, and he knew that he really was just as bad.

Night was beginning to fall across Sinnoh. The bright blue sky was beginning to be sucked away as the sun settled behind Mt Coronet, casting bright shades of yellow, orange and pink across the sky, the stars beginning to twinkle and come out.

Down below on the grasses of Route 209, the four Dex Holders simply lay there, thinking back to their respective events of the day. With aid from Fantina, Bebe and Cheryl, Matthew had recounted what had happened with the Galactic, the spells and Charlotte, Vanessa and Sahara explained about the Underground, Masquerade and the Odd Keystone, and Xavier explained about his adventures in the ghost world.

It took them a while to divulge each individual tale, and to think about all the things that happened. But seeing dead teenage girls, dead mothers and strange masked men was a bit too overwhelming for them all to think about, and they simply sat there on the grass, thinking about things rather than discussing.

"I really need to stop hanging out with you," Cheryl said to Matthew as they sat side by side, Piplup, Chansey and Cherubi playing together nearby. "It always seems that something strange happens and I nearly end up dead." Matthew burst out laughing and collapsed backwards onto the grass, sighing as he shook his head.

"Just be glad you weren't at Mt Coronet or the Cycling Road with us: they make today seem like a birthday party," he said, and Cheryl began to laugh as well.

"I'll keep that in mind," she said as she fell to the grass alongside him. They continued to laugh for some time, ignoring the others sitting behind them only a few metres away, and simply stared at each other. It was the closest they had been since the hug, and Matthew could feel a stronger connection at this very moment than when they had touched. Their laughter died down and was replaced with silence, and Matthew knew he had to do the right thing by her.

"I'm sorry for lying… well, not telling you the whole story, about me being a coordinator and all," he said, and Cheryl nodded, her face beginning to sink. "I felt terrible, and I knew I'd upset you, and I just want to clear the air!" Cheryl continued to nod, and Matthew fell silent again, not sure if she had forgiven him or not.

"I don't have any other friends," Cheryl said after a few moments. "My parents were very into nature and being one with the earth, so I didn't have a particularly normal upbringing. No one wanted to hang out with that "weird hippie girl", so I was along until I decided to go on my contest journey. Most of the coordinators I met were really annoying and I didn't want to be friends with them, so I travelled on my own. Than when I met you, I thought I had finally found someone that I could travel with. Not telling me the truth was rather hurtful, and it took a while to get over, but I think I was just overreacting a bit." She looked towards Matthew and smiled, and he knew that their tension was easing. "I'm not really going to make friends with people if I get angry with them over one thing, will I?"

"I guess not," Matthew said, and the two began to laugh again. They continued to lay there, their friendship reforming, and Matthew hoped that nothing would bring it down again.

Behind them, Fantina continued to stare towards the Lost Tower, where the dust had no settled and it remained a still pile of rubble, the only remains of what had been a very sentimental building. Vanessa, Sahara, Xavier and Bebe stared at it as well, all of them thinking about what had happened to them throughout the day.

"I hope the Lost Tower can be rebuilt, and its former glory can be restored," Fantina said solemnly, and turned to face the others. "Bebe, will you help me contact the right people in Solaceon Town to begin arranging its reconstruction? If I can talk to Bill, he might be able to aid in convincing the right people."

"I can definitely try," Bebe said with a smile. "I'll be staying in Solaceon Town anyway to double check their systems haven't been damaged too severely by Team Galactic." Fantina simply nodded and glanced back towards the ruined tower.

"It is a pity to think that it only took one man and a book of spells to bring down this tower," the gym leader said, "and all to simply look for Spiritomb. They didn't even have the Odd Keystone, the foolish people!" Vanessa and Sahara looked up at the mention of the Odd Keystone, and Vanessa pulled it out of her yellow bag.

"You mean this?" She said, holding the cracked rock up, and Fantina gasped. "Didn't you hear us mention it before?"

"I must have been distracted. But how did you find this… this… this… this is magnifique!" Fantina gasped, reaching out to grab it, but Vanessa pulled it out of her reach. "Dear child, I must examine this! I have only seen drawings and heard the many stories, but I have never seen the Odd Keystone, the key to the Hallowed Tower and the cell of the powerful Spiritomb, with my own eyes!"

"I'm sorry Fantina, but we went through too much to get our hands on this," Vanessa said, "and I'm not just going to hand it over." Fantina nodded respectively, but stared at the cracked rock with a sense of longing.

"What is the Hallowed Tower anyway?" Sahara asked.

"The Hallowed Tower is the key to unleashing Spiritomb into the world once more," Fantina explained. "By placing the Odd Keystone onto the tower, it will cause Spiritomb to be unlocked and unleashed. It is located on this route in fact, only a short distance away." Vanessa instantly turned around, searching around in the direction Fantina was pointing, and saw a large pile of rocks over in the distance. Instantly she leapt to her feet, and before anyone could stop her, Vanessa was off running.

"STOP!" Fantina screamed, quickly taking off in pursuit, and the others leapt up and chased after as well. "Do you even know what power Spiritomb possesses? Unleashing this Pokemon is an extremely dangerous thing to do!"

"I really don't give a fuck," Vanessa shouted, managing to keep a steady lead on them. She knew Spiritomb was going to be important in this battle they in, especially if Team Galactic and Masquerade both wanted it, and Vanessa wasn't going to let anyone else take it. It didn't take long to run down the bare and flat route, and she soon came to the Hallowed Tower, which looked exactly as it did back by the Lost Tower: a pile of rocks that went up to her chest, all of different colours and some with cracks in them. A large gap stood at the very top, the exact same shape as the Odd Keystone.

"Vanessa, don't do this!" Sahara screamed, managing to catch up and appearing on the other side of the tower. "We don't know what this Pokemon is capable of or why anyone else wants it. It could just be a trap to get us to unleash it!"

"Spiritomb is meant to go on dangerous rampages! Letting it out of its hold could be a disaster!" Bebe shouted. Vanessa looked at the Keystone in her hands, which Sahara's hands were creeping towards, as if to pull it away. This cracked stone was one of the most powerful objects she had come across, and she wasn't just going to toss it aside. She looked across at Sahara as their fingers wrapped together around the stone, her heart skipping a beat, and knew that she had to do this.

"It's a risk I'm going to have to take," Vanessa said, and she forced the Keystone down as everyone gasped. The Odd Keystone slid into place, and instantly the Hallowed Tower began to shudder. The crack began to glow black and purple, and all of the rocks seemed to be jumping out of their places.

Than the tower exploded in a wave of black energy.

Darkness engulfed all of them, but not a casual release of night-time like energy. The shock wave that swept over them all seemed to have emotions, feelings: voices whispered things in their ears, from nasty insults to high pitched, cold laughter, and visions appeared before their eyes. Images of war and destruction, dead bodies, rampaging armies, screaming, injured victims of some sort of battle, buildings exploding all around them. Their bodies all shuddered, and as they glanced down, they saw false illusions: their bodies turned to skeletons, their bodies without skin, their bodies oozing with pus. Rocks from the tower battered against each of their bodies, forcing them backwards as screams of pain and fury that none of them had ever experienced before erupted from their mouths.

The wave was over as quickly as it started, but it seemed to have lasted for longer. Each of them collapsed onto their knees or backs, their bodies shaking, the illusions they had just been forced through unbearable. Vanessa glanced upwards and found Sahara staring at her in shock, the tower no longer between them, instead something floating above.

"FOOLISH MORTALS!" The being screeched, its voice high and cold, a cross between masculine and feminine. The creature seemed to have burst out of the Odd Keystone, and looked as if some child had drawn it: a misshapen circle of swirling purple gas, a rugged face of two green eyes and a jack-o'-lantern like mouth, and green circles of varying sizes mixing around. Spiritomb was still attached to the Odd Keystone, but by the way it's face was smiling, it clearly didn't care.

"You have let me loose from my cage, the cage I have spent so long in!" It called, its voice causing their spines to shiver. "You have no idea what you have done by this! I will now get my revenge on this pitiful planet, and the people that forced me there in the first place! Thank you, silly humans, I will spare your lives for now," and with that, Spiritomb turned to leave. Vanessa wobbled to her feet, the shock wave leaving her shaken, but she refused to allow Spiritomb to fly away, especially after defying everyone's advice to unleash her.

"Wait, I need to capture you!" Vanessa screamed, and pulled her five PokeBalls out. Spiritomb froze and turned back around, a smile across its face, the idea of being captured after only just being released laughable.

"Foolish girl, I was going to let you all leave. But if you only unleashed me to capture me, I'm going to have to stop you!" As she spoke, a ball of energy began to form in her mouth, glowing a dazzling colour somewhere between white and orange.

"HYPER BEAM!" Matthew shouted, and everyone spun out of the way as the beam was fired. Vanessa was blasted off her feet for the second time that day, but she threw her balls as she did so. Staraptor, Monferno, Luxio, Dustox and Murkrow all formed as she smashed into the ground, and by the blinking of lights around them, more Pokemon were forming.

"After it!" Xavier cried, and Vanessa got to her feet as Grotle, Lapras, Drifblim and Heracross chased after Spiritomb, who was managing to fly away but unable to use anymore attacks. Matthew sent Beautifly and Misdreavus out to join Piplup and Cherubi, Cheryl ran after with Chansey and Bebe released Glameow, but Fantina and Sahara remained still.

"Help us!" Vanessa yelled as she leapt onto Staraptor's back, but Fantina shook her head.

"It is pointless, Spiritomb will only escape. You've released something nearly unstoppable!" She said glumly. Vanessa ignored her lack of support, and Staraptor spread her wings and took off, speeding off into the sky. Spiritomb was moving slowly, clearly not as adapt to being in the modern times as it would have earlier made out. Attacks were being fired constantly from the Pokemon below, but despite going slowly, Spiritomb was still able to dodge each attack that came its way, moving closer towards the nearby forest and hill ranges.

"Aerial Ace, now!" Vanessa screamed, causing Spiritomb to turn around in shock.

"STAR!" Staraptor shouted, and shot forwards as fast as possible. Vanessa clung on tightly, seeing the shock in Spiritomb's eyes, knowing that they would be able to avert her mistake and stop any further damage…

BAM!

Out of nowhere, something crashed into Vanessa and Staraptor. Spiritomb faded from their sight as the object caused them to spiral back to earth in a tangle of limbs and bodies, the ground quickly rising up towards.

_Do__I__always__have__to__save__you__all?_Xavier's Lapras sighed, and they came to a halt a few inches above impact. Vanessa didn't bother to thank her, simply extracting herself and staring up at the clouds: Spiritomb was given free reign to escape, and was fleeing into the trees, far out of reach of her stopping it.

"DAMNIT!" Vanessa growled, and she pulled her umbrella from her bag, pointing it towards the figure, but was stunned to find a Dragonite staring at her, looking a bit cross at having the weapon shoved in his face.

"So sorry! When we began ot land, the area looked clear enough, my mistake!" They all watched as Palmer Diamond stepped out from behind the Dragon type, looking a bit dishevelled but smiling at Matthew, Fantina and Bebe before turning towards Xavier.

"Hello father, did you hear mother died?" Xavier said calmly, and Palmer rolled his eyes as he walked over, but Vanessa pointed her umbrella threateningly at him.

"I nearly stopped Spiritomb, you interrupted me!" She yelled, her hand ready to turn the handle. "Now Spiritomb is going to destroy everything, and it's all your fault!" Tension fell between them, and all eyes turned from the Battle Frontier Chief and Vanessa.

"Vanessa, you can't blame anyone else," Sahara called, and Vanessa stared angrily towards her, half tempted to swing her sword around and point it at her. But as every single eye focused on her, Vanessa turned towards the forest and knew deep down that Sahara was right and that letting Spiritomb go was a mistake.

She had ruined everything.

"Well, today didn't go very well, did it?"

The sun had set far behind Mt Coronet, leaving only an inkling of light creeping above its peaks, and the sky was changing from a normal blue to an inky black. Charlotte would frankly rather be up in the sky at the moment, far away from the drama unfolding around her, but was she was stuck facing the repercussions of today's actions.

"It wasn't my fault what happened," Charlotte hissed to the godly voice echoing out of the trees. "I didn't know that shaggy haired douchebag had my spell book, but I'm pretty sure you knew, my royal highness! I wouldn't have gone there if I had known, as I wouldn't have been able to control myself! At least they didn't get Spiritomb, did they?"

"Well, Spiritomb got out in the end, didn't she?" The voice scolded. "You should never have made that Hallowed Tower Charlotte, it was going to fail from the start." Charlotte let out a cry like a banshee and spun, firing a ball of purple flames at the trees.

"I DON'T GIVE A FUCK!" She roared. "Those Galactic bastards have my book, the Lost Tower collapsed and I didn't even get to feel up Charles, so today has not going as well as I fucking hoped it would, so I don't need your telling off! You haven't even thanked me for firing that bolt to bring Xavier Diamond back!" Tension fell between them, and Charlotte was tempted to throw another ball into the trees, but took a deep breath and turned away, letting the night air wash over her. The voice sighed and there was shuffling, and the speaker turned towards the next victim.

"And Masquerade, you didn't manage to get hold of the Odd Keystone, did you?" The masked man shook his head, his sad face currently on and a clean suit on after his previous one had burnt off. "I was hoping you would be able to take Vanessa and Sahara on and prevent them, but I couldn't have called for the quick actions of their Pokemon."

"My apologises sir, but please know I tried my hardest," Masquerade said, bowing down onto his knees. Charlotte looked at him and scoffed, and the masked man looked up at her. "Of course, someone could have warned us about what would happen."

"Oh bite me Masky, I really don't care what some plastic surgery freak show has to say," Charlotte snapped. Masquerade leapt to his feet and strode forwards as Charlotte whipped up two more of her fiery balls.

"STOP THIS!" The voice boomed, causing the trees to shake and several Noctowl to leap up in fright. Charlotte simply glared at Masquerade as she stepped backwards, materializing a few feet away. "Clearly things are not going as plan. It seems we will have to do simple things for now and see how it all plays out. Masquerade, I want you to stay in Solaceon Town and make sure the Dex Holders remain. There is a contest that will keep Matthew there, and if Fantina remains to oversee the Lost Tower being cleared up, Vanessa and Sahara will stay to battle her, but see if Vanessa can get edged in the right direction to solving her mysteries." Masquerade nodded, his face turning happy, and he took his cue to leave, walking briskly away to a secluded forest path.

"Charlotte, you will remain in the caves and will stop anyone from getting to Spiritomb, at whatever cost. Galactic will surely be back when they hear the news, so be on your lookout!" The voice said sternly, and Charlotte simply nodded, not really caring about anything at the moment.

"Fuck ya later then," she snarled, and stepped backwards off the hill, exploding into dust. The voice let out a sigh as wind rippled through the grass and the trees, the sky quickly beginning to blacken. There was a movement to the side, and the elderly man that had appeared thrice before Charles and had whispered in his ear stepped forwards, a grim look on his face.

"A bleak outlook for the next few weeks, it seems," he called into the wind. There was a grunt, and suddenly the figure the voice belonged to stepped forwards. Golden light brighter than the sun and moon combined was cast across the area, almost blinded the old man despite the fact he had long died away. The Pokemon that appeared was about the size of a normal house, towering high above the ghost, his red eyes fill with seriousness. He stamped his golden hooves against the ground as his white body shimmered and shone, the intricate ring around his wait as dazzling as ever.

"It would seem so Winston," Arceus, creator of the universe sighed, "it would definitely seem so." Winston nodded and shut his eyes as the light shone its brightest, obscuring the body of the Alpha Pokemon. The light than faded as if a light had been switched, and the elderly man stood along atop the hill, staring up at the nights sky with sorrow on his face, sighing as he too faded away.

Silence filled the storage room of Team Galactic's headquarters. The lights had been dimmed, and only Cyrus and Charon remained in the room. It had been a long time since Draco and the grunts had left, but little words had been exchanged between the two since then. Most of the time had been spent with Cyrus staring at glass tank in the place where the table should be. The Castform remained in its place, the many wires still attached with several new additions. Progress had been made, and soon its important role in their plans would be tested. But Cyrus didn't think of any of this as he simply stared at it, away with his thoughts. Charon tapped quietly on his computer, checking various facts and figures, ignoring his boss but getting very tired of the boredom.

"CYRUS!" A voice screamed, and the doors suddenly burst open, Minerva marching in with her hair at odd angles and her face tight with rage.

"Finally, something interesting," Charon said with a smirk and pressed a button, causing the glass tank to begin to whirr downwards. Cyrus looked up only at the movement, and had only turned around when Minerva was upon him, right hand raised threateningly.

"What brings you here, I thought you were training your team," Cyrus said calmly, ignoring the raised hand and smiling up at her. Minerva glared down at him, her rage shown throughout her face, but her hand slowly lowered.

"I tried keeping my feelings to myself, but I can't stay quiet about everything Cyrus!" She snapped. "I can't believe you sent them there, without warning about Charlotte, without proper knowledge of Spiritomb and the Odd Keystone. It was reckless Cyrus, you nearly killed some of our best people, you nearly killed our –," but Minerva froze there, as if she had just realised Charon was in the room. The scientist looked up at the silence and chuckled, adjusting his glasses so he could stare down at her.

"Oh please Minerva, I know every single thing that happens in this place and I know everything about everyone – you don't think I didn't know Charles is your ill gotten child, did you?" Minerva looked horrified, staring at Cyrus with wide eyes and her jaw dropped. Cyrus simply smiled and got to his feet, giving her a gentle hug to relax her.

"Your right, and I'm sorry," he said, and Minerva simply nodded. "It may have been foolish to send them there without the right information, but it did give us probably one of the most important pieces of information our cause has ever received."

"What information?" Minerva asked, pulling away and glancing at Charon. "Something to do with the prophecy?" Cyrus turned around and gave Charon a slight nod. The scientist rolled his eyes, but he typed something into the computer. The table and chairs rumbled, and Cyrus pulled Minerva aside as something large than the glass tank slid up: it was rectangular, brown and appeared to be made entirely of rock, almost like a relief sculpture. Minerva didn't get the significance of it, but when it came to a stop, it took her a few moments before she realised what she was staring it.

The creatures Dialga and Palkia were stepping out of their worlds, somewhere in between two mountain peaks. They appeared to be roaring down at something, and glancing down, Minerva could see who it was: it was only from the back, but it was quite clearly Cyrus they were yelling at. Her eyes darted around the image, and she took in giant pillars, swirling clouds, rocks tumbling down, and than the images of those she had seen before: Charles, Xavier, Vanessa, Matthew, Charon, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars, possibly Addison, and a variety of Pokemon that undoubtedly belonged to the trainers. Minerva collapsed to the ground, staring at this object in shock.

"What is this?" She gasped, clutching her chest. Cyrus smiled as he sank down next to her, clutching her hands in his and smiling.

"This is how we know what we're doing," he whispered. "Today wasn't the first time our good friend Charlotte let the secrets of the future slip out, and it certainly won't be the last. However, we did learn something very interesting today," Cyrus added, and he pulled Minerva to her feet and led her to the rock. She wanted to reach out and touch it, but it seemed to special to do so, but Cyrus dragged her hands forwards. "There is some sort of distortion in the ground below my feet," he explained, and pointed towards some wavy lines and broken up bits around Cyrus' feet.

"The Darkness, is that what it is?" Minerva asked in a hushed voice.

"That is one name for this beast," Charon noted, and Minerva looked between them, getting more confused by the second as Cyrus just chuckled.

"It seems we have left out one Pokemon from our plans," he explained. "It seems that we need to start working on finding Giratina, the Gatekeeper of the Dead, and possibly the only Pokemon that has a chance of stopping our plans." Minerva simply collapsed to the floor again, unable to take it all in, watching as the prophetic piece of stone slid back into the ground, the tables and chairs correcting themselves.

It appeared they were going to succeed after all.


	20. Club Backlot

**Club Backlot **

_February 10th 2010_

"Piplup, use Brick Break!"

"Milotic, strike back with Dragon Pulse!"

It was late in the afternoon, most of the sunlight fading away from bright to dim, the sky and clouds around the sun becoming pink and orange as the sun began to set. It had been exactly one week since Spiritomb had been unleashed to the world, but despite initial fears Bebe, and later Professor Rowan when they called, had, the world was not being plunged into darkness, plague or destruction. In fact, things were quiet, calm and peaceful in the training grounds at the back of the Solaceon Town Pokemon Center, asides from Matthew and Palmer's battle.

Another contest was occurring at a small contest hall on the outskirts of town, and Matthew had been training hard all week for it. Vanessa, Sahara, Fantina and Bebe were staying to investigate Spiritomb, though their studies had revealed nothing so far, and Palmer was staying to talk to Xavier. Xavier didn't particularly care what was going on, but decided to stay with the group in case Spiritomb did act out, leaving Cheryl along as she left to take part in another contest.

It had been a long day of studying, and the group had retired to the pleasant courtyard-like battle field to watch Matthew get some last minute training in before the contest started in ninety minutes. Piplup was facing off against Milotic, and all eyes watched as the small penguin bounded forwards, fists glowing red as she dived towards the serpentine Water type. Both Pokemon had taken a beating in the battle, but Milotic seemed to be taking it a lot worse, taking those watching by surprise.

"Lotic Milo Mi!" Milotic said, and opened her mouth, ready to fire the purple ball. However, Piplup was moving too swiftly, and scored a direct hit on her head with the Brick Break, causing Milotic to fall backwards.

"Great job!" Matthew called out ecstatically, and Piplup bowed as she landed. "Use a Metal Claw this time!"

"Lup Lup," Piplup called, and ran forwards with her left arm now glowing silver.

"GO PIPLUP!" Sahara yelled. She was squashed in between Xavier and Fantina, the gym leader aiding her in cheering along. Nutty and Grotle cheered as well, while both Xavier and Hammer were unfazed by the proceedings, the latter even with his back turned. Sahara wanted him to witness some more battles, but wasn't going to force the Meditite if he didn't want to, and left him alone.

Vanessa was also finding herself left alone. After setting Spiritomb out and failing to control it, despite what everyone said, Vanessa found herself being outcast for her rash decision. She sat on another bench with her legs crossed, wearing a loud orange jumper she had knitted herself that stretched below her hips, were red and yellow striped socks, also knitted, took over down to her feet enclosed in pink high heels. Though winter was meant to be nearing the end, snow had been falling lightly over the past few days and things were getting chillier as the sun set.

As Piplup struck Milotic with the Metal Claw, Vanessa glanced over at the others as she lightly clapped. She was rather annoyed that they had practically ignored her outside of researching, where everyone was quiet anyway unless discussing something. In her mind, what she had done wasn't wrong: letting Spiritomb escape had been the mistake, and Vanessa was doing her best to try and locate the demonic Pokemon, and wouldn't leave Solaceon until that was done.

There was a loud thud that shook the snow on the ground: Milotic had been blasted back by the Metal Claw, which Piplup had fired with her strongest power that grown over the last few days. The Tender Pokemon crashed to the ground, rolling over by the force of the attack and landing at Palmer's feet, unconscious.

"YES!" Matthew cheered, and Piplup did a little victory dance in the middle of the field. Sahara and Nutty rushed forwards clapping, but as the others got to their feet, they could see the annoyance flickering in Palmer's eyes: a senior person known throughout Sinnoh and the world for running a prestigious battling service wasn't meant to be defeated by a novice coordinator. Vanessa, Xavier and Fantina could all see Palmer was furious, though he was allowing himself to smile.

"Great job Matt," he called out as he brought Milotic back. "Good too see all your training has paid off! I'll have to use one of my stronger Pokemon against you next time!" He smiled over at them all, but everyone but Matthew could see that he holding back his anger and embarrassment at the loss.

"Thanks a lot for battling us!" Matthew called back as he rushed forwards and swept Piplup off the ground. "I think we'll be ready for anything that comes our way at the contest, won't we?"

"Lup Pip Pip!" Piplup called happily, and suddenly glowed white. Matthew, Sahara and Fantina all gasped as Piplup's body began to grow in length and width, her head becoming less round and her flippers tripling in size. Matthew placed her back of the ground as she stopped glowing, revealing a much larger Penguin Pokemon, reaching up to Matthew's waist, with a longer cape, sharper and longer claws and two crests coming out from her beak.

"PRINPLUP PRIN!" Prinplup cried. Matthew's jaw had dropped, staring down at his newly evolved starter, many thoughts rushing through his head.

"Congratulations Matthew, and yoo too Prinplup!" Sahara said as Nutty rushed forwards to hug her. Sahara pulled her PokeDex out and scanned Prinplup, while Matthew simply smiled and nodded at the praise coming his way. As everyone spoke, Fantina glanced at a fancy gold pocket watch she had and gasped dramatically.

"Matthew, we must leave now!" She cried. "The contest hall will take a while to get to and we have to sign you in and everything! Come come, we can heal Prinplup there!" Fantina had been called earlier in the day and asked to fill in for one of the judges, and she had happily accepted.

"Oh, right, yes…," Matthew said, seeming rather stunned. He brought Prinplup back into her ball without saying anything to her about the evolution, and quickly followed after Fantina without a goodbye.

"Good luck!" Sahara called out before turning to Xavier, Nutty and Grotle. "That was a bit weird, wasn't it? He didn't even congratulate Prinplup on evolving."

"I don't have time to think what is going on inside Matthew's head," Xavier replied bluntly. "If he chooses not to congratulate his Pokemon, than that is his issue, not mine." Sahara exchanged looks with Palmer and Nutty over this comment, but than shot a look at Vanessa as she let a slight laugh escape. The tension was thick between Vanessa and everyone else, and the red head wasn't going to stay here and take it. She was about to say something to Sahara, but before her lips could move, the door to the Center suddenly banged behind them. All eyes turned as Bebe came rushing over, clutching her a miniature laptop in her hands as always.

"Vanessa, you won't believe what just happened!" The technician cried ecstatically. She had been working flat out, both researching Spiritomb and the strange magic that had occurred at the Lost Tower and trying to fix the PC Storage System using only her laptop and the Pokemon Center's computers. Vanessa had no idea why she directly wanted to talk to her, but didn't argue as the technician skidded to a halt in the light snow.

"Someone just came up to me looking for you," she explained, holding a note out. "He didn't leave a name before you ask, but he had a leather jacket and matching boots and gloves. Denim jeans as well, I think…" Bebe began to drift off, but Vanessa and Sahara knew exactly who she was talking about as the red head opened up the note.

"Emerson," she hissed. "He wants to talk to me, says he has information."

"What kind of information?" Sahara asked, their differences being put aside in light of this development.

"It just says 'Meet me at Milkshake at 8. Our information will help your cause greatly'," Vanessa read before exchanging looks with those around her. Emerson was not one to be trusted after their last few meetings, but if things were planned properly, things could be controlled in their favour rather than his. "What is 'Milkshake' anyway?"

"It's a club located under the Café Cabin on Route 210," Bebe explained.

"What sort of name for a club is Milkshake?" Vanessa scoffed.

"Whoever thought of it probably just struggled to find a name and settled with the first thing that popped into their head," Sahara snapped irritably, grabbing the letter. "What's more important is deciding what to do. For all we know the Slayers could have the answers to all our problems!"

"They do travel a lot and get up to a lot of dodgy activities, so they could definitely know something," Vanessa said with a nod, glad to be talking to Sahara. "I say we go with our Pokemon and my weapons, see if they have anything to say, and if they try anything dodgy we simply fight back and get the fuck out of there. It will be pretty easy for Smash to knock the entire building down if we have to."

"We've done stupider things in the past," Sahara said with a sigh. "I think it is worth the risk. Are you three alright with that?" Bebe stared down at her feet, her happy demeanour disappearing.

"I am not the _best _under these sorts of situations…," she said sheepishly. "However, I could hack into the security tapes and be on the lookout for things. If these Slaying people try anything funny, I could contact the cops or shut down the power or something."

"That could actually be useful," Vanessa said, and Sahara nodded in agreement before they turned to Xavier and Palmer. "Are you two going to come?" Palmer let out a booming laugh that startled the three females. The Tower Tycoon had been friendly and jovial over the past week, despite his recent loss, but his sudden loudness and constant, usually rude anecdotes were rather off putting. Sahara hadn't said anything due to him being recently widowed and being Xavier's father, while Vanessa didn't want to make everyone even angrier with her and was forced to simply think nasty thoughts.

"I have been waiting here a whole week in order to get a chance to talk to my son," Palmer boomed, thumping Xavier on the back and nearly knocking him over Grotle, "and I think that while the rest of you are out will be a perfect time to talk things over!"

"I'd much rather battle you than talk," Xavier said as he straightened himself up. "I think you could do with battling as well. Either Mother's death has affected you or you've just gotten lazy, but Matthew is not a particularly good trainer and I don't see why he defeated you." Vanessa bit down hard on her tongue to prevent herself from laughing as Palmer's eyes bulged at his son's comments. He began stuttering, trying to find something to say, while Grotle and Nutty sniggered to each other.

"Well, we'll see you all later than," Sahara said, doing a better job at keeping a straight face, but she began to silently crack up and she turned and walked away, scooping Nutty up and stuffing her inside her cloak to silence her laughter. Hammer stood up at their approach, and the two girls disappeared inside where they finally began to laugh their heads off. Bebe remained standing feeling rather awkward as Palmer continued to fail to think of what to say, the last of the sunlight disappearing as the sun set for the day and the darkness began to take over.

* * *

As a week of little progress and training occurred for the Dex Holders, the same was occurring for Team Galactic.

The failed mission at the Lost Tower had thoroughly angered Cyrus, who had been hoping to gain control of Spiritomb straight away. He spent the entire week locked away in his study pouring over the spell book and other books on the history of Sinnoh, while Charon was locked away as well, though no one knew quite what he was up to. Several grunts had been asked to bring him food and drinks and brought back gossip about large computer screens and lots of weaponry, meaning he was working on something important.

Draco had disappeared to fulfil his side job of collecting Pokemon, leaving the three admins and Minerva to set tasks for the grunts to do. Mostly they were just training their Pokemon up at the facility or learning to use a variety of guns, rocket launchers and knives and shields. They even did training exercises similar to the one Charles did when he first arrived, and Saturn kept making the grunts go for leg aching runs around the facility perimeters. Everyone was desperate for something exciting to happen, and as Roshonda walked towards Charles, he knew something was going to happen to him.

"We've got a mission."

_Joy_, was what Charles thought sarcastically.

"Great," was what he said, the sarcasm lingering behind his words.

He was sitting at the edge of the battle field on the third floor of the training facility. Four grunts were have a tag team battle in the centre, Mars walking around the outside whipping the trainers who weren't up to scratch in her view. Many people were bleeding in the stands behind Charles, nursing their wounds from their own battle rounds. Charles and Roshonda were meant to be battling Addison and Brody after this, and while he was relieved to not be battling after a week of strenuous training, the idea of going on another mission after what happened on the last one wasn't worth thinking about.

"What magic are we doing this time?" Charles sighed as Roshonda sat down next to him. She laughed as an explosion rising up from the middle of the field, Mars shouting furiously at those battling.

"I don't think we are the ones doing magic, but we are going to find the magic queen herself," Roshonda explained, and Charles' heart sank further, knowing these words could only mean one thing. Roshonda looked sad, and Charles realised his sigh must have shown on his face. "I know weird ghost girl –,"

"Charlotte."

"Whatever – I know you have some history with her, but Cyrus called me over specifically and said it was a very special task," Roshonda explained in a soothing tone. Charles was surprised by this, as he thought Cyrus hadn't left the main headquarter in Veilstone City at all during the week. And why had he chosen to speak to Roshonda and not him? Cyrus had always seem to show more liking to him than her… not that Charles particularly cared, though it was one of the many questions for him to ponder.

"What is this 'special task' then?" Charles asked, and Roshonda seemed to light up.

"Cyrus just said we had to try and find Charlotte and use a spell on her," she explained, a lot happier now that Charles seemed to be interested, and pulled out a rolled up piece of paper. Charles unrolled it and saw it was a photocopied page from the spell book, a particular spell highlighted in red.

"They could have made the text a bit easier to read," Charles grunted, squinting to try and tell the letters apart. Suddenly, a face appeared between the two, making both of them jumped as they turned to find Addison.

"If your going to keep complaining, I'll go on the mission and you can look after the rich dick instead," she said irritably. Charles glanced back at Brody, who looked away quickly from staring at Addison's rear as she bent over. Roshonda sighed at Addison as she clutched her heart, the fright startling her.

"You two need to hurry up and get along," she said. "Cyrus is probably still mad you spoke back to him and will keep punishing you in this way." Addison scoffed and slid back into her seat, forcing Charles and Roshonda to turn to face her.

"That wanker," she growled, staring angrily at Brody. "He needs to get over himself and deal with the fact people are going to talk back to him at some point, especially if he sends us into missions where we have no idea what to expect." Roshonda looked annoyed and began telling Addison off, but Charles knew she had a fair point and simply remained silent. His thoughts were interrupted as something cracked on the seat between him and Roshonda, shattering it and making her scream.

"Next battle!" Mars snapped. Charles watched as the previous four battlers scuttled to the sides, one of them heading towards the elevator due to the amount of blood they were losing from whipping wounds.

"Charles and I have to go on a mission," Roshonda said. Mars growled, clearly unimpressed with this, and Charles edged his hands towards his PokeBalls in case things turned nasty.

"Why do you two get to go on a mission and I'm stuck here babysitting you little fuckers!" Mars growled, and thrashed her whip against three seats, destroying all of them. Roshonda was shocked, but Charles leapt to his feet and grabbed her hand. "Bugger off then! You two, though, have to battle!" Addison sighed as Mars pointed at her with her whip, and the two got to their feet and followed behind Charles and Roshonda as they clambered down the stands.

"Maybe it won't be that bad," Brody said, putting on a smile. Charles turned around just as Addison angrily pushed him over a chair, sending him sprawling over to the amusement of the other grunts.  
"Are we teleporting there?" Charles asked, listening to Mars erupting with fury behind them.

"I think so," Roshonda replied. "All I know is we are going with Saturn and Jupiter, but they are doing something else. That could explain why Mars is so angry if those two are going as well." Charles simply nodded, not really paying any attention as the two stepped into the elevator. He simply hoped that this mission would go by without hitch: no exploding planes, no exploding boats, no exploding telekinetic teenage girls… a day with no explosions was something Charles could only dream about. As the lift doors closed and the metal box began to descend, Charles wondered how many more missions he was going to be sent on before Galactic got what they wanted, and then he could finally leave and put the bad memory that was Sinnoh behind him.

"Charon needs you."

Cyrus merely nodded, continuing to watch even though Charles and Roshonda had disappeared into the elevator. He was staring through the hidden window at the opposite end of the third floor, usually used for watching the grunts potential, but today Cyrus had been using it to spy on his son. After a week of pouring over books and trying to find information out that could help them in trying to capture Giratina, who was going to probe crucial in their plot, Cyrus had decided the only way to get control of the amount of black magic needed to control the ruler of death was to get the original witch herself.

"Why do you keep choosing him for this missions?" Minerva hissed from the door, surprising Cyrus as he thought she had left.

"You never complained about sending him on missions before," Cyrus pointed out. "How is what he is doing tonight any worse than taking on the Valley Windworks or aiding you in blowing up the Dialga statue?" He knew it wouldn't settle her though, and was proven correct as Minerva marched up to him and turned him around, her face fill with fury but her eyes shaking with tears.

"This magic is worse than any of that," Minerva hissed. "I know what Charlotte did to you, and I know what Giratina could do to this world. Trusting that dead bitch is a bad idea, and thinking you could ever control Giratina is a gamble not worth taking. We could control the bombs and the guns, but sending Charles – _our son_ –, into Charlotte's territory is something we can't control. Your being a fool!" Cyrus turned to face his assistant, beginning to get annoyed.

"Don't try and act like your some brilliant mother when you're the one who gave him up!" Cyrus hissed, and the hurt was instantly visible on Minerva's face. "The only parenting you've done is using him to get rid of the by product of you and Looker continuing to fail in killing the other and letting your Pokemon get up to whatever they please behind a box! So don't you call my actions into judgement ever again, or you'll find yourself out on the streets!" Minerva's body was trembling after this, but she still managed a powerful slap across Cyrus' right cheek, causing him to stumble slightly. By the time he had recovered, Minerva had gone back to the doorway, and paused as she was about to step out.

"If you want Operation Robin to succeed, than go see Charon now," she hissed and slammed the door shut. Cyrus rubbed his cheek and stared out at the battle occurring between Addison and Brody and their new pair. As an explosion shook the window, Cyrus simply wondered if he was making the right decision, before turning and stalking out of the room, settling his mind by simply telling himself he was right, before going to see what Charon had in store for him.

* * *

Standing in the middle of the Solaceon Town Contest Hall, Matthew began to feel the tense, almost sickening feeling that came before all of his contests.

The hall was a lot smaller than the others had had been to, being only one storey and having sports field like stands rather than the more arena-like ones halls like Hearthome had. However, it was a still a very pretty building, painted purple on the outside with different shades of pink on the insides. The carpet was a fine blue though a bit shabby, and the coordinators had one long changing room and had to share bathrooms with the spectators. It was poised for an expansion, Matthew remembered, having seen some documents his father had back at their house… though thinking about his father didn't help his nerves.

Before every contest, Matthew got nervous: he worried something would go wrong, he worried the other appeals would be much better than him, he worried his Pokemon wouldn't be strong enough for the battles, he worried his suit might spontaneously catch on fire and everyone would laugh at him. But today, one thing was playing on his mind that he knew it shouldn't be, yet it didn't stop him from worrying about it.

One thing the judges always liked to see were cute Pokemon. If you came in with a Jigglypuff or a Clefairy, you could expect to get brownie points. It was a bit of a biased system, but everyone liked to see cute Pokemon rather than Steelix's or Pinsir's. From his front-row viewing of how the Contest Board worked for most of his life, Matthew knew that a cute Pokemon was the key to putting you above your competitor: he was using Cherubi for his appeal, and had planned on using Piplup for the battle rounds… but Prinplup… Matthew couldn't help but reflect back to a special his father did about contests, and was asked by the different starter Pokemon, including Piplup: _Piplup is probably your safest bet for getting a cute starter type in Sinnoh, but whatever you do, don't let them evolve! Heavily armoured penguins won't be making the judges swoon any time soon…_

"Hey Matthew!" Matthew snapped out of his thoughts, though his father and the interviewers laughter played back in his head. He turned to see Harrison and Lucinda walking forwards, wearing a pale blue suit and a purple jacket and orange skirt respectively. "I saw you walking in with Fantina: been getting professional tips?" Harrison said, half joking though also looking half serious. Fantina had already left to get ready for judging, leaving Matthew all alone in the middle of the atrium.

"She has been giving me some advice over the week, but she has been busy with other stuff," Matthew replied, surprised to see a familiar face here. Lucinda's face lit up at the mention of 'other stuff', and Matthew wasn't surprised when she pulled a pink notepad and matching pen from her black handbag.

"Other stuff, you say?" Lucinda asked slyly. "This would by any chance have anything to do with the Lost Tower, which mysteriously collapsed a week ago a few hours before a black wave of misery swept across Solaceon and Hearthome?" Matthew hadn't heard anything about the energy that was released when Spiritomb was released getting out, but made a mental note to ask the others about it later.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Matthew lied, though flashed a beaming white smile to show he knew more. "I would love to chat, but we do have a contest starting in about five minutes, don't we?"

"Come on Matthew, you have to give me _something_!" Lucinda groaned. "I need a juicy story to keep my career going. The only interesting thing I've reported on all week has been a fight down in the Underground, and there wasn't much to say after two days." Matthew knew this fight would have been the one Vanessa and Sahara had been involved in, resulting in a striped egg for Sahara and the Odd Keystone and a whole lot of trouble for Vanessa, though he didn't let his face show. Lucinda would probably keep harassing him for the rest of the day if he didn't take her anything, so Matthew decided instead to get their advice on the issues muddling up inside his head, hoping that would at least distract her for now.

"My Piplup evolved and I am not sure if Prinplup is cute enough for contests," Matthew blurted out quickly before Lucinda could ask another question. The reporter gasped at this comment, while Harrison simply gave Matthew a rather surprised look. "It's just… I love Prinplup and _I_ think she is cute, but what about the judges? I hear they judge Pokemon really harshly, and I don't know if Prinplup is a winner…" This was the truth, but Matthew made himself sound sadder and more worried than he really was to get more sympathy.

"Matthew, you shouldn't say that!" Lucinda said in a motherly voice, putting a hand on his shoulder. "All Pokemon are beautiful in their own ways: we shouldn't judge them based on looks or sizes or cuteness!"

"This from the girl with an Aggron and a Forretress," Harrison added with a scoff, earning him a scowl from his friend. "Look Matthew: Piplup is practically a soft toy that is able to come alive, but Prinplup just isn't as adorable, no matter what you say. It may be sad, but it's the truth. If it comes down to a draw and your using Prinplup and the other person has, I don't know – a Happiny! – the judges are going to choose the Happiny over Prinplup." Matthew knew that this would be the case, but it didn't make it any less depressing to hear: he wanted to use Prinplup, who was probably his strongest and most loyal Pokemon, but he also wanted to win and become the champion: it was a very tough dilemma.

"_Attention everyone: may the coordinators please may their way to backstage and all spectators make their way to their seats. The contest will be starting in five minutes._

"Guess that's our curtain call," Harrison said, grabbing Lucinda by the shoulders and pushing her forwards through the crowd. "See you in the finals!" He called out, and Matthew smiled and waved back to him as the crowd began to block his path. Not wanting to push through and ruin his suit, Matthew backed up and waited for the crowd to part, watching as the bodies slowly disappeared through the two entranceways to the main arena.

"There must be somewhere else to go through," Matthew mumbled, and he began to look around for another way to the changing room. But as Matthew turned, his worries about Prinplup also playing on his mind, the glass doors slid open behind him and a trio of men walked in. Two of them were wearing suits and talking animatedly to a man in the middle. Matthew froze as he stared at them, instantly recognizing the person they were talking.

Adrian Pearl did not look well. Unlike his companions, he simply wore jeans a plain white shirt that had a button undone at the top and bottom. His black hair was tinged with grey at the sides that matched the stubble across his face, and even from a distance Matthew could see his father looked tired.

However, he was not ready to face him. The revelation of an affair had been painful to digest and had been bothering Matthew for days now. He knew his mother claimed she was fine, but he worried about how Leah was coping on her own. The striped brown egg that was currently back at his room was a constant reminder of it, but Matthew intended to keep the Pokemon and see who came out of it, and than see if it could lead him to the mystery woman and answer some questions.

Adrian looked up as his companions continued to talk, thinking for a moment he had seen Matthew in the crowd, but couldn't see anyone that looked like his son and went back to listening to the conversation occurring around him. He didn't know that Matthew had been there seconds before, but was now plunging his way through the crowd, ignoring the shouts of protest around him as he set out to put as much distance between himself and his father as he possibly could, trying hard to hold his tears in.

* * *

It was dark by the time Vanessa and Sahara set out, changing from their usual clothes into something more appropriate for going to a club: Sahara still wore her white coat, but underneath she had put on a black mini dress that had been a gift from her cousin in Kanto, while Vanessa now wore a blue leather jacket over a simple white dress that she had stuck neon glow sticks to so she twinkled in the dark. It was rather uncomfortable to wear, but Vanessa had hidden all of her things in there: PokeBalls, touch device, her PokeDex and her umbrella, all tightly packed and ready to use, undetectable by standard facilities. The other neon sticks themselves would also make handy weapons, though Vanessa hoped she didn't have to use them.

Though the sky was dark and they soon left the safety of lamp posts as they embarked onto Route 210, Vanessa felt calm as the two of them walked through a man made path between grass that grew above their heads. She was excited at the mere thought of getting information, even if it was coming from Emerson and the Slayers, and always loved an opportunity to dress up, but the best part of the night was being near Sahara. Since Vanessa had set Spiritomb free, the two had barely talked, and Vanessa missed the conversations the two use to have. Sahara would always confide in her and discuss things with her, and Vanessa had felt more connected to any other human being than she had for many years, and sometimes found the connection be as strong as her bond with her Pokemon. Yet the love Vanessa felt for Sahara was not like that for Pokemon: it was the sensual, romantic love felt for another human being, not the love felt for a strong and close friend. Vanessa loved Sahara, and wanted their bond to linger and remain for as long as they both lived.

Yet Spiritomb had forced them apart: Sahara had sided with the others, and spent her days doing research silently, clearly ignoring Vanessa, and then her evenings sharing egg tips with Matthew and listening to Fantina's stories. Vanessa felt jealous… not the same jealously she felt whenever Charles' name was mentioned or his smug, overly handsome Johto face appeared, but it was still painful to see them all talking to her whilst Vanessa was being ignored. She just hoped tonight would change things.

"I cannot wait until we get out of Solaceon," Vanessa said casually as they walked up a small hill. "It is just rather boring being stuck at the Pokemon Center: I want to get out and explore things a bit, and I hear Veilstone is meant to be amazing."

"We wouldn't be stuck inside the Pokemon Center if you hadn't set a pure evil Pokemon out into the world," Sahara said bitterly, "and besides, didn't you hear what Fantina said the other night about how they suspect Galactic to be located somewhere in Veilstone?"

"No, I didn't," Vanessa gasped, more thrown by this than Sahara's icy response.

"You must not have been in the room," Sahara said with a shrug. Vanessa was stunned to learn this information, but it began to settle in how much she was being pushed aside by the others and decided to focus on the path ahead. Reaching the top of the hill gave them the first look of the café that was above Milkshake: it was a simple building that easily could have passed for one of the wooden and brick cottages in Solaceon if it wasn't for a large sign with a cartoon Miltank and the words 'CAFÉ CABIN' alongside.

"I guess this is our place," Sahara said as they began to walk down the hill. "Do you have everything you need?" Vanessa nodded and patted her neon sticks, which continued to glow brightly around them. Vanessa went to speak, but Sahara suddenly stopped, staring at the neon sticks in shock: when Vanessa had patted them, Sahara had seen something falling past.

"Is it raining?" She whispered fearfully. Vanessa was surprised by her sudden fright, and tilted her head backwards to look at the sky only to have the question answered by two drops of rain hitting her face.

"I believe so," the red head replied, and Sahara suddenly cursed and lunged for her dress. "What are you doing?"

"I need your umbrella!" Sahara shrieked, trying to tear the sticks from the dress. "If it rains and I haven't prepared for it, I'll turn into Eden, and do you seriously want _her _in the middle of a club with gang members? NOW GIVE ME THE UMBRELLA!" Vanessa was taken aback her shrill cries, but knew that Eden would be a major hindrance to their plan and quickly grabbed the glow stick that held her umbrella. But just as Vanessa pulled the top of, Sahara's grip on her arms fell weak, and she could only watched as she fell over backwards, eyes turning blue.

"Sahara!" Vanessa cried and quickly caught her before she hit the ground. Sahara's body was twisting and flailing, and Vanessa was afraid something worse was happening when her body suddenly stopped moving and became weak. "Sahara, Eden, whoever, wake up!" Vanessa slapped her head across the face, wondering if that would do anything, and was mildly pleased when Sahara's eyes flickered slowly open and a dull grin appeared on her face.

"WOOOOO, PAAAAAAR-TAAAAAY!" Eden yelled, leaping to her feet and tearing the white coat off. Vanessa sighed as the cloak was thrown across her head and Eden tried to take off, only to stumble over drunkenly. "I think… I think y-y-you are going to have to help me up!" Eden slurred before collapsing against the tall grass. Vanessa moved over to help her up, wondering what to do: she wanted to go and see if there was any information and had relied on Sahara for back up, but Eden was in no state to help and would probably be too busy getting even drunker anyway.

"Eden, I need you to listen," Vanessa said as the rain began to fall heavily, pounding against the ground and the grass and sending a herd of Ponyta galloping towards shelter. "Eden, I have an important mission to do, so I am only going to take you to the club if you agree to be my back up, alright? If you don't, I'm going to hit you in the back, okay?" Eden nodded, before giggling hysterically.

"Your dress is glowing!" She pointed out before erupting into raucous laughter. Vanessa sighed as she slung an arm around her shoulder and continued walking forwards. The chance at getting information was too good to turn down, and she couldn't turn back around now. Vanessa could only hope Eden didn't cause any scenes and had her fingers crossed that tonight turned out for the best.

As the rain continued to pour down, thunder sounding in the distance, a figure watched Vanessa and Eden as they moved towards the open door. Anyone that noticed it would have wondered what a Ninetales was doing in the wild, never thinking that it had once belonged to someone.

Lady Carolina's Ninetales watched as the door to the Café Cabin swung open, and she continued to wait underneath a large tree for a break in the weather to make her way across: she had come all the way from Twinleaf Town, so she could wait a little while longer to get revenge for her mistress.

* * *

"Is it just me, or does every single cave in Sinnoh look the same?"

Charles and Roshonda had been wandering around the Solaceon Ruins for nearly an hour. They had been teleported to the surrounding hillside along with Saturn and Jupiter, the two admins dressed in black leather and wearing false wigs to hide their identities as they headed to a local club for some relaxation. This left Charles and Roshonda to travel through the twisting caves by themselves, though they hadn't been giving a map as they didn't actually know where Charlotte specifically was, leaving them to find her by themselves. Charles carried a bag with the spell, a torch, an emergency teleportation device, some food and water and walkie talkies to contact the base.

It was easy enough to find an entrance into the caves amongst the caves thanks to various signposts scattered around, but once they entered they were along. The only light came from Charles shining the torch's beam, and the two walked close together as they moved through the maze of tunnels and caves. They kept having to shimmy their way up and down uneven slopes and would expectantly enter a cave, ready to read the spell, only to find it empty asides from rocks, dirt and the scattered rubbish left behind by past travellers.

So after an hour of walking, the two were fairly bored. Charles was beginning to wish he could be back at the base, training some more even though it was the only thing he had done all week, simply to not be in this cave. Roshonda had begun collecting interesting things from around the caves they had visited and was so engrossed in examining them that she didn't hear Charles' question.

"Roshonda!" Charles called, and Roshonda squealed and dropped the collection in her arms, causing it to clatter to the ground and echo in the silent tunnel. Charles sighed and rolled his eyes, turning the torch beam towards her and bending down to help pick it up.

"You shouldn't have scared me!" Roshonda huffed, scooping discarded compasses and old fashioned Apricorn Balls from the ground. Charles was going to say that if she had been paying attention he wouldn't have needed to talk to her, but was distracted as he heard a whooshing sound nearby. "HEY!" Roshonda cried as Charles turned the torch away, trying to see what had made the sound: they hadn't seen any Pokemon anywhere in the ruins, yet Charlotte rarely made any noise, so it had to be a Pokemon.

"Sorry," Charles said with a sigh after scanning the entire tunnel and not seeing anything. "Maybe we should stop here for a little while?" Roshonda nodded and Charles wedged the torch between two rocks, casting the yellow beam up to the stalactite-filled roof. He unpacked the energy bars and water bottles they'd been given before sitting nex to Roshonda, the collection sitting on the ground near them.

"I did hear your question before," Roshonda said, "I just didn't bother replying." Charles laughed at this as he slurped down a quarter of the water bottle, thirsty after the hour of walking. "I haven't really paid attention to the design of the ruins, but I must agree they all look the same: dirty, covered with rocks and those weird jagged things, same types of Pokemon presumably. If they all went to the same party, most of them are going to have to change." Charles laughed again, spilling a bit of water down his jacket, which in turn caused Roshonda to laugh. They continued laughing for nearly a minute, Charles simply pleased to have something to laugh at after the long week they had had. He had quite literally been so tired he hadn't even wondered about any of his past worries, not even Sahara…

"Why is this place called a ruin?" Charles said quickly, distracting his brain before it went down that old path. "There were some ruins in Johto: collapsed buildings, pillars with no roof, doors that led to more rubble. _That_ is what a ruin is, but this is just a bunch of tunnels." Charles smiled at Roshonda, wondering for her take, but saw the laughter had all but died from her face. "What's wrong? Did I say something –,"

"Why don't you ever talk about your time in Johto?" Roshonda asked. Charles was taken aback by this, and it suddenly seemed strange they had been laughing only a few moments ago. Roshonda noticed she had said something wrong and looked frazzled. "I just mean… you haven't told us about what your history is with this Charlotte thing, and you never mention how you got your Pokemon or anything. I don't see why your keeping your life so secret!"

"I don't know anything about you!" Charles replied, snapping more than he intended to. "Don't act as if you've spilled your life story out to me and I should do the same! And even if you had, I am not going to tarnish some of the happiest memories of my life by speaking about them while doing a job for fucking Team Galactic!"

"Fine!" Roshonda snapped, leaping to her feet and trying to look angry, but her hurt managed to show through. "Just stay in your little bubble and act like you are better than all of this! I am just trying to be a friend but you keep pushing me away when I haven't done anything wrong!"

"Roshonda, I –,"

"No, stuff you Charles!" Roshonda huffed, turning around and walking off into the darkness, leaving her collection and untouched energy bar and water bottle behind. Charles had no idea where this had come from, but knew enough about women to know he needed to apologize for whatever he had done before Roshonda abandoned him.

"Roshonda, just wait!" Charles cried, leaping to his feet. However, Charles was barely upright when Roshonda screamed. He froze, trying to imagine what the problem was and wondering where she was, the echoing distorting her exact location. Whatever the situation, though, Charles knew he had to act quickly: he grabbed the torch and swung it around, trying to see where she had gone. However the yellow light didn't catch anything asides from the rocks and dirt Charles had been seeing for the past hour.

"ROSHONDA, WHERE ARE YOU?" Charles yelled, wheeling around and moving the torch in every direction, trying to catch sight of her and wondering where she could have possibly gone. But Charles suddenly found himself frozen, even though he wanted to keep moving. He had no idea what was happening and why he had stopped, but Charles could feel a cold sensation seeping through his body.

"Yes Charlie, that's a smart idea," a familiar voice purred in his ear. "Scream and wave your little torch about, that's always a smart idea to do in unfamiliar territory." The voice turned to loud, high pitched laughter as Charles' body came weak and he struggled to breathe. He managed to catch sight of Charlotte as she turned him around to look at him, the torch light causing her to glow. The ghost continued to laugh as the torch fell out of Charles' weak hands, shattering and sending the world into darkness. Charles wasn't sure if he had fallen unconscious or not, but he managed to hear Charlotte's laughter for a few more seconds before fully shutting down, the last thought passing through his mind wondering how he could have fallen into Charlotte's hands without realizing.

* * *

Despite being more low key than Hearthome and the other contest halls, the Solaceon Town Contest Hall still knew how to put on a pretty good show.

Matthew stood in the wings, feeling his usual tense nerves as he prepared to step out onto the field. The six appeals before him had been very entertaining and well arranged, ranging from a Rapidash jumping through hoops of fire it had created near the roof to a Kricketune manipulating its usual calm music into sounding more country. The crowd was also more laid back and lively, whooping and cheering at the spectacular performances and getting to the feet, clapping along and some people nearly dancing when the Kricketune performed. Matthew found the crowd rather entertaining and they made him want to clap along as well, but his nerves were taking over.

Despite his best intentions, Matthew still worried about the presence of his father and what would happen if he used Prinplup. Matthew had always had a problem with nerves, but these two issues were playing on his mind and he wanted to try and focus on something else but couldn't think of anything. He merely watched the performing Noctowl juggle balls with her wings whilst looking the other way and doing hoop tricks with her mind. Matthew wished one of his friends had shown up for some moral support and tried his best to do breathing exercises and think about anything whether it was happy or sad, but his mind kept going back to the issues: what if they had him disqualified for using Prinplup? What if his father complained and had him kicked out? What if Matthew blew up the hall and got himself permanently kicked out?

"Thank you Sophia for that truly amazing performance!" Felicity boomed into the microphone, and the crowd roared and cheered as the purple dress clad trainer bowed to the audience and hugged the presenter. Matthew was pleased to see the same old commentator was still around, having worried that her outburst at the Hearthome Contest could have led to her being fired. He had been relieved to see her and her Manectric open the show with an electrical display and felt more reassured to see her standing in the middle of the platform in her flowing green and brown dress.

"You are an exceedingly spectacular crowd!" Felicity called, sending the crowd into another burst of whoops and cheers. "Now, let's see you put that enthusiasm towards the winner of the Hearthome City Double Battle Contest, Matthew Pearl!" The crowd let out another collective cheer and Matthew took a deep breathe as he heard his name.

_You can do this! _He told himself, and forced a smile onto his face as he walked into the stadium. Matthew waved up at the crowd, smiling and trying to stare at them all, but at the same time trying not to catch his father's eye wherever he was in the hall. Matthew did, however, see the three judges at a purple clothed table near the stands: Fantina was in the middle, nearly blending into the table, while Tiffany Jones sat to her left in a vivacious red dress and Dr Orson on the other side in a navy suit with grey tie. Fantina smiled at Matthew, and he began to feel more confident as he put his emotions side, focusing on the appeal at hand.

"Good luck," Felicity whispered to him, pulling him into an one armed hug and holding the microphone at a distance. Matthew smiled back at her, and suddenly had an idea as he saw the microphone, eyeing a perfect opportunity to show he was truly here.

"Can I borrow that?" He asked as he pulled out a sealed Heal Ball. Felicity looked stunned, but it quickly turned to a shiny white smile.

"Of course," she said. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Matthew Pearl!" She shouted to the audience before passing the microphone over. The crowd's cheers seemed to die down as Matthew grabbed it, and he wondered if they had frozen in anticipation, wondering what he was about to do. His confidence faltered, but Matthew stood his ground and kept his smile going, knowing not to let it die.

"I just wanted to say…," he began, looking around at the audience and trying to pluck up his courage. He imagined his father watching him from up in the stands, testing him to prove himself again, and the words fell out. "I just wanted to say that big things can come in small packages!" With a confident smile, Matthew threw the Heal Ball into the air and passed the microphone back. Felicity smiled, and after she had grabbed it back she clapped her hands together. The audience decided to join in, recovering from their shock and getting back to their noisy selves. Matthew beamed with pride as he raced to his spot backwards, watching as the Heal Ball opened: a series of pink petals fluttered out rather than energy, falling elegantly towards the ground. The petals gathered together in a pile and remained still, and Matthew tensed up, hoping it went right.

"CHERUUUUB!" Cherubi cried exuberantly, the petals blowing away and turning to pink dust, revealing the tiny Grass type below. The crowd went mental for this and Matthew breathed a sigh of relief: the first part was over, and Cherubi was out and smiling as wide as her little body would allow. It was only right that he had the same confidence as his Pokemon, and Matthew beamed brightly at her.

"Alright Cherubi, Grass Knot!" Matthew called. Cherubi continued to smile as her head leaves glowed a bright green, and she remained beaming as she slammed her smaller berry into the ground. Green energy flowed across the field, and the crowd cheered as grass sprouted from it, criss-crossing and forming a nicely woven field around Cherubi.

"Excellent!" Matthew shouted, pleased it had succeeded. "Growth, go!"

"Rubi Rubi!" Cherubi called and shut her eyes, a green glow emitting from her body. The glow spread across the field, once again turning it into a luminous field of green. Matthew hoped it wouldn't seem repetitive, and felt relieved as the outcome he hoped for occurred: the glow began to rise up, and the crowd gasped as they saw the grass was growing rapidly, quickly engulfing Cherubi and soon rising higher than Matthew and Felicity, and only coming to a stop once it was taller than the front row. Matthew was shocked the move had actually worked and was stunned at Cherubi's power, but being surprised wouldn't be a good sign and he put his smile back on.

"Superb!" He boomed. "Now finish this with Magical Leaf!"

"Bi Bi Cheroob!" Cherubi called. It was only now that Matthew realized not seeing the Magical Leaf being used wouldn't give him any points, and he began to tense up again, hoping the move would work. The slicing sounds were easily heard as the audience fell silent, trying to work out what was happening. The first rainbow-glowing leaf emerged after ten seconds, slicing through the outer layer and being joined by three others that cut through the outer layer. More leaves emerged until around forty were chopping away, leaving grass to cover the cover as it thinned away. The move was taking longer and Matthew could see Dr Orson writing down a series of notes, pushing his nerves over the edge.

"You can do this Cherubi!" Matthew called with an overdose of enthusiasm. He smiled as the leaves began to shape the grass that remained, curving and cutter, smaller pieces falling to the field and the shape beginning to take shape.

"Oh my goodness, would you look at that!" Felicity gasped as the Magical Leaves finally came to a halt: rising metres above Cherubi was a giant green grass sculpture that was an almost spitting image. The leaves and smaller berry had to be shaped closer to the body in order to stay up, but Matthew was still amazed it had worked. "Let's have a hand for Matthew Pearl and Cherubi!" The crowd erupted into another loud cheer, giving Matthew the chance to run across the diminishing grass to scoop Cherubi up from under her creation.

"You were brilliant!" He boomed.

"Bi… Cherubi Cheru," Cherubi said teasingly and Matthew laughed as Felicity rushed over and gave him a hug.

"It seems big things do come in small packages!" She called to the audience and Matthew laughed as the crowd stomped and whooped at this. He smiled at Felicity who beamed back at him, and Matthew turned and walked confidently out of the field. He smiled down at Cherubi as she waved with her leaves to the cheering crowd, amazed at how wonderfully she had done in her first contest outing. She had more confidence than Matthew had at the moment, and he wondered if he should take a leaf out of her book as he wondered what laid ahead if he managed to make it through. Succeeding so brilliantly in the appeals was a major confidence boost, but one thing about this success nagged at the back of his mind: the crowd may love small, cute, pink Cherubi, but what if Prinplup had been in the appeals?

* * *

The strong downpour of rain stopped after only fifteen minutes, but the dampness and cold hung in the air. It wasn't ideal conditions to be battling in, with puddles of water surrounding the wet field, but there was no indoor facilities at the Pokemon Center and Palmer was insistent on having the battle.

Xavier and Bebe had eaten dinner alone together as Palmer did some private training before the battle. It seemed the battle would be cancelled when they saw the rain, but as soon as it had stopped Palmer had appeared, getting them moving before Bebe had even finished her meal.

"We need to get moving before the rain starts again!" Palmer said persistently, snatching away Bebe's food and putting it on a nearby cart. The technician was shocked by this treatment, but she could see that Palmer was overly keen to prove himself: being defeated by Matthew and then insulted by Xavier had clearly ruffled the Frontier Brain's, and he was keen to prove to himself and anyone that judged him he still had it. Xavier seemed unfazed though, calmly pushing aside a half eaten bowl of vanilla ice cream and moving a few paces behind his father. Bebe wondered if he was use to his father's brash attitude or if his lack of emotions made him not care, but either way knew it would be an interesting battle.

The cold hit them the second they left the Pokemon Center and its central heating, their breathe beginning to rise up into the air in front of them. The nurse had turned the outside lights on for them, providing them with a field that was brighter than it had been during Matthew versus Palmer.

"Oh my god, it's freezing!" Bebe whimpered, clutching her laptop to her chest and shivering.

"And this seat is completely covered in water! There is no way I am going to be able to sit on here!"

"Sit on the ground then or stay inside," Palmer growled, moving towards the same spot he had held earlier in the day. Xavier moved briskly opposite, placing his bag by his feet and straightening up with several PokeBalls in his hand. Bebe was looking forward to seeing how the battle went and didn't want to remain on her own inside, so she perched on the edge where it wasn't as wet. Silence fell before them asides from the wind howling through: Xavier was waiting patiently for orders, but Palmer seemed contempt to glaring and flexing his fingers, clearly seeing this as a bigger challenge than his son did.

"I suggest we make this a three on three, agreed?" Palmer boomed.

"Sounds fair enough," Xavier said. "I imagine your Milotic is still being healed, yes?" Anger flashed across Palmer's face as he gave an irritable nod, and Xavier nodded back in a more relaxed fashion. "Are you going to send first?"

"What, aren't we going to set any other rules?" Palmer said in surprise.

"I don't see the point of confining battles," Xavier said, examining the PokeBalls in his hands. "I feel it takes the fun out of things, wouldn't you agree Father?" Palmer looked rather stunned, but shrugged and smiled, clearly pleased with the lack of restrictions. Bebe didn't like the look in the Frontier Brains eyes, thinking back to the anger he had barely disguised after losing to Matthew and could only wonder how he planned to abuse this.

Whilst Bebe's main job was running the PC System for Sinnoh, she also ran a tight knit email system between official people, such as gym leaders and the Elite Four, along with a variety of people who had some special security clearance she wasn't allowed to know about. Bebe regularly monitored the emails to make sure nothing dodgy was going on, but all she ever really picked up on was gossiping: which gym leader got drunk at the last event, insulting the performances of the Elite Four in televised broadcasts, sometimes catching secret meetings between parties. Whenever Palmer came up, it was always connected to something about his ability to go from happy to angry within a second, how he hated to lose to trainers to and loved to think he was the best. Bebe didn't know what Xavier thought of his Father and didn't know if the trainer saw him as anything more than one half of his creation, but the shaggy blonde had a temper and it seemed that Xavier had at least not picked up on this side of his father.

"I will gladly send first," Palmer said, grabbing a Dusk Ball from his pocket and spinning it into the air. Xavier nodded, easily concealing the fact he knew which Pokemon was in that PokeBall and that he knew exactly how to counter. Palmer however remained smug, clearly thinking a lack of rules would benefit him in the long run. "Rhyperior, go!" Black-purple energy burst from the Dusk Ball, spiralling onto the soggy ground. Xavier was not surprised to see the large Rock-Ground type form before him, and was relatively satisfied at the easy win it could be.

"Grotle," Xavier said simply, throwing a PokeBall onto the field. Bebe let a 'yes!' escape, but disguised it by looking down at her glowing laptop and tapping ecstatically at the keys. Nothing logical was being typed and the technician was merely glad that Palmer was starting off on a disadvantage. The Brain looked annoyed at the current set up, but he wasn't going to back out of the battle now.

"Fine choice son," he said with a touch of bitterness. "However, having a natural type advantage won't be a lot of use here: Solid Rock prevents Grotle from abusing a four times type advantage, and I have another trick up my sleeve!"

"Flamethrower?" Xavier asked, almost sounding bored, and Bebe stifled a laugh at the shocked look on Palmer's face. Grotle even smiled as well, causing Rhyperior to turn back towards his trainer.

"How… how did you know?" Palmer asked in shock.

"I did my research," Xavier replied simply. "One should always know what Pokemon and moves to expect from their opponent, otherwise how else are you supposed to plan an appropriate strategy? It was easy enough to know that Rhyperior would be used as you only have one Dusk Ball, and then I was able to select Grotle to use against you for his move set compared against the moves I believe Rhyperior knows." Palmer was stunned by this, but Bebe was relatively impressed, having never seen this degree of thought be put into a battle before.

"You know which Pokemon are in which PokeBalls?" Palmer gasped.

"Naturally," Xavier replied. "I know it with my travelling companions as well: for example, if Matthew or Vanessa was to choose a Net Ball, I would know to expect Beautifly and Dustox respectively and would counter appropriately. Now, if you aren't going to properly order than I will: Razor Leaf." Palmer had been taken aback by his son's brashness and strategy that he didn't see the move coming, and was left shocked as Grotle unleashed a bombardment of glowing leaves towards Rhyperior with enough force to send him stumbling backwards.

"Cheap move son!" Palmer snapped. "Flamethrower, even if he has predicted it!"

"RHYPEEEER!" Rhyperior cried, opening his large jaw wide.

"GROT GROT!" Grotle cried and leapt out of the way of the jet of orange fire, which mostly struck the ground and caused a puddle to evaporate, but sparks managed to scorch the Grove Pokemon's back legs. Xavier, however, did not get angry at the attack and merely saw it as a mild set back.

"Mega Drain," he ordered calmly.

"Rock Wrecker!" Palmer commanded with a boom. Grotle skidded behind Rhyperior and fired a green ball from his mouth, which absorbed inside the bulky Pokemon's body and sent smaller balls of energy back towards him. Rhyperior roared with pain, shaking the water next to Bebe and nearly causing her to knock her laptop to the ground. She watched as rocks and energy shot out from holes in Rhyperior's thick arms, the beast turning around as a large rock began to form.

"PERIOOOOOOR!" Rhyperior yelled once a rock that was practically a boulder had formed in his arms, and he heaved it up above his head, putting a lot of effort into it. Palmer smiled as the Drill Pokemon brought it down, the rock exploding upon impact and sending Grotle rolling away. Bebe squealed as small rocks battered her and a cloud of dust rose up, forcing her to cover her laptop to prevent damage. As the dust settled, the technician wondered just what the rest of the battle would involve: it was clear Palmer planned on winning, whilst it seemed Xavier had a strategy well sorted out. They were only two moves in and the field already appeared cracked, and Bebe could only wonder what the father and son had in store for the rest of the battle.

* * *

Despite having the worst name for any club in the world, Milkshake was not half bad.

Accessed from a steel door between the cafés kitchen and bathrooms, a simple staircase led down to a whole other world Vanessa had not seen since starting her journey. Parting through a curtain led her into a wide open space that somehow seemed bigger than the café above, but one thing Vanessa was certain of was the noise: it struck you the moment you stepped off the staircase, with pop beats blaring out so loud it was impossible to track down the source. The only lights were neon, making all faces difficult to see but causing the majority of the white clothes to stick out in the semi darkness. A long bar was to the right and tables were scattered around in the neon glow, but the darkness made it difficult to see more than anything more than few feet away.

If the situation had been different, Vanessa would have been on the dance floor and having a good time, trying to push her problems away and simple listen to the music and feel the bodies grinding up against her. However, Vanessa found herself wanting to prove herself to Sahara, Bebe and the others: maybe it was her love for Sahara or annoyance at being shunned, but Vanessa knew that she needed to be on the lookout for Emerson and be prepared for their meeting.

This meant that instead of dancing along to the latest pop ballad thumping through the club and having her first real dose of fun in weeks, Vanessa found herself at one of the tables. The spindly wooden furniture seemed to be more for leaving drinks as the seats were painfully uncomfortable, but a number of couples were consuming the leather couches dotted around the outsides and Vanessa didn't want to go near. Instead Vanessa stared around at the people around her, trying to make out their faces and personalities throughout the darkness: numerous people were simply drunk and making fools of themselves, tipping drinks down themselves and trying to hit on everyone in sight, but Vanessa was more interested in the normal people. She stared around at the couples that seemed oblivious to the world around them, including the music, she examined the single woman scanning the crowds with drinks, selecting their potential lovers rather than throwing themselves into one night stands. Vanessa always enjoyed eyeing out the people around her and breaking down their psychologies based on their appearances, something she had adapted during her times spent along and even whilst travelling: watching the other trainers at the Pokemon Center had always fascinated her, more to see how her journey could have turned out if Galactic hadn't gotten involved.

A man emerged out of the darkness, moving purposefully towards Vanessa. Her neon dress made her stick out in the semi blue glow caused by the neon lights, and Vanessa scowled as she clutched a full wine glass she had taken from the bar without the busy manager even asking for I.D., though she doubted an underground bar really cared about under aged drinking.

"I am waiting for someone," Vanessa said as the man tried to sit down, only to find her foot hooked on the seat to prevent it from moving. He raised his hands in defence and smiled, his white teeth becoming the only part of his face you could see.

"I can understand, but I am here now, and your man isn't," he purred, beginning to move a hand up her arm with a smile across her face. "Your friend said you were free and – AHH!" The man stopped talking, gasping in pain as Vanessa grasped his hand and bent it painfully back. Once his hand was free Vanessa twisted his arm, forcing it behind his back and then forcing his face against the table.

"Don't even THINK of laying a hand on me again you disgusting little pervert," Vanessa hissed. "If you touch me again, I will chop your hand off and use it to choke you to death, is that understood?" The man nodded weakly and Vanessa felt some satisfaction in letting him go, causing him to drop to the ground, as she had gotten nothing good out of the night so far. A high pitch laugh sounded nearby, and Vanessa looked up to see two more figures walking towards her: one was another man that she unrecognisable even if Vanessa knew who it was, whilst the second could easily be any one of the people there at the moment if it wasn't for eyes glowing electric blue.

"Oh my GOD Vanessa, you should have been watching that!" Eden laughed, stumbling towards and flopping onto the table, nearly knocking her already empty glass to the ground. "It was so funny! You should go and beat more people up, that would be SOOOOO awesome!"

"I'll consider it," Vanessa said with a smile, though her voice was bitter. She thought Eden and the powers she had at her disposal would be useful in providing back up, but all the drunk personality had done was drink, dance, flirt with guys and drink some more. Sahara would have been keen and able to help her out, but a heavily drunk Eden was something Vanessa didn't need at the moment.

"So, who have you got the hots for?" Eden asked with a devious grin, draping her arms over the mysterious man she had arrived with. "I've got this one here, and if you don't want that boy on the floor, I could take him as well. I can also find a use for one more."

"Do you really think Sahara would appreciate this?" Vanessa asked icily, watching as the man who had hit on her got to his feet, ignoring his pain in the face of a new prospect. Vanessa couldn't see what Eden saw in either man, who did not look particularly attractive in the glow from her dress, but knew she was probably too drunk to care. However, Eden began to laugh at what Vanessa, though, once again, her drunkenness most likely was affecting her.

"Why do you care so much, gingey?" Eden growled, her voice suddenly a lot angrier as she leaned across the table and stared directly at her. Vanessa's eyes instinctively wanted to squint from the electric blue burning before her, but she forced her eyes to stay open whilst wondering what was causing her eyes to glow more than normal. "You may be in the shit house because you let the big bad Ghost rock out of her tower, and you may want to get back on Sahara's good side so you can let whatever sick, twisted little _feelings_ you have succeed, but I am not going to take any orders from some pathetic little piece of vermin like you, alright?" The transition to serious and nasty had been so sudden that even Vanessa was shocked, but Eden let out a laugh and leaned backwards, beaming back at her with her men on either side.

"Nice to hear your opinions," Vanessa replied with a smile as she continued to blink, not letting it show her shock at what Eden had just said. The drunk began to giggle along with her men, rubbing her hands up them as she smiled warmly at Vanessa. The red head was stunned to see how much of an insight Sahara's personalities had, but as her plans to say something were distracted by a movement behind her. It would have been hard to catch this movement if Eden had stayed up in her face, but Vanessa could see a face staring purposefully at her and caught a hand waving, beckoning her towards them. Normally Vanessa wouldn't follow after, but there was no denying who it was signalling her to follow.

Emerson had finally showed up.

"You do whatever the fuck you want to with Sahara's body, I don't care," Vanessa snapped, leaping to her feet and catching Emerson move around the crowd. She had to move quickly to make sure he didn't leave, but Vanessa stared over at Eden as she asked her original man for a drink: she needed Eden's help for back up, but what if she didn't follow? Could she really risk going in there without someone waiting to help?

"Is something wrong?" Eden hissed when she caught Vanessa still standing there.

"Your meant to be back up, remember, or do you want a little punch in the back?" Vanessa snapped back, causing the drunk to growl back.

"Why don't you just scream really loudly when you get in trouble: I am sure I might be able to hear you," Eden replied and began laughing hysterically again, her two men joining in simply to please her. Vanessa wanted to deal with Eden severely, but Emerson had nearly disappeared from sight and she needed to see what information he may have. She simply turned and left Eden to her own devices, knowing she was perfectly capable to look after herself and more interested to know what the outcome of this meeting would be: Vanessa would either end up with the information she wanted, or end up falling directly into a trap.

As Vanessa determinedly passed the couches, not focusing on anything other than Emerson's coat tails, she failed to notice a couple breaking apart and turning directly towards her. Not that Vanessa would have recognised them anyway: the girl was fully clad in black leather with long black hair to match, while the man was wearing jeans, a tight fitting white shirt that made him glow and had blonde hair that if you looked closely didn't match the colour of his eyebrows. But the two people turned and watched her, visibly shocked by her appearance.

"What is she doing there?" Jupiter hissed under her long black wig.

"How should I know?" Saturn snapped back. "We haven't slipped GPS tracking into the back of their heads!"

"Well we bloody well should!" Jupiter snapped, angrily kicking the table in front and drawing eyes towards them. "This was supposed to be relaxing, a break for all of that fucking training, so why the hell is she here?" Saturn had turned when Jupiter had kicked out, but his attention had quickly changed when he caught something glowing in the distance.

"Why fret about Vanessa and losing this time to relax," Saturn said, cutting Jupiter off mid rant, "when we could easily get us all the time off in the world." Jupiter was confused, but Saturn smiled and pointed back the direction Vanessa had came. Jupiter turned to look and was stunned to see Eden lying back on a table, a shot glass being tipped back into her open mouth by one of her men. The two Galactic admins turned and smiled to each other: they had come to drink and dance and have a good time, but killing Sahara and possibly Vanessa was more fun than they could have anticipated.

* * *

"Wakey wakey my little friend…"

Charles groaned as something slammed into his stomach and he swayed backwards, pain erupting up in his guts. His eyes slowly began to open, revealing dim light before him but not revealing much of where he was. All Charles could think about was the pain in his stomach, the fact his arms were above his head and a sensation in his feet that came from being high above.

"Good boy, glad to see you've joined us," a familiar voice said. Charles groaned again and blinked, his eyes adjusting to the what now appeared to be candle light lighting up the cave they were in. He tried to look for some distinguishing features, but nothing really jumped out of the bland cave that was really identical to the rest of them. He instead looked around for Roshonda, and quickly found her strung up to his right, eyes half open and a dazed look on her face. Her hands were together and above her head with chains, and Charles looked up to see his arms were exactly like that as well and he could already feel a strain in his shoulders, his arms screaming at this treatment.

"What's going on?" Charles asked with another groan, trying to look around for something. But he was startled when Charlotte suddenly appeared in front of him, smiling widely and glowing with a hint of orange from the candle flame behind her.

"Why hello Charles, it is lovely to see you again," the ghost said with a mischievous smile. "I have always wanted you weak and tied up in one of my caves, and I am _so_ glad it has come true. But in answer to your question, nothing is really 'going on' at the moment, but now that your awake, I am sure something is about to go down." Charlotte began laughing hysterically and moved her fingers up Charles' chest. He shivered from her cold touch, and was stunned to see the front of his uniform had been torn open, Charlotte's fingers in direct contact with his skin.

"Oh my Charlie, you have definitely grown up since when we first met," Charlotte purred. "I always new you would be a big boy, but never did I –,"

"What do you want with us?" Charles interrupted, not wanting to deal with the sadistic ghost. Charlotte looked affronted at this and put on a pout, waving her hands and telekinetically slapping Charles, knocking his head back against the rocks.

"Tut tut Charlie, you should know I like my little games," the ghost grumbled before turning and floating away. "To be honest, there isn't a lot I want with you at the moment. I was merely enjoying my evening, talking to Unown, floating through walls, the usual, when I heard a lot of shouting. I instantly came to investigate and found you two so close to one of my Sinnoh homes, so I simply thought 'What is my hunky lover and his coloured associate doing in my neck of the woods?', so I kidnapped you in order to ask." Charlotte smiled as she finished her story and floated down onto a flat rock, crossing her legs and resting her hands on them as she stared at her captives. "So, what are you doing here, hmm?"

"Investigating," Charles said quickly, uttering the first thing that entered his mind. "Cyrus… Cyrus thinks something suspicious is happening here and wanted us to have a look. We had no idea that you were going to be here Charlotte, but if you let us go we will just leave." Roshonda turned to Charles and managed to give him a soft smile, and Charles smiled back, hoping Charlotte brought the lie: if she knew the real reason why they were here, Charles knew that the ghost would not appreciate it.

"Oh really Charles, is that all?" Charlotte said, her tone sounding fake. "Well in that case, I guess you can just leave then!" She waved her hands and the chains suddenly parted, causing the two to crash down onto the floor. Charles struggled to stand up with his brain pounding against his skull and his arms too sore to push him up, but he managed to get to his feet and helped Roshonda get up as well. The two were rather stunned that Charlotte wasn't doing anything and they looked at the ghost for reassurance: she waved her arm as if signalling them to leave and nodded her head at the wall, causing the rocks to rumble and move aside, revealing an exit towards a wooded area.

"Well, it was nice seeing you Charlotte," Charles said with a smile, and Charlotte nodded in return. Roshonda was still too weak to talk, so Charles merely took her hand and walked towards the exit, feeling the reassuring presence of his PokeBalls in his pocket as he wondered why Charlotte was letting them go.

His suspicions were confirmed a moment later.

Roshonda screamed as the candle next to her suddenly exploded. Charles pulled her close as flames rose up into the air, the candle closest to him exploding as well. He tried to pull her away, knowing making it through the passageway wouldn't be any better, but gasped as Roshonda's hand was torn away from his own.

"How stupid do you think I am?" Charlotte scoffed. "This is actually exceedingly offensive to my intelligence to think I don't know what is going on!" As she spoke the two flames coiled forwards like snakes in the air, and Charles gasped as one wrapped itself around him and the other around Roshonda. "Didn't you wonder where your bag had gotten to? You've known me for over a year now Charlie boy, you should know I could quite easily read it whether I have solid hands or not!" The two grunts were forced back against the wall with the flames burning around them and moving around their middles, keeping their hands forced together at their sides and trapping their upper legs.

"LET ME GO!" Roshonda screamed, managing her first words since waking up. Charles could see her squirming with pain as the flames moved tickled her skin, but was stunned to find that he himself felt no pain. Roshonda continued to yell and Charlotte rolled her eyes, flicking her hands and making the circle of flame grow.

"Either shut your mouth or I'll have it cover your entire body," the ghost hissed as Roshonda yelled out. She then turned towards Charles, who remained watching Roshonda in horror as the flames burned against her. "Oh Charles, you really should have known better: coming to try and stop me with my own spell? What sort of stupid move is that?"

"I was only following orders!" Charles snapped back, not taking his eyes off Roshonda as she struggled against the fire but kept her mouth shut and merely whimpered at the pain. "I didn't even see the spell, it was too hard to read!" Charles blinked and was stunned to find Charlotte in front of him now rather than Roshonda.

"Are you insulting my handwriting?" She growled. "You just keep making things worse for yourself, don't you Charles? Well, whether you knew what happened or not, I still need to send a little message to Cyrus, don't I? But I really don't want you dead, even though it would be easier to have my way with you if you were dead, but that won't be as fun. Instead, I will simply torture you and destroy you, and than I will torture and kill that lovely friend of yours whimpering next door." Charles wasn't quite sure what to say, but all thoughts left his mind as his arms began to burn: Charles yelled as the fire finally started to hurt, his skin already sizzling and beginning to change as his clothes erupted into fire.

"STOP IT, PLEASE!" Charles yelled, but Charlotte only smiled.

"I love a man that begs," she purred and put her hand against his chest. Charles yelled again as she clawed her ghostly fingers down, but five long marks appeared, blood starting to pour. Charles had no idea how they were going to get out of this, because as he leaned against the rock wall with fire around his middle and blood pouring down his chest, it was quite clear Charlotte held all the cards and it was going to be hard to escape from something that had more power than their Pokemon combined.

* * *

For one of the first times since starting her journey, Vanessa felt tense.

She had followed Emerson around the edge of the dance floor and had seen him seemingly disappear into the wall, though it turned out to be a door. Opening it simply revealed a long, narrow staircase that her leather clad foe had already disappeared up, and Vanessa had no choice but to see where it led. Closing the door cut off all music, plunging Vanessa into silence and making the climb up the bare wooden staircase seem rather eerie.

Normally Vanessa wouldn't be afraid, usually having the upper hand. However, the Slayers were a whole other story. She had seen them slit people's throats for simply walking past them too quickly and knew that they would be so willing to kill her after what she did to the General, something they had proven when they had locked her in a cave with a bomb only a week ago. It was going to be risky entering a room with them with no clear back up and her Pokemon and weapons hidden to prevent being searched, but as long as Vanessa did get information than it would all be worth it.

The staircase finished at a solid black door on the same level as the café, and Vanessa figured that it must lead to a private room somewhere on the facilities. She quickly checked that her neon sticks were all secure before raising a hand to the door, ready to meet whatever was on the other side. However, her fist had barely twitched when the door slowly creaked open, a smiling face waiting on the other side.

"Hello Vanessa, it's lovely to see you again," Emerson said with his greasy smile, stepping aside to allow her in. "Of course, you are a known weapon-phile, so we are just going to examine you." Vanessa didn't even get a glimpse of the room as she stepped in before a man that resembled a Snorlax stepped in front, signalling her to raise her hands.

"I don't have anything on me, I'm not stupid," Vanessa said, passing her blue jacket over and showing she had nothing else. The bouncer was relatively thick and didn't seem to think her dress would be an issue, and Emerson was too busy smiling to wonder if anything else could go wrong. Vanessa had her jacket passed back to her once it was deemed clear and the man stepped aside, revealing the full extent of the room.

It was clear the room as meant to be for a sophisticated group, though the current occupants brought the tone down a bit. The chestnut walls decorated with beautiful paintings and the rich purple carpet seemed ugly with the presence of about two dozen burly bikers spread around on the leather couches and chairs, turning away from the toasty fire to glare at the red head as she walked through the room. Some were cradling guns and knives, their eyes narrowed and looking furious at her being there, but Vanessa merely smiled and beamed brightly back at them without a care in the world, though she wondered what would happen should the meeting go astray.

"Ah Vanessa, pleasure for you to join us," a voice called as Vanessa approached the long mahogany table with fine hard backed chairs that continued the idea of elegance and wealth. It seemed odd to see the much skinnier and younger Armstrong in the seat the General usually would have taken, but Vanessa had expected him to have taken over as head. He beckoned to the seat next to him as he poured dark brown liquid into three glasses. Emerson sat down on the other side and Vanessa smiled as she accepted the drink.

"So, why exactly have you called me here?" She asked, swirling the drink around and taking a sniff, though found she could not recognise the smell. Armstrong smiled over at Emerson, who continued to beam like a child in a toy store.

"Why so forward?" The new head asked with a slight purr. "Don't you want to see how we've been doing? It has been a little while since we last properly talked, hasn't it Vanessa? I mean, last time we saw you, you had just killed the General and than you were suppose to blow up, yet here you are. So tell us, how did you escape?"

"Magic," Vanessa replied with a smile that made Armstrong laugh. "I thought Team Galactic was involved in that explosion – were you working with them and then got screwed over?"

"We were working with them, yes," Armstrong replied, looking rather annoyed. "We were confronted by one of their team members, though they wore a mask so we couldn't identify them. They offered us a large amount of money to get you onto the Cycling Road Bridge, along with your friends if possible, and severely weaken you and keep you on the bridge. We didn't really care about your friends though, only getting revenge on you, so we planned to give some of the money to Emerson if he battled you and weakened your Pokemon."

"They knew my father and the fact that we battled in Jubilife," Emerson explained, still smiling broadly, though Vanessa was too busy listening to care about him and his smiling.

"However," Armstrong continued bitterly, "we had no idea they were planning on blowing up the bridge whether we were on top or not. I contacted the person and asked them what was going on, but was simply told that we were getting paid for one thing and therefore didn't need to know the whole plan."

"I imagine this pissed you off," Vanessa asked kindly as the bikers behind her roared and shouted various insults that drowned each other out.

"Exceedingly," Armstrong replied, struggling to hide his own anger and had to take a long drink that emptied his glass. "Naturally we wanted revenge, but we were more anger at you for having killed the General."

"Naturally," Vanessa added, smiling over her glass.

"Yes, naturally," Armstrong growled. "You were a larger priority, but we wanted to get back at those fuckers just as much, so I made a call and sent some of our men to tail Team Galactic and to find out what they were up to. It isn't that difficult to follow them when they always use those Jeep Wranglers to travel around, so our men managed to tail a few cars and learn some interesting facts."

"Such as?" Vanessa asked innocently, trying to hide her excitement that they had possibly made a breakthrough, but a nagging voice at the back of her head told her it seemed too good to be true that the Slayers were just giving it away. Armstrong smiled as he poured himself another drink, his beam almost matching Emerson's.

"We learnt that Cyrus sent a team to collect a very special leather book that is well known in the criminal underworld," the bike leader continued. "It was created by a girl called Charlotte thousands of years ago and contains her special variety of magic. They got it from a Mr E. Goods, who has been known to have the book for about two years now." Vanessa nodded along, though this was basically information Matthew, Fantina and Bebe had relayed: there had been a ghost called Charlotte, Draco had read from a book that caused the dead Pokemon to turn to zombies and Fantina said she had heard stories from her time as a gym leader. However, Vanessa had to make the information seem interesting in order to get more.

"That's odd, I didn't know Cyrus could read," Vanessa said, taking a sip from her drink as Armstrong roared with laughter while Emerson merely smiled, clearly not liking the way Armstrong was acting with Vanessa. "Did they make any other purchases or do anything else?"

"They didn't buy anything, but two of our men followed two grunts travelling through Mt Coronet and talking about doing research for Charon," Armstrong replied. "There have been stories that the three Legendary Birds of Kanto have been spotted around the mountain over the last few weeks." Vanessa nodded, not knowing the significance of Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres being searched for but knew she would ask about it later. She waited for Armstrong to continue talking, but the bike gang leader merely smiled and had another drink.

"Is that it?" Vanessa asked, not intending to sound rude but it naturally came out.

"Yes, that is it," Armstrong said, feigning a hurt voice. "Was that information not good enough for poor Vanessa, were you expecting us to give you a detailed account of their day to day movements?"

"I thought you would give me something better than facts I already know and something about birds that you don't even know the true reason for!" Vanessa said angrily, getting to her feet. "I can see tonight was a waste of time though, so I'll let you get back to your drinking." Vanessa kicked her chair back and go to her feet, but a shuffling behind her showed she wasn't the only one standing. She glanced back to see every other biker had leapt up, holding their guns, knives and whatever blunt object they had on them, moving together to block the path to the door.

"Ah, here is where things get ugly," Armstrong said, getting to his feet and downing his drink. Vanessa glanced back to see Emerson looked ready to explode with happiness as Armstrong moved around the table and smiled. "You aren't going to leave this room Vanessa: we may have given you information, but we still want to kill you."

"Why give me the information then?" Vanessa said with a touch of bitterness, her mind beginning to race as she tried to conjure up a plan. Armstrong merely sighed and grabbed the glass bottle containing the mysterious brown liquid.

"The club is not doing as well since the General died and we need to focus on getting our image up," he explained. "We want revenge on Galactic, but our image is more important and getting in a war with them is pointless, something you and your friends haven't realized." Emerson smirked at this and Vanessa merely glared at the leather clad boy.

"So you want us to take the information and continue dealing with him?" She asked, angry at being turned into some pawn for their games. Armstrong smiled and reached into his pocket, pulling out a notepad and pen.

"Write that friend of yours downstairs a note and Emerson can pass it on," he explained, reaching into his other pocket and pulling out a short but sharp knife. "Maybe add the fact we've killed you. Emerson will add down where they can find your limbs." The bikers boomed with laughter at this, and Vanessa angrily took the notepad and pen and sat back down in her chair. She knew it would take any one of the people around her to shoot her if she tried anything funny, so Vanessa knew that, for now, she would have to play along with their little game, at least until she found a way to get out of this death trap she had stupidly and pointlessly walked into.

* * *

"Dragon Claw, finish this!"

Xavier and Bebe watched as Palmer's Dragonite swooped across the field, right claw glowing purple as Grotle merely stood before him. The Glove Pokemon had managed to take down Rhyperior with a successful use of Mega Drain and Razor Leaf, but Palmer had sent Dragonite out in return. A successful Thunder Wave left Grotle unable to move, and a brutal barrage of Dragon Claw and Brick Break left Xavier unable to withdraw, and simply left Grotle weak and unlikely to be used again later on in battle.

"DRAGOOOON!" Dragonite yelled, slashing down with claw. Grotle was too weak and stiff from the paralysis to say anything or move, and could only accept the powerful attack as it struck his head. Xavier watched blankly as his starter was flipped over, landing unconscious on his back while Dragonite hovered in front.

"YES!" Palmer said, punching the air in delight and beaming widely. "You'll have to do better than that next round son!" He called out, beaming at Dragonite as he floated back towards him. Bebe watched with a touch of disgust at Palmer's display, knowing Xavier would never do anything like that or say anything about it. She remembered that Palmer had wanted to talk earlier before the battle, possibly to have a heart-to-heart, but his desperation to prove himself seemed to have clouded this over.

"You did your best Grotle," Xavier said in a rare touch of genuine caring, and replaced his PokeBall for an Ultra without another word. "Lapras, you will do," he said, and sent the ball onto the field. Palmer's delight remained for a moment, but it disappeared instantly once the red energy had formed in front of Dragonite, revealing the Pokemon he hadn't heard called.

_Oh Xavier, why did you send me out against him? _Lapras huffed once she had worked out what was going on, staring over at Palmer in disgust. _I may not be too fond of you, but you are ten times the trainer he is: why are we wasting our time with him?_

"Father didn't win a battle against Matthew and I want to see why he lost," Xavier replied, and Lapras let her laugh enter all of their minds, pushing Palmer right over the cliffs of happiness and into an ocean of rage. Bebe, however, was forced to shove her face right down near her laptop screen to hide her laugh, and felt rather glad that Palmer was about to be shown up. Even the Frontier Brain knew he was at a loss: Lapras could easily take down Dragonite with a single Ice move and there was no way around it.

_Alright then, let's get this over with, _Lapras said with a smile still on her face. _I've beaten this fool a hundred times with Carolina, so having another crack shouldn't be too much of a hassle. _Dragonite moved in front of Palmer, ready for a match, but Palmer suddenly looked surprised, and the surprise quickly turned into a smile. Xavier didn't notice the emotional change as he focused on his battle and Bebe was still trying not to laugh, so Palmer began to talk uninterrupted.

"Xavier, if you don't mind me asking, what did you do with Lapras after Carolina died?" He asked, putting on a sincere voice. Xavier was thrown by this: he had not openly discussed Carolina with anyone in days, let alone his own father. He had fully accepted what she had said in the strange world he had been in, though his refusal to discuss it with anyone meant he had not learnt its name, and the only thing playing on his mind was his mother's final words as he and Drifblim ascended, her warning to choose Cynthia over Palmer. He had never expected Palmer to bring her up during the battle and was reasonably shaken by the request.

"Oh… well, I merely re-caught Lapras in an Ultra Ball after her original PokeBall broke," Xavier explained, and Palmer nodded along looking concerned. "This isn't relevant information to the battle, so I would like to continue with –,"

"Oh yes, I am sorry for bringing it up," Palmer said, raising his hands in defence. "I only asked as we haven't had a chance to properly discuss things over the past week, you being busy studying all these things that have happened. I really just wanted to sit down and discuss your mother's memory, but we haven't had the time. I just thought now might have been good, but it seems I was wrong." Xavier had frozen, thoughts rushing through his mind that had no place going through his mind when he should be focused on battling. Did his father have a point, should he be focusing on Carolina more? Bebe looked over at Xavier as a slightly worried and confused look spread across his face, and she realized what Palmer was trying to do.

"He is your son, you can't play with his mind like this just to win a battle!" She hissed over at Palmer, trying to make sure Xavier didn't hear. The Frontier Brain merely scoffed and stared back with his face looking worried but his eyes furious once more.

"I am merely telling my son we haven't spoken about his mother's terrible passing, something I have been trying to discuss but Xavier has been apparently too busy," Palmer replied, glaring angrily at Bebe with a look that practically told her to keep her mouth shut. Xavier continued to look confused, and Lapras turned around in order to see the near-shaky look in his body.

_Don't listen to him Xavier, _she said, this time only projecting her thoughts to him. _He is only trying to trip you up so you lose the battle! He is a selfish, arrogant bastard and will stoop to any level to trick people. I've seen him tell horrible lies to people during battle in an attempt to stop them and many people actually believe them, but don't fall for one of his tricks!_

_What if he is right, _Xavier thought back. _I haven't worried about Carolina for a while now, not that I have had any reason to as I have seen her logic for how she treated me, and whilst I don't necessarily understand I can see where she is coming from. But maybe I should be discussing things with him, such as my estate or what Mother said in that world._

_Xavier, snap out of it or I will glide over there and snap you out of it! _Lapras thought angrily. _It is all a trick! He is using your condition to distract you from the battle, you can't let him manipulate you like this!_

"If you aren't going to make the first move, than I guess I will," Palmer said with a dramatic sigh. "Thunder Wave!" Dragonite began to glow a faint yellow, electricity crackling around his horn: if the attack hit, it would be harder for Lapras to move and she could end up a sitting duck for whatever attacks came her way.

_XAVIER! _She yelled, staring nervously at Dragonite, but Xavier remained silent, staring at the ground rather than the battle, wondering about what his father was saying and if there was any truth to the matter.

"NITE!" Dragonite growled, his horn beginning to glow brighter and brighter.

"XAVIER, YOU NEED TO MOVE!" Bebe yelled, leaping to her feet and nearly knocking her laptop to the ground, ignoring the look Palmer shot her. Lapras had her flippers ready bent, a Blizzard beginning to form in her mouth, yet she had to wait and stared back at Xavier, who remained confused and distracted. Dragonite was close to firing, and Lapras had to take a final stab at getting Xavier to react.

_Isn't the logical thing to do is fight back so the battle ends and you can discuss things later? _She thought. Xavier looked up at this, almost as if he had properly heard Lapras for the first time, and indeed saw Dragonite readying the Thunder Wave.

"Your right," he said, "that is logical. Dodge and Blizzard." Palmer's jaw dropped as Bebe's face lit up, watching as Lapras swerved aside as the thin burst of electricity struck a puddle and exploded. Lapras then appeared to Dragonite's left, smiling as she opened her mouth wide. Xavier looked fairly satisfied as a snowstorm erupted out, completely engulfing Dragonite and bringing the temperature down around them from the sheer power of it.

"Damnit!" Palmer growled. All eyes watched from different sides of the field as the Blizzard stopped, leaving a frozen Dragonite suspended in the air. Instantly the Dragon-ice block crashed back to the ground, the ice shattering and merely leaving the Dragon unconscious behind.

_Good job Xavier, _Lapras thought and smiled over at her trainer. Xavier merely nodded, his attention back on the battle so he could deal with the discussion as soon as it was over. Palmer looked furious as he brought Dragonite back, not saying a word as the Pokemon turned to energy. He, Xavier, Bebe and Lapras were all at different sides, leaving the middle of the field completely empty now. Bebe and Lapras smiled at each other from opposite sides, while Palmer merely looked furiously over at his son, trying to decide on his next move. He looked across at Lapras, wondering if her Psychic abilities were helping Xavier win, when the perfect thought crossed his mind.

"Xavier, you may think you know every Pokemon that I have ever known and you may think you know all their moves," Palmer said, the touch of laughter in his voice lowering Bebe and Lapras' happiness, "but there is one Pokemon very few people know I have managed to catch." Xavier was confused, and watched in his form of surprise, which was more confusion, as his father pulled out a purple PokeBall that every child one day strived to have.

"A Master Ball…," Bebe mumbled. She had never seen any sign of it in Palmer's PC Box, but knew that a Master Ball could only contain a very powerful Pokemon. Palmer seemed to take delight in everyone's surprise and threw the ball into the air.

"If you think Lapras has got Psychic skills, wait until you see this!" Palmer roared. The ball burst open, and everyone looked up into the sky, following purple energy as it soared back down to the field. It hovered in the centre and began to swirl around, taking shape in a more unusual fashion. Bebe and Lapras looked stunned as the Pokemon began to form.

The Pokemon instantly gave off the appearance of being female, with a blue back, yellow underside and three purple arcs growing out of her sides and back that shimmered in the moonlight. She had no arms or legs, only the arcs, and had a long neck that led up to her calm, smiling face, enclosed by two yellow curves that looked like crescent moons, and a large purple jewel on her head. The Pokemon was one everyone was able to recognise, having all heard stories and tales about the legendary Pokemon before them.

_Hello there, _Cresselia said calmly and kindly. Bebe and Lapras were too shocked to speak, stunned at the sudden appearance of a legendary Pokemon in their midst's. Cresselia was glowing and sparkling, producing more light than the artificial lights around them as if the moon had suddenly landed before them. Xavier merely looked up at the Lunar Pokemon with a touch of interest.

"It is surprising Father that you have been able to catch a legendary yet got defeated by Matthew," he said, thinking of it as a compliment but it came across as an insult. Palmer's fury snapped Bebe and Lapras out of their trance, going back to remembering a battle was afoot.

_Should we keep going Xavier? _Lapras asked.

"I don't see why not, it would be a good test of strength and skill," Xavier replied instantly. Cresselia smiled at Lapras as she slid herself across the wet ground, moving back in front of Xavier. Palmer looked a mixture of annoyance and delight, clearly pleased at pulling this surprise out of his hat.

"Cresselia and I have been together for quite some time now," he explained. "She travels around when I don't need her to battle, but I thought you she might come in handy with all this stuff you've been researching and brought her in."

"That is interesting but ultimately I do not care," Xavier said bluntly, making Lapras scoff. "I think we should just battle." Palmer was annoyed, having hoped for some recognition, but he nodded with a grim look on his face. Lapras stared up at Cresselia, who continued to smile as they were having a good time rather than battling: defeating a legendary Pokemon was going to be a difficult task, but Lapras would gladly take on the challenge if it meant she could wipe the smile off Palmer's face.

* * *

High above the sleeping towns, cities and routes of Sinnoh, Team Galactic was hard at work.

If they had been travelling during the day, hundreds, possibly thousands, of eyes would have seen the metal beast soaring through the skies. The GAL002, also known as _Charm_, was smaller than the original airship that Galactic liked to use, though bigger than the one Vanessa had been kidnapped in during their Mt Coronet confrontation. It was more circular and looked like a self-cleaning vacuum cleaner, keeping moving by powerful propellers in the bottom and jet fuel propelling them from the back. The front of the ship was made from strong glass whilst the rest was metal, asides from areas where extra slots slid out to be used in battle. Charon had not been able to get its invisibility up and running, but _Charm_ needed to be used tonight. Darkness was its only cloak, and the cloudy night thankfully allowed for them to pass without notice, though a particularly curious star gazer might notice something strange in the skies.

However, Cyrus was not worrying about being spotted as the airship glided through the air. He stared out through the wide windows, sitting in a comfortable seat with a panel of buttons and screens in front of him. He hadn't expected them to be moving tonight, but finally one of their plans, Operation Robin, may be about to go uninterrupted: with intelligence saying the Dex Holders were still in Solaceon Town, the mission could easily go without interruption.

In front of Cyrus was a curved row of more screens, buttons and controls. Charon and Mars manned the major ones, while a small army of grunts worked throughout the ship. Cyrus would have liked to have more people on hand if things went wrong, but Saturn, Jupiter, Draco, Charles and Roshonda couldn't be contacted, leaving Cyrus with his scientist, one admin and forty grunts operating things throughout the ship, guarding by his, Mars and Charon's Pokemon. Addison and several other grunts were assisting with the controls, while the others were maintaining the ship and readying the arms for any intrusion. Things were managing to run smoothly so far, and Cyrus was beginning to feel confident, but didn't want to get too confident.

"How long until we reach the proposed area?" He called out to Charon. The scientist had managed to stay healthy during his days spent indoors, eating and drinking well between the many research projects he was working on. It annoyed Cyrus that he wasn't being told what his top scientist was up to, but knew better than to bother him and was merely pleased that Operation Robin was ahead.

"We are nearly there, only a few kilometres of air space left," the scientist replied, tapping several buttons as he examined a screen. "And before you ask, all systems are ready for a swift capture and an easy hold." Cyrus smirked and nodded, amused by his next question being easily predicted. He stared out through the glass, seeing the cliffs of Mt Coronet loom ever closer: with Charles and Roshonda hopefully dealing to Charlotte and one third of Operation Robin nearly completed, it seemed tonight may be there night.

"We are in position," Charon called.

"Coming to a halt," Mars said, pulling several levers and bringing the jets propelling them forwards to a stop but keeping the ones beneath the airship clear. Tension almost filled the air as they swayed to a stop, but Cyrus was finally becoming excited and didn't care. Addison pressed a switch that caused the glass to defog, giving them all a clearer image of what they had arrived to. Mostly all they could see was snow and cliffs, with what looked like several Clefairy dancing only a ridge high above. There were many cliffs and many unstable boulders, meaning things could easily go wrong, but all thoughts left Cyrus' mind as he noticed a large cave a few metres above them.

"Is that it?" He said, breathing deeply and staring manically towards it. Charon merely nodded out of the corner of his eye, and Cyrus' heart skipped several beats: finally, things were about to go their way. "FIRE!" He boomed. Charon nodded once again and pressed a button, sending the order throughout the ship and pressing several more himself.

On the very top of _Charm_¸ a dozen slots in the metal framework were sliding apart, causing what looked like large cannons to rise up. The grunts manning them turned them towards the cave, waiting for the next parts to work. Once the guns were all in position, the entire airship whirred as a larger area began to open up. It took nearly a minute for a large hole to open up, and than nearly another for two guns thrice the size of the other ones to rise into place on either side. _Charm_ kept shaking until then, but finally things fell silent and still once more, but it had only made things more tense. Cyrus was digging his nails into the arms of his chair as he waited in anticipation, and as soon as the whirring stopped he looked over at Charon and nodded, the scientist nodding back as he turned towards the row of buttons in front of him.

"Here we go," he mumbled, and slammed his palm down on a big red one.

Instantly the airship began to shake again: the front six smaller guns fired simultaneously, launching projectiles towards the cave. Cyrus, Charon, Mars and the grunts all watched in excitement as they soared in within the space of five seconds, and nearly everyone leaned forwards hopefully…

"YES!" Mars cheered as orange flames exploded out of the cave, lighting up the nights sky. Addison and the other grunts cheered as well, the flames lighting up huge cracks that formed in the mountain as the cave collapsed. The Clefairy were sent scrambling as rockslides occurred from the explosion, the rumblings echoing everywhere, but Cyrus refused to get excited: their goal wasn't to blow up the cave, it was to capture what was inside. He had expected it to fly out with the fire, but there didn't seem to be any movement.

"Charon, what –?"

"Patience," Charon replied quickly. "We need to wait and be patient… she should be out in a moment, and if not than we can draw her out." He turned around and smiled condescendingly at his boss, and Cyrus was so close to snapping that he didn't find it amusing. He merely stared angrily towards the cave, tapping his foot impatiently and waiting for his plan to go according to plan.

"MOOOOOLLLL!" A scream suddenly cried, and the grunts gasped dramatically. Cyrus merely smiled with relief as boulders were sent flying out of the hole. More flames appeared, but this time there were the dancing fire of a Pokemon, and, to make things only sweeter, it was that of a legendaries.

Moltres was one of the three Legendary Birds of Kanto, and was the last one that Galactic had not already tried to capture. The Fire type was both ferocious and beauty at the same time, combining Zapdos and Articuno together into a flaming beast. Her feathers were all yellow like the sun, whilst her head, tails and wings were tipped with roaring flames of scorching red and orange. If Cresselia had brought the moon to Solaceon Town, than Moltres had brought the sun to Mt Coronet, glowing brightly but dangerously as she screeched into the night.

Cyrus watched in amazement at the beautiful, powerful legendary before them, and was left speechless at the fact she had appeared before them, one step closer to become theirs. He was unaware many of the grunts had fallen into states of shock and delight as well, many eyes training towards the beautiful legendary. However, Moltres shattered all of their dreams as she turned her head towards them, searching for whatever had just attacked and smartly seeing the large airship before her as being at fault.

"TREEEES!" She screamed, unleashing a powerful jet of flames against the ship. The grunts screamed as the Flamethrower exploded against the glass, which managed to hold despite the entire ship rocking.

"There's no time to dawdle," Charon said calmly, remaining firm in his seat and pressing several more buttons. "Man the controls and we'll be alright!" The grunts scrambled back to their seats as the back six guns began to fire: the guns could be anything they wanted, but today they were powerful water cannons. The clear jets were fired with the same force as a projectile, crashing against Moltres. The Flame Pokemon screamed with pain as she tried to fly against it, but Charon upped the intensity in order for a swift capture as she was pushed back against the wall. The power of the cannons were no keeping her upright, and if they turned off Moltres would end up spiralling to the ground thousands of feet if she didn't correct herself in time.

"Ah, I love an easy capture," Mars sneered as she turned several dials. "Not as fun as when they struggle and scream, but it is fun all the same."

"Oh Mars, I'm sure you'd love anything as long as it is weak and able to be caught," Charon replied with a sneer, causing the red head to laugh. "Now, time for the tricky part," he announced, pressing a button and pulling a smaller lever. The ship groaned slightly as the two larger guns began to charge up, what looked like red electricity charging up and coming together. The powerful cannons kept firing, but the water levels would soon decrease and it would have to be turned off. Charon was monitoring these and the levels of the guns, making sure everything ran smoothly.

"Now!" He exclaimed dramatically, pressing two buttons and pulling a level in quick succession. The water cannons turned off at the same moment as the red electricity was fired. Two powerful beams that looked like the energy that came from a PokeBall shot forwards, blasting through the last of the water as it fell and quickly hitting Moltres before she had time to fall. Only a few minutes ago the legendary had been happily resting for the night, but now she was trapped between two beams and unable to move let along fight back. Cyrus beamed like a little child that he just got their favourite toy as Charon began to careful manoeuvre Moltres with the two beams. Cyrus watched on a screen as the guns turned around, drawing Moltres in and sending her down through the hole. Two dozen grunts were on hand, along with Pokemon such as Cyrus' Gyarados and Charon's Magnezone in case anything went wrong. However, the weakened legendary put up no fuss as the guns turned off, causing her to drop into a toughened glass cage. Mechanical arms fitted a lid on top and sealed it in: Moltres was no captured.

Cheers rose up throughout the ship, and Cyrus couldn't help but smile down at the grunts that were supposed to be afraid of them. Charon turned around and nodded over at him, but Mars ran up and collapsed down onto his lap, smiling mischievously as she pecked her boss on the check.

"Would you like at that?" The admin said with a hint of a laugh. "First we got the Adamant Orb, than the spell book, and now Moltres: everything is going to plan boss! I suggest we pop the champagne once we've touched down."

"I am not going to celebrate just yet," Cyrus said, contradicting with the wide smile on his face. "Many teams have gotten this far and still they have crashed and burnt like some poorly built plane, but us… I want us to soar up into the sky and touch the stars that are millions of years away. Things are going well, but let us focus on the task at hand first, and once the world has fallen around us, than you can get as drunk as you like." Mars had merely nodded along during the discussion, but she burst out laughing at the last part and tipped backwards, her cackle echoing around. Cyrus allowed himself to chuckle slightly as well as Charon turned _Charm_ around, sending the airship back the way they had come. Cyrus was satisfied that they had caught Moltres and could still see the weak, defeated bird on the screen before them, but they had a long way to go before their plans fully worked, and as the ship began to race back through to Veilstone, Cyrus continued to smile as he imagined the other pieces of this puzzle fully coming together.

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is now time for the Solaceon Town Contest FINAAAALS! I am pleased to announce that, after intense appeals and several rounds of battles, the finals will be fought out by two previous winners: Harrison Maude, cameraman for the Sinnoh Broadcasting Company, and Matthew Pearl, winner of the Hearthome Double Battle Contest! Let's give them a big old Solaceon welcome!"

The cheers, roars and applause boomed all around, and Matthew felt tense as he stared through the doorway and out towards the field. His battles had been long and hard, but he was pleased to have made it to the finals without letting his personal problems get in his way. But he had never won against Harrison before, and knew he was a tough battler with amazing coordinator experience and skills.

"Plup Prin Prin Plup Plup!" Prinplup called happily from Matthew's side, and the coordinator jumped, having drifted off into his own little world of worry.

"Oh… yes Prinplup, I am sure we can win," Matthew replied with a false smile but turned quickly away. He had always known Prinplup would bring the power, but it felt strange having his starter and oldest Pokemon on his journey in a completely different form by his side, with sharp metal additions and no longer at an easy to pick up size. And than there was the fact that Harrison had Vaporeon: not only was it a cuter Pokemon, but there was Water Absorb that made several of Prinplup's attacks pointless. It was going to be a very tough battle, and Matthew found his confidence was not helping with his mounting and logical fears about how this battle would end up. Even if he could bring Vaporeon close to fainting, who would the judges choose: cutesy Eeveelution Vaporeon, or partly Metal Prinplup?

"Alright, I am sure our contestants are ready after that warm welcome, so let's bring them out!" Felicity cried. Matthew wondered how sore the voices and throats of the audience were getting from all the yelling as he nervously stepped out, finding the pointless thought a welcome distraction. He had moved so quickly Prinplup didn't notice and had to waddle quickly to catch up: the Penguin Pokemon had been wondering why Matthew seemed so distracted, but she merely put it down for stress and smiled and waved at the crowd to relax herself.

"And here they are!" Felicity cried again, stepping over to the sides as Harrison arrived from the other end. He had sent Vaporeon out already as well, though Matthew had left Prinplup out more by mistake than on purpose and would have rather sent her out properly in a seal to get bonus points, but figured that boring the judges and trying to score these extra points might be pushing it. Harrison looked relaxed and confident as always, and the colour of his suit matched Vaporeon perfectly, and Matthew felt mildly reassured as he glanced down at Prinplup and realized her darker shade of blue did indeed match his suit.

"We can win this," he said aloud, and Prinplup smiled back and clapped her flippers together. Matthew did felt horrible about his thoughts on Prinplup's beauty, but he knew how the system worked and couldn't help but be worried.

"Our two competitors are here and they are both ready to battle, but only one of them can take home tonight's ribbon!" Felicity yelled. "It is a battle of Water types, but only one of these powerful waves can conquer the other! It's time to see who that is: LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!"

"Vaporeon, let's put on a show!" Harrison cried.

"Go Prinplup… you can do it," Matthew said, forcing enthusiasm. Prinplup moved onto the field as the crowd roared and cheered, Vaporeon leaping dramatically forwards and landing elegantly. Matthew quickly examined Vaporeon, trying to think of the best attack to use against her.

"You may have defeated Cheryl but I've still defeated you and I think that gives me the psychological advantage, especially over you and your lovely _new_ Prinplup," Harrison called out with a smile. Matthew was shocked to see his opponent was using their conversation before against him, his smirk showing he thought Vaporeon had this in the bag. It was a bit of a cheap trick, but the clock was ticking and Matthew couldn't worry over it, simply making a note not to mention things like this to people again.

"Brick Break!" He shouted.

"Oh, how pretty," Harrison jeered. "Aqua Tail, go!" Prinplup quickly raced forwards, the yellow parts of her right flipper glowing red as she raised it above her head. Vaporeon bent her legs down, waiting for Prinplup to get closer, and sprang once she was near. Her tail was glowing blue and unleashed water as she smashed it against Prinplup. Matthew cringed as Prinplup fell backwards, but she managed to save herself but smashing the Brick Break against Vaporeon's tail as it swung away.

"VAPOR!" She cried, being forced forwards and landing in the ground as well. However, Prinplup had taken more damage and had used a less graceful move, and Matthew needed to defeat Vaporeon flat out in order to win.

"Aerial Ace!" He cried.

"Aqua Tail!" Harrison ordered back. Vaporeon's tail began to glow again, but this time for Prinplup her wings and head crest glowed lilac as she got back to her feet. She rose her flippers up, allowing them to extending and becoming more wing like, and than leapt up into the air.

"PLUUUP!" Prinplup cried, soaring back to the ground as Vaporeon reared up with Aqua Tail. Vaporeon spun dramatically with her tail curved around and the crowd seemed to be cheering at this, and Matthew could see the judges watching enthused. He could only cross his fingers and hoped things went well as Prinplup struck the Aqua Tail: water was sent soaring by the force of the attack, but both Pokemon were sent backwards. Vaporeon landed quicker and landed more elegantly, but Prinplup was not use to her body and fell in a more comical, clumsy way. The crowd sniggered at this and Matthew felt embarrassed as Harrison's smug grin got wider and wider at the sight of this new failure.

"A little stumble from Prinplup, but the Penguin Pokemon seems to be doing fine!" Felicity called as Prinplup got back to her feet and seemed unfazed by the laughing, ready to keep going. Matthew was unsure about things, but didn't want to cave into the pressure just yet.

"Try Brick Break again," he said half heartedly, something that seemed to catch Prinplup's attention.

"Aqua Tail, it seems to be working well," Harrison ordered confidently. Prinplup puffed her chest out and ran forwards, raising her flipper high as it glowed, but Matthew's attention was drawn away as he noticed the cheers of the crowd were dying down to be replaced with noticeable murmuring. Matthew looked around, seeing their eyes were focusing towards Prinplup and knew their words would be the same: did they all think Matthew and Prinplup should give up? Was it all worthless?

"Vapor Por Vapor!" Vaporeon cried, swinging her glowing tail and striking Prinplup hard on the head, sending her into the air. The fight was beginning to seem one sided with all of Vaporeon's hits, and Matthew already felt defeated as Prinplup soared upwards. The crowd's laughter reiterated the thought he had had a moment before, and he failed to stop a mental image of his father as he watched the battle unfold: _I knew he would never win again, last time was merely a fluke… _

"Aerial Ace," Matthew commanded but with little emotion as he watched Prinplup flailing to try and stop in the air. She turned towards him at his order, once again seeing how little he cared, and Matthew had to look away to stop the guilt burning up inside.

"Aurora Beam; it'll probably knock her out," Harrison ordered jeeringly and the crowd laughed with him. Matthew felt horrible and embarrassed and turned away from Felicity's sympathetic look, not needing pity. He merely watched as Prinplup dived down with her lilac flippers as Vaporeon fired her multi coloured beam of ice into the air.

_Just let it end… _Matthew thought, the laughter and jeering tearing into him and making him wish he had chosen someone else. The Aurora Beam and Prinplup were nearing each other, and it was clear Prinplup wasn't going to avoid it. Matthew tensed up, simply waiting for the fainting to occur…

"PLUUUUUP!" Prinplup cried, and in a single movement, she changed the battle. Matthew watched in surprise as Prinplup suddenly turned her body around, using her attack to propel herself around. The crowd began to murmur at this, and a quick look showed Harrison, Felicity and the judges were all curious to see why Prinplup was beginning to spin around. She was turning into a blue and lilac blur as she sped around more, and Matthew gasped as her beak touched the Aurora Beam: the attack was deflected, shooting off into multiple beams and managing to make the Penguin Pokemon look even more beautiful.

"Will you look at this!" Felicity gasped as Prinplup tore through the beam. "Pardon the pun, but what a dramatic turn around this has been!" Matthew was shocked he couldn't think straight, and merely watched as Prinplup reached the very end and crashed straight into Vaporeon.

"VAAAP!" She cried, flying backwards as if hit by an invisible explosion. Prinplup landed on her beak and continued to spin until she pushed herself up, still spinning and not landing perfectly, but had still pulled off a sudden comeback when all hope seemed lost. Matthew was stunned, and the ground seemed so as well: everyone was talking excitedly, slowly moving back towards shouting and cheering.

"That was amazing!" Matthew yelled at Prinplup, looking over at a stunned Harrison. "Hit her with a Metal Claw while she's down!" Harrison heard the order and snapped out of his shock, going back to focusing.

"Aurora Beam again!" He cried to Vaporeon quickly. The Bubble Jet Pokemon leapt up quickly as Prinplup's claws glowed silver, her reaction s much quicker despite falling down and quickly fired the beam.

"Lup Prin!" Prinplup said with an almost fierce attitude, raising her flippers up in defence. The Aurora Beam hit the Metal Claws, bouncing off and sending more of the rainbow ice across the hall. Matthew was stunned at Prinplup's sudden come around and wondered what had brought it on, but with an almost crushing feeling he realized what it could be.

"Prin!" Prinplup growled, slashing her claws and fully deflecting the attack, leaving neither one of them weakened. Vaporeon was able to move back in front of Harrison, who had lost his confidence and was looking a bit annoyed at what seemed like an easy victory being so easily snatched away. Matthew had changed as well: victory suddenly seemed like a possibility, and he knew that Prinplup now stood a chance.

"Prinplup may have turned things around, but unless one of them faints within the next two minutes, it is going to be a tie!" Felicity announced, sending the crowd into another roar. Matthew was shocked to realize how much time had passed, and quickly began to think of a combination move that could truly end this. He could see Harrison pausing as well as he tried to think of his own move, and Matthew knew it would all come down to who had the best move.

"Prinplup, I want you to do that spinning Aerial Ace you did before, but I want you to add some extra power to it by summoning a Whirlpool and flying into it!" Matthew yelled triumphantly, confident that this was the finishing move. However, he was shocked to see Prinplup merely nodding half-heartedly, almost as if their views on this battle had switched.

"Well, guess you can't win if your Pokemon is in a mood," Harrison said, feeling smug once more. "Vaporeon, use Surf but absorb it into your tail and use that to win us this ribbon!"

"Eon Va Va Por!" Vaporeon chimed, and her eyes glowed blue. Matthew took a step backwards as water exploded out of the ground and saw Felicity do the same thing, but only a few drops hit him before the Surf was instantly sucked back away. Matthew watched in shock as the attack rose up and was absorbed inside Vaporeo's glowing tail, the water coming together and moulding into the shape of her tail. Once it had stopped, the tail had now tripled in size and seemed even bigger than Vaporeon herself. Matthew was stunned, knowing that if the attack, which looked kind of like Vaporeon had a giant blue tumour, managed to hit Prinplup than it was all over, and all this worrying would have been pointless. But Prinplup didn't seem to care, possibly too hurt to do otherwise, and Matthew knew he had to make things right.

"Prinplup, I am sorry!" He whispered so the crowd couldn't hear. "I shouldn't have judged you or expected us to lose. I think you are even more beautiful and even stronger then before, no matter what snobby judgements the contest board had! I shouldn't have fallen into their views, but we can change their perceptions forever if we can win this battle and set a new standard!" Matthew was sincere and hoped Prinplup believed him, but she didn't turn around and his heart began to sink.

"Plup Plup?" Matthew felt a new sense of relief as a tearful Prinplup turned around, the emotions clear across her face.

"Of course I love you, I always have and always will," Matthew replied, his own tears forming. Prinplup smiled back and suddenly tipped her head back, a jet of water spiralling out of her mouth. It spun around and quickly turned into a spinning current. Matthew gasped in delight as the Whirlpool rose up, spinning and shining high above them. Harrison's jaw dropped and Matthew felt so delighted that things had turned around.

"You aren't going to be saved by some spinning water!" Harrison snapped. "Vaporeon, jump up and beat her down!"

"Go Prinplup, now is the time!" Matthew yelled. The two Pokemon nodded and jumped simultaneously: Vaporeon soared up into the air with her body tucked in together and spinning round and round, while the lilac glowing Prinplup leapt up into the spinning Whirlpool above as she herself spun like a top.

The crowd gasped once more as Prinplup was engulfed by her own attack, spinning with the vortex. It seemed like the attack could defeat her, but Prinplup almost melted through and merely spun faster, the Whirlpool moving up with her as if she was turning it inside out. The Penguin now looked like a spinning blue rocket propelling up towards Vaporeon, who was spinning down to meet her. The entire hall tensed up, everyone watching in silent excitement, knowing that this was the final move…

"VAPOOOOOR!"

"PRINPLUUUUUP!"

The two Pokemon collided, the Aerial Ace-powered beak hitting the super Aqua Tail: Matthew had expected some slow motion fight to outlast the other to occur, but was shocked as the exact opposite happened. The Aqua Tail exploded, raining down upon those below. The crowd screamed in both fright and excitement as several spotlights exploded, sending hot glass and sparks across the hall along with the water. The fire shooting form the lights covered all signs of what was happening, and Matthew felt annoyed as he covered his head and tried to avoid the glass, wanting to see who had won.

It all was revealed with a splash.

Everyone had averted their faces to avoid getting injured by the exploding lights, and no one was focussing as a large wave of water crashed to the ground. Matthew, Harrison and Felicity were completely soaked and were nearly knocked backwards by the force, but as they got over the shock of the soaking, they heard two large splashes sounding almost simultaneously.

"Prinplup?" Matthew said excitedly, wiping the water out of his face and trying to ignore the fact it was seeping through his many layers. He looked out onto the field, but was stunned to see both Vaporeon and Prinplup lying in the water, not showing any signs of movement: after all of that effort, had everything just come down to a draw? He looked up at Harrison, who looked equally as shocked as him, and then over at Felicity, who seemed unsure about what to do next. Matthew was heartbroken, having really have hoped that Prinplup could win after the extra encouragement.

"Luuup…," a weak cry said, and Matthew's heart skipped a beat. The crowd gasped as Prinplup pushed herself up, and than went into a frenzy-filled cheer as the Penguin Pokemon got back to her feet. Matthew remained shocked for a moment, but as the cheering began to beat into him he knew hen couldn't just stand there foolishly. He sprinted through the water, his splashing drawing Prinplup's attention, but she had barely turned around before Matthew had collapsed to his knees and skidded the last metre, wrapping his arms tightly around her. The crowd was cheering loud enough to be heard from Hearthome and managed to drown out Felicity magnified voice, but Matthew didn't care as he pulled his starter in tight.

"I am sorry for ever doubting you," he whispered, a tear streaming down his face and splashing onto her crest. Prinplup merely nodded and she wrapped her arms around him, both of them crying with a mixture of joy and saddening emotion, but Matthew knew they'd never go through this again: tonight, Prinplup had proven that you didn't need to be the cutest Pokemon by traditional means simply to win contests, but Matthew would always view her as a beautiful winner in his books. He always had, and now he always will.

* * *

"WHO IS READY TO PAAAAAARTAAAAAY!"

A collective cheer that managed to drown out the blaring pop music rose from the crowd, and everyone continued to whoop and cheer as Eden grabbed an entire bottle of vodka from the bartop and began to drink it down. The bar manager would have usually been annoyed, but Eden's hilarious drunkenness had managed to distract him and he cheered along with everyone as Eden finished the bottle off in barely half a minute.

"NOW _THAT'S _A DRINK!" Eden shouted in slurred words, and a collective cheer rose up once more. At least three party girls leapt up onto the bar over the course of any night, but most people ignored them as they were merely seeking attention and only impressing their friends or dates. However, Eden seemed to demand a different sort of presence. None of the people in the crowd knew why the drunk girl was managing to draw them away from their dancing and drinking, but no one was able to take their eyes off her…

And Eden loved every minute.

She had little care for what happened to Sahara's body or image as she clicked her fingers, sending metal trays spinning around with drinks on them and forcing the taps to turn on and load up dozens of beer glasses, the semi darkness hiding the magical elements of it. Eden always felt stifled and lost whenever she was forced to stay hidden away in Sahara's body, and after barely enjoying her last few outings, she had definitely planned to enjoy this one. She had plenty of drinks and plenty of men to keep her going all night, and didn't plan to stop anytime soon.

_I can just hear Sahara now, complaining about the state she's in and wondering why people are staring at her oddly, _Eden thought with a slight sneer. _She can simply suffer the consequences of not letting me out to play more often: it's her own damn fault! And that Vanessa, thinking I'd help her out. I am not friends with her and I doubt Sahara is still friends with her either, so the red headed bitch can just get killed by the gangsters for all I care, but it ain't going to ruin my evening!_

"WHO WANTS SOME SHOTS!" Eden screamed, losing all the intelligence and class she kept hidden away in her head and letting her party streaks run wild. She beamed as the crowd continued to cheer, not that they had any choice in the matter as her power seeped throughout them all and drew them all towards her as if they were mere bits of metal that she could so easily control. It seemed as if Eden had this night to herself, and nothing was going to stop her quest for simply having fun.

Than, everything changed in an instant.

Eden was just raising a glass of almost purple liquid up to her mouth when a scream erupted from the crowd. She turned around, but her permanently drunken state distorted where the sound had precisely come from, not being helped by the neon lights and the fact she was trying to spin around. Eden suddenly fell backwards as the screams and a stampede of running erupted around her, and in the same moment it took for her to realize she had been knocked down there was a bang and a shattering of glass.

"What is going on?" Eden growled. "YOU DARE FIRE A BULLET AT ME! I AM THE QUEEN OF METAL!"

"Tales Nine Nine Tales!" A voice grumbled, and Eden's brain snapped back into focus. She looked up and realized that it was a Pokemon that had landed on top of her, and figured it was a Ninetales from its name.

"Whose a pretty little Pokemon?" Eden said as if talking to a baby, but the Ninetales scoffed and leapt off and onto the floor below. Eden sat up and saw that the crowd was running towards the doors as if being chased, and it took her drunken brain a few seconds to put things together: there had been a gunshot and a shattering of glass, Ninetales had saved her, but had the shoot gotten away?

"Not so fast my fellow drinkers," Eden said in a grumpy voice and fired a bolt of electricity forwards. The patrons screamed as it formed across the doorway, causing the building to creek as it pulled the metal frames in on each other. Satisfied, Eden looked up at the bar: the manager and tenders had dived for cover, but the bullet had only hit an empty glass on the shelf.

"I can quite easily find out who fired this," Eden boomed to the audience of dancers and drinkers before her, whose happy nights had came to an abrupt halt, leaving them all cowering on the floor and wondering what was going on. Eden fired a thin bolt towards the bullet, causing it to rise up. "Either you tell me who you are, or I find you myself and make you wish you'd never been born… though I can probably make that happen as well." Eden paused at this thought, and a smirk crossed her face: any normal person in this controlling situation would have stayed in control, but Eden was permanently drunk and was amused at her little joke about changing time. She began laughing so hard that she nearly doubled over, causing her the patrons to stare around in confusion. Ninetales looked annoyed that Eden had been so easily distracted, and decided it was up to her to do something about it.

"NINE!" She screamed, unleashing a Flamethrower that lit up the entire club with the intense red and yellow. The crowd screamed and moved aside as the jet shot towards where the bullet had come from, and Eden got a hold of herself to watch as two people near the back wall leapt aside. The table they had been near erupted into flames, causing more screams to sound throughout.

"There we go!" Eden called in delight and zapped two blue sparks. The people yelled out as they were hit, the electricity sending their bodies into spasms, and was so powerful that it appeared to shoot their hair right off their heads. Eden was surprised by this, though Ninetales growled and stepped forwards, eyeing the two people.

"Oh darn, we've been caught, what a pity," one of them, a male, snarled, and turned angrily towards them with his gun raised. The crowd gasped and whimpered once more, but Eden held her ground as she recognised the face before her.

"Your one of those Galactic lackeys," she slurred, pointing an accusing finger. "Sat… Saturn, yes? And that other one is Ju…Ju…Juniper!"

"It's Jupiter!" Jupiter snapped, leaping up with her own gun in her hand. Eden merely laughed and clicked her fingers, trying to bring the guns towards her, but was stunned to see that they barely even moved. "Ah, your tricks aren't going to work this time," Jupiter said with a smirk. "Our guns have been designed not to come up in metal detectors or X-Rays, so that must apply to your magnetic powers as well."

"Charon always comes up with the best ideas," Saturn said with a slight purr, and he and Jupiter continued to laugh as they simultaneously fired. Eden was forced to duck, her drunkenness going to affect her skills and make her unable to stop the bullets. She watched as Ninetales avoided a bullet and sent another Flamethrower towards them, turning more tables to fire and sending the crowd running. Despite what she had thought before, Eden realized she was going to need some help to get out of here, and there was only one person in the building to help her.

And it seemed Eden's problems may be Vanessa's solutions.

The screams and gunshots managed to sound through the room as one of the bikers had rushed downstairs to see what was happening, leaving the door wide open and allowing the noise to creep through. The bikers were all confused by what was happening and it was putting them on edge, and Vanessa could sense that Armstrong was on edge as he stood behind her.

No one noticed in the confusion as to what was happening below that Vanessa had stopped writing, her pen merely resting on the notepad and her head down as if she still was, yet her eyes were darting around. It would be easy enough to kill Armstrong, but than it was a matter of getting out alive and seeing what was happening below. Vanessa could rule Emerson out as a threat as he was going pale with worry, clutching the sides of the chair and looking as if he was about to throw up. All Vanessa needed to do was to cause a distraction and get attention on some other matter, and than things could go her way…

"Skull, Raven, Nightshade, get down there and see what the fuck is going on!" Armstrong suddenly erupted angrily, his voice ringing around the room. Three burly bikers leapt up and raced downstairs as if little schoolboys caught out for misbehaving. It was clear Armstrong was angry about what was happening below but also worried, his voice shaking as he spoke to match his body. "And YOU – Are you still writing?"

"Of course sir," Vanessa replied in a sweetly voice, scrawling nonsense on the page with her right hand as she used her left to pull off the bottom of one of her glow sticks. "I'll only be a few more minutes, and than you will be able to do whatever you like with me."

"Excellent!" Armstrong snarled, managing to calm down a little bit and get control of her voice. "Yes, whatever we like… I am sure the boys have a few plans up their sleeves, but I think I'll have the first go, don't you agree Emerson?" The leader boomed with laughter that made Vanessa feel sick, and Emerson laughed along with him, though it was clearly false laughter to join up with his new leader. It was fairly disgusting, but Vanessa didn't care about them as she managed to get the top off, sending five PokeBalls rolling out and bouncing on the ground.

Armstrong, Emerson and the other bikers all fell silent as Monferno, Staraptor, Luxio, Dustox and Murkrow emerged from beneath Vanessa's seat, forming on all sides of her and the boss. Vanessa beamed with pride, glad to see the room had frozen, and instantly moved.

"Get them!" She yelled, leaping up and grabbing onto the table. Emerson realized too late what was happening, and could only yell as Vanessa used all her strength to flip it over. He screamed as the wood crushed his legs and chair, and Vanessa felt some satisfaction but had to keep going. She grabbed the bottle from the table and swung it around, pleased to see a shocked Armstrong had attempted to lunge forwards. It smashed against his table, coating him with shards of glass and brown liquid, but he had no time to react as Vanessa grabbed his hand and forced his own knife into his throat.

"Say hello to the General for me," Vanessa hissed with pleasure, watching as Armstrong's eyes bulged in shocked before his fluttering eyelids closed. She let the dead body collapse to the ground and bent down to get her PokeBalls before they went missing.

"You little bitch!" Emerson growled from behind the table, but Vanessa merely giggled and gave it a running kick, knocking it right against his face and causing him to yell in pain.

"That's for knocking me out in the Underground," she replied sweetly and turned back towards the battle. Her Pokemon had moved swiftly, taking her order correctly as attacking the bikers: the couches, walls and fine painting had all been damaged as their attacks sent them all flying across the room. Monferno was currently engaged in a punching match with one biker, while several aggressive Skorupi had been sent out by a now unconscious biker, forcing Staraptor and Murkrow to fight back against them.

"Tox Dus Dustox Tox," a voice said, and Vanessa turned to see Dustox soaring towards her, Luxio quickly running behind.

"Are they all incapacitated?" Vanessa asked, and the two Pokemon nodded. "Alright, we need to go down and see what is going on: it sounds as if Eden may be having too much fun." Vanessa grabbed one of her glow sticks and twisted the top, dropping it down into the middle of the floor. "You have five minutes to get out of here before the stick explodes; we'll be downstairs waiting."

"Starap Star," Staraptor replied, beating a Skorupi against a wall with Close Combat. It was risky to leave them alone with the explosive, but Vanessa had to see what was happening down below before it

"Monferno, take care of Emerson before you go if you can," she called as she led Luxio and Dustox towards the doorway, and the Fire-Fighter nodded as he drove a Mach Punch into the biker's gut. Vanessa was proud of her tough, loyal Pokemon, but couldn't worry about that as she saw the four bikers that Armstrong had sent down running up.

"HEY!" One of them yelled, angrily pulling out of a knife.

"LUXIIII!" Luxio growled, launching forwards with teeth glowing with electricity. The biker yelled as the Thunder Fang sunk through his jacket, knocking him back against the wall, but it merely gave way for the other three. Vanessa growled and grabbed two glow sticks, smashing both against the wall.

"I'd stay back if I was you," Vanessa warned as the glass covering fell to the ground. One that had been blue a moment ago was now firing electricity, blasting the three men backwards as the front one screamed with pain. The glass fell away from the second, leaving Vanessa's umbrella firmly back in her hands. "Alright, let's go," she said and ran forwards. Luxio dodged as Vanessa used the electricity to zap his target down as well, and ran across each of them with her high heels digging into their stomachs. She wasn't sure if any of them were dead or not, her attention focussed more on what was awaiting them at the bottom of the staircase.

The first thing that hit her was the heat.

Vanessa was taken aback to reach the bottom of the stairs and find a fire roaring next to her where tables had been before, and she was forced to cover her mouth to keep the breath in. Her eyes followed the trail of flames, seeing that the roaring flames were leading towards the couches and the rest of the tables, beginning to move along the walls and the smoke covering the neon lights. What had been dark when she'd left was now lit up in bright yellow and red, a stark contrast from earlier.

"This is interesting," Vanessa mumbled into her arm, but Luxio and Dustox couldn't reply as gun shots sounded around them. The smoke was clouding a lot of her vision, but Vanessa heard shattering glass and knew they'd been fired towards the bar.

"YOU HAVE TO TRY HARDER!" Eden's voice boomed, and blue electricity was fired across the length of the room. Vanessa stepped back to avoid getting hit, and was surprised to see from the blue light that people were still stuck in the corner near the bar, cowering for their lives. She glanced towards the door to see it wasn't covered by fire, only somehow closed together.

"Now that's a health and safety risk," Vanessa said with a smile towards her Pokemon, though they didn't laugh at her pun. "Fine then," she scoffed jokingly, and raised her umbrella up and pointed it towards the door. With a click the energy gun was out, and a moment later an orange beam had torn across the bar and blown a hole, leaving a perfect exit for the trapped patrons.

"What was that?" A familiar voice cried as the partygoers rushed to freedom from the strange world they'd found themselves in.

"It was her!" A second familiar voice snarled, and Vanessa was forced to lift her umbrella up as two figures appeared before her, the fire lighting up their faces and bodies: it took a moment to recognise their faces from the shadows cast by the flames and their unfamiliar and unusual outfits, but Vanessa was shocked when their faces finally clicked.

"What the fuck are you two doing here?" She said angrily, pointing her umbrella firmly towards the two Galactic admins, only to have them point their two guns back towards them. Luxio and Dustox growled behind Vanessa, but there was nothing they could do to stop a speeding bullet.

"We were here simply to have a fun night out, and when we saw you and your drunken friend had come along as well, we figured blowing your brains out would be just as fun," Jupiter replied with a smile. "Now, dear cousin, what exactly was your purpose for coming here tonight? Where did you disappear to with that lovely Emerson character?"

"Like that is any of your business," Vanessa snapped back, hardly likely to reveal she had come here to try and get some information on the team. Jupiter didn't look happy at this and the tension between the two rose up, each of them pointing their weapons towards the other, trying to ignore the travelling heat around them.

"Why have we stopped playing?" Eden boomed, stumbling forwards with blue electricity sparking in her hands. "I wanted to blast all of your brains out!" She said with a high pitched laugh, and continued to laugh even when she finally noticed Vanessa was there as well. A Ninetales walked forwards as well, tails arced over her back and a furious, almost murderous look in her eyes. Vanessa had no idea what was necessarily going on, but she noticed that the last of the staff had run up the exit, leaving them all alone in the burning club.

"Whose Ninetales is that?" Vanessa asked, trying to get some clarity.

"I believe that belongs to the dearly departed Lady Carolina," Saturn said, a smirk crossing his face. Ninetales growled at that and the rest of her hair stood in end, the flames dancing in her burning eyes.

"And how would you know that?" Vanessa asked, feeling a touch of sorrow for Xavier. However, as the sick smiles crossed the two faces, something she had heard from the police report sent alarm bells off in her head: poison had been found in the throat wound that had initially killed her, and Galactic had claimed responsibility. "It was you!" She hissed, clutching her umbrella angrily as Saturn let out a laugh.

"Close enough but no points for you," he said as Jupiter laughed alongside. "I was going to kidnap her, but the little tart tried to run away and Toxicroak accidentally killed her. Terribly dreadful situation it was, we really want to have her in our cells. Would you pass our condolences on please?"

"NINE!" Ninetales yelled, almost sounding hurt, and lunged forwards with her jaw open wide. Saturn went to move but suddenly gasped, clutching his right arm in pain. Jupiter was shocked by this but moved quickly, swinging her gun and knocking it against the Pokemon's head.

"Poor Ninetales!" Eden gasped, watching as the Fire type fell backwards. "You people really are just mean and foul? We came here tonight, me for a drink and Vanessa trying to work out how to catch that death-bringing Pokemon she unleashed onto the world, and hoped to have a good time, but you two fuckers have just gone and ruined things! I didn't even get to have a bloody martini!" Angrily, Eden fired her two bolts that had enough power for Vanessa to feel from where she was standing. Jupiter knocked Saturn to the ground near the flames and quickly fired her gun. Blood spurted across Sahara's dress as a bullet plunged into her right arm, causing Eden to seize up.

"SAHARA, NO!" Vanessa yelled, and went to move forwards when she heard a distinctive clicking. She froze and turned around, finding Jupiter pointing her gun directly towards Luxio.

"Take one step and I blow his brains out," she snarled. "What was that Pokemon you unleashed, and don't tell me any lies or you know what will happen?" Jupiter was looking as serious as Vanessa had ever seen her, and knew that she was not lying at all. With her other Pokemon still fighting upstairs, Eden bleeding and Ninetales not moving, Vanessa had been backed into a very difficult place.

"I forget it's name… Spirit something, I think," she replied, trying to give a satisfying answer but also trying to not give anything away. Jupiter and Saturn exchanged a look at this, but before Vanessa could really make anything of it there was a shout. All available eyes turned as Staraptor and Murkrow suddenly came down the second staircase, flying past the flames that were beginning to swallow up the entire club.

"Your safe!" Vanessa said in delight. "But where's Monferno? Is he still fighting the biker above?" Staraptor shook her head and quickly went off, trying to explain something happening above but Vanessa could barely understand what was being said. However, the roof above was beginning to shake violently and Vanessa looked up worriedly, only to find that smoke was completely covering it from view. Something was happening above, and Vanessa needed to see what it was. She was just wondering what to do about Jupiter and Saturn when they seemed to answer the question for them: they had black bracelets on with what looked like a pink jewel in the center, but both of them had their fingers on their respective jewels.

"This has been fun, but we think we're going to go now," Saturn said with a smile. "Do make sure you pass our wishes onto Xavier, won't you?" He let out a laugh as they both pressed down, their bracelets suddenly glowing. Vanessa shielded her eyes from the glow, and suddenly went into a coughing fit from the smoke that was beginning to engulf them. There was some sort of swishing noise, and by the time Vanessa had regained control the two had disappeared. There appearance and sudden disappearance tonight was as odd as always, but Vanessa had no reason to further question things when Monferno had an unknown fate above.

"Your four need to take Sahara and Ninetales up through that staircase now," she told her Pokemon, grabbing one of her glow sticks and twisting the top. The four began to protest but the trainer shook her head. "No, you need to move now, the bomb is about to go off!" Vanessa said seriously. Luxio, Dustox and Murkrow didn't look happy with leaving her behind, but Staraptor, obedient and trusting in Vanessa as always, nodded her own head.

"Aptor Star Star Raptor Starap Star," she said, and Vanessa smiled back at her before the Starling Pokemon turned and began ushering the others forwards. Luxio and Murkrow pushed a groaning Eden onto Staraptor's back while Dustox used Psybeam to lift Ninetales up, and with a final glance behind they were off.

"Good," Vanessa mumbled to herself in relief, but realized she had more important things to do. She twisted the top of this glow stick, activating another bomb, and dropped it behind her. Vanessa then raced forwards, running as fast as her high heels and the dancing flames allowed, and began to sprint up the staircase. The smoke and the heat was more trapped in here and it became relatively easy to start sweating, but Vanessa had to keep going and focus on getting to the top.

The private room had not suffered well since Vanessa had left.

There were giant holes in each wall, exposing plaster, brick, wiring and simple empty space, one hole deep enough that it even showed the café ahead. The entire table had been destroyed, the light fittings had been smashed, several seats were on fire and more were simply in pieces. Vanessa was shocked and left wondering how this could have happened, but was more distracted when she saw Monferno lying unconscious near the explosive.

"No!" She gasped, rushing forwards and quickly scooping him up. Monferno didn't stir at all, but she could feel his heart beat and see he was still breathing which was the main relief. Vanessa could check him over at the Pokemon Center, and now needed to focus on getting out of there. But as she stood up, Vanessa heard yet another distinct clicking.

"You think your so wonderful just because you can kill people with a single flick of your wrist, don't you?" An angry voice said. Vanessa looked around, knowing the voice belonged to Emerson but didn't know where he was. "You keep destroying my life… when are you going to stop? When I'm dead? When your dead yourself? This has been happening for too long Vanessa… when will it end."

"Emerson, I don't give a shit about you at the moment, but in a few seconds this bomb is going to go off," Vanessa explained, turning her umbrella around and popping it open.

"I really don't care… if we both die, than it will be over," Emerson hissed. "And if we both survive, than just note that I am not going to stop until I have my revenge. You have embarrassed me for the last time Vanessa, and remember that I am never going to stop trying to get my revenge on you!" There was a beeping sound that sounded from the middle of the room, and Vanessa knew it was time to leave. Not even bothering to care about Emerson, she ran forwards, umbrella behind her as a method of protecting. She kicked out at the board where the deepest hole was, giving her a clear path she could fit through directly towards.

Vanessa had just managed both legs through when the bomb exploded.

The impact instantly hit the umbrella, driving the handle into Vanessa's back as it sent her and Monferno shooting across the café with the orange flames following after. The heat was intense even with the umbrella for protection, and Vanessa was forced to grin and bear it as she crashed against the wooden floor, rolling over and losing her grip of Monferno and her umbrella.

"Krow Krow Murk!" A cry came, and Vanessa had barely stopped moving when talons grasped her shoulders. She wearily noted it was Staraptor grabbing her as Murkrow grabbed her umbrella and Luxio pushed Monferno out through the doors, whose glass had already been shattered.

"You know what Staraptor," Vanessa said as they floated out into the cold night. "I could really use a drink right now." Staraptor began to chuckle in her bird-like manner, and even Vanessa managed a smile at her own joke. But she couldn't help but shake the fact this night had been ultimately pointless: she had gained no exciting information, only made Emerson angrier, had a run in with Saturn and Jupiter, and, as the explosion behind them that blasted their backs with heat confirmed, pointlessly destroyed a building. There was no way Vanessa could make things right now.

* * *

It was hard to try and escape when you were in so much pain.

Charles and Roshonda lay breathlessly against the rocky wall, sweat, tears and blood streaming down their faces. Their clothes were torn and their stomachs and sides burnt badly by Charlotte's rings of fire, but the fire had eventually stopped. Instead, they had been treated to other varieties of Charlotte's personal brand of torture: forcing them to crash head first into each other, sending rocks to batter them, fully obscuring their vision with sand, using the hot wax from the candles to encase parts of their body together. Yet Charlotte didn't seem to get tired, instead drawing strength from each bit of pain she inflicted upon them and showing no sign of stopping yet.

"Oh how the mighty have fallen!" The ghost jeered as she floated around her captives. Charles had blood streaming down his chest from where she had magically dug into his skin, and it dripped over the burns around his waist and dripped down his torn pants and against the bleeding wounds on his legs. Roshonda had had her hair torn as well as her clothes and suffered cuts along her arms and bare midriff, leaving both of them weak and pained. "This is what happens to those that try and stop me: there is no way anyone can ever defeat me, and I hope Cyrus learns this lesson!" She paused dramatically, smiling as she glanced down at their pockets, which had managed to remain unharmed during their onslaught. "Hmmm… physically hurting you _will_ give me some pleasure, but I think it is time for some psychological damage, wouldn't you agree?" Charles had no idea what she was going to do, but it didn't take long to work out as his pockets began to move.

"No!" Roshonda said breathlessly, watching helplessly as their PokeBalls were telekinetically pulled out of their pockets. Charles tried to reach out and grab them, but he was so weak he could barely raise his arm. Charlotte had completely managed to wear them down and Charles was so close to giving up that he probably wouldn't bat an eyelid if she killed them right now. But he couldn't let her attack their Pokemon: whether he lived or died, Charles didn't want to watch his Pokemon get hurt for even a second.

"Don't worry my coloured friend," Charlotte said with a smile, "I'll make this very quick. And forgive me for being racist, but I am over 2000 years old so I've picked up a few prejudices over my time," she added and began to laugh as she twirled her hand, causing the PokeBalls to get lost amongst each other and casually spin around in mid air.

"Please… don't!" Charles groaned, trying to sit up but ultimately collapsing against the wall.

"Don't? Why wouldn't I?" Charlotte scoffed. "I need to send a message, and a few dead Pokemon might just be enough to keep you all off my back for a little while, wouldn't you agree? Now, which Pokemon should I kill first?" The ghost asked with a sickening smile, making the balls float before her and spinning around as she tried to choose. Charles knew that she wasn't going to give up, and he realised the only way to stop her would be to find a way to trick her.

"Whatever you do… please don't hurt Elle!" Charles whispered, using his pain to force some more tears out. Roshonda was close to crying as well, clutching Charles' arm despite the pain it caused him and trying to hold it in.

"Not Elle… the Eevee, right?" Charlotte asked, beaming in delight. She clicked her fingers and the right PokeBall floated towards her, and her cold laugh echoed around. "Oh deary me, you shouldn't have said that!" Charlotte cackled, reaching out and pressing the button with a ghostly finger. Charles watched helplessly as the red energy came out and began to form on the ground, hoping that this rather wild plan would work.

"Eva Eve Eevee!" Elle gasped as soon as she had formed and seen Charles' injuries, but as she began to run forwards Charlotte clicked her fingers: the Eevee continued to run, only her body began to lift up into the air. Charles was hurt to see her confusion and pain, but as her fearful eyes stared at him he managed to mouth two words at her: _Shadow Ball_.

"Let the blood of your beloved Elle be a warning to you Charles, and to everyone at that bloody mental team of yours," Charlotte snarled, moving her hand so Elle moved backwards through the air towards her. "If any of you try and mess with me again and do anything to harm me, I will come to your headquarters and slaughter every last one of you!"

"Why don't you just do that?" Roshonda retorted, and Charlotte angrily sent a stone flying towards her, lodging it inside one of her cuts.

"I am not going too because frankly I don't want to," the ghost replied, staring angrily at Roshonda and not focusing at all on the confused Eevee in her ghostly hands. "I enjoy a bit of fun in my life and having so many disasters occur around me is just what I need to add a little flavour to my life. Kill as many worthless bastards as you want, but just don't screw with me in the process or YOU WILL BE SORRY!" The sudden raised tones shocked the two grunts and caused dust to trickle down, but Charlotte quickly regained her cool. "Alright, now that I've had my words, let's get down to the sacrifice, shall we?"

"EVA!" Elle cried, and Charlotte had one second to notice before a purple-black ball of ghostly energy exploded against her. A ghostly wail sounded as Charlotte exploded into dust, the PokeBalls and Elle falling to the ground.

"Yes!" Charles called out, quickly reaching out and grabbing a Safari Ball that had rolled near him. "Great work Elle!" The Eevee merely smiled as Charles pressed a button and let the Safari Ball open. Tauros quickly formed alongside, by which time Roshonda had sent out Nidoqueen and Beedrill and Elle had battered several more PokeBalls towards Charles.

"GAAAAH, blasted beast!" Charlotte screamed as she reformed. "You may have gotten me with that Charles, but don't think that is going to stop me!" She angrily turned towards them, but was stunned to see the changed scene before her: Elle, Gliscor, Mightyena, Tauros and Beedrill advanced forwards as Ampharos and Nidoqueen helped their trainers back to their feet. "No… you can't trick me like this! You were so close to being dead! I needed this… why Charles, why are you going to hurt me?"

"Because Charlotte," Charles snapped as he tried to ignore the pain in his legs now he was standing, "no one wants to be around some bitchy little ghost like you! Now GO!" Charlotte looked genuinely hurt by what Charles had said, but her image became distorted quickly as the seven Pokemon quickly fired attacks, colliding together and causing her to explode. The shockwave made the walls shake and caused dust to trickle down, but Charles and Roshonda desperately began to look for an entrance.

"There's nothing obvious!" Roshonda said, sounding breathless and desperate.

"I can see that," Charles growled, too tired and sore to have the obvious pointed out to him. Roshonda looked affronted but Charles didn't care, angrily trying to pull the rocks aside with his hands, but nothing came of it and it only hurt his hands. There was only a matter of time until Charlotte reformed and she could easily be ready to attack, and Charles wasn't going to wait around for that to happen.

"Tauros, Earthquake!" He yelled, and quickly pulled Roshonda near him for balance.

"TAUROOOO!" The Wild Bull Pokemon mooed, stamping glowing brown hooves against the ground. The other Pokemon all came together as the walls around them shook violently, and Charles wondered if they were going to cause a cave in and end up being crushed to death, as it appeared that the rocks around them were collapsing. However, while the walls were indeed breaking apart, Charles and Roshonda were shocked to see the candles that still burned were disintegrating as well.

"It's all an illusion!" Charles said in shock as the walls fell apart, turning into dust instead of piling up around them. The candlelight provided a small amount of light that was enough for Charles to recognize it as the tunnel they had been in when they had been knocked out before the flames flickered out forever. Their darkness lasted only a second before yellow light began to glow as if a giant night light had been turned on, and Charles smiled to see Ampharos' face lit up.

"Thank you," he said, and the Light Pokemon smiled back. "Charlotte must have just conjured a prison up so she didn't have to move us far – it seems like something she would do."

"Who cares about that, we just need to get out of here!" Roshonda said grumpily, clearing wincing in pain as she struggled to stand on her own feet. Mightyena came forwards with their bag in his mouth, and Charles collapsed onto the flat rock and pulled it towards him.

"Thanks; now we can get the hell out of here!" Charles said with a smile. He quickly pulled a small black box out of the bag and placed it on the ground. "Thanks for all your help, but this needs to go quickly." The Pokemon understood, and after only being out for a few moments they were brought back in. Charles gave Elle a hug before bringing her back, trying not to imagine how horribly things could have ended if his plan had backfired. Ampharos was the last to go in as they waited for Roshonda to get the torch and for the teleportation device to get warmed up.

"Ready?" Charles asked once the box flashed with light.

"Fuck yes," Roshonda said, pressing a button to get it ready to teleport two people at once, an emergency function Charon had put in that took a few extra moments to warm up.

"NO, YOU CAN'T LEAVE!" A scream echoed, and Charles looked around in shock as a ball of black electricity zapped the machine. Charlotte floated forwards, looking murderous as the box bounced around. "I was supposed to kill you and leave a message! You can't escape me, no one has ever escaped me unless I have left them, and I not letting Cyrus think he can get away with anything!" More black electricity formed as the device continued to be affected by the previous zapping. Charles had no idea the consequences, but knew it could hardly be any worse than getting hit by Charlotte.

"Fuck ya later," he called mockingly, swinging the bag painfully onto his back and forcing Roshonda's hand down onto the device.

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Charlotte screamed, readying her attack, but the two grunts were already glowing white and by the time the attack was unleashed, there had been a flash and Charles, Roshonda and their device were gone. "GET BACK HERE!" Charlotte screamed, firing bolts all over the tunnel and causing dust to trickle down. "YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME, I NEED THIS! GET YOUR ARSE BACK HERE BEFORE I BRING IT BACK MYSELF YOU LITTLE BASTARDS!" Charlotte let out a high pitched scream so loud that it would leave any human deafened from hearing it, unleashing a powerful sound wave that left large cracks in the wall. It carried on for nearly a whole minute before Charlotte stopped, turning around as if Charles should have reappeared. She was furious beyond any normal level, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop her rage: next time Charlotte saw either of them, she would leave her message straight away and make sure it came across clearly.

"Hello there traitor."

Charlotte suddenly froze, all thoughts of anger and revenge leaving her mind straight away. The voice was so cold and so full of venom that it could only belong to one thing, but Charlotte had never expected her to show up here of all places. For one of the first times in her life as a ghost, Charlotte found herself at a loss for words.

"Spiritomb, how lovely to see you, old friend," Charlotte whispered, trying to remain calm, and turned around slowly to face her old friend and now Pokemon. However, the Ghost-Dark type wasn't holding anything back, staring angrily towards the ghost with a white Hyper Beam beginning to form before her. "Now now Spiritomb, there is no reason to do this, you need to let me explain."

"Don't waste my time with your words!" Spiritomb hissed coldly, chilling even Charlotte. "You are a traitor whore and no explanation of yours will change that view. It is your fault that I have been turned to this form and trapped for all these years, but now that I am out, I will finally have my revenge!"

"I am not a whore," Charlotte snapped back, beginning to get angry. "I was forced into doing this to you; I never would have hurt you otherwise!"

"Don't lie to me!" Spiritomb snarled. "You are a lying whore and I don't care to listen to the words of Arceus' little bitch!" Charlotte was now completely enraged, and she quickly conjured up her own mixture of fire, electricity and pure dark energy, raising her hands towards her old friend.

"If you want to kill me, than try and get through this!" The ghost snarled.

"With pleasure," Spiritomb replied, and the two simultaneously fired their attacks. The white and black beams collided in the middle, instantly exploding and unleashing a powerful wave of energy and light. Charlotte and Spiritomb attempted to hold their ground against each other, but the power of the forces combined was proving too much, and quickly the two were becoming engulfed in something much more powerful than they had expected. Charlotte was forced into shutting her eyes, and felt a strange feeling as, for the first time in over a thousand years, she found herself falling asleep…

* * *

The joyful atmosphere in the Solaceon Town Contest Hall carried on out into the atrium. Matthew found himself being bombarded with hugs, high fives, questions about how he had pulled it off, people asking for autographs and photos, and several girls even asked for his phone number. It was a bit overwhelming and a large contrast to the more sophisticated and organised attendees at Hearthome, but Matthew still appreciated the happy nature and could tell that they were going to be in for a party.

However, Matthew wouldn't be staying: Fantina was tired and wanted to go back to the Pokemon Center, so Matthew, Prinplup and Cherubi moved behind her, trying not to lose sight of her as they became bombarded with people.

"Thank you, I appreciate it," Matthew called out to a group of friends trying to get him to autograph giant photos, "but I really must get going!"

"Can we at least see your ribbon?" A woman of about twenty shouted. Matthew struggled to contain his delight at all the attention as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his second ribbon: a dark green one with gold trimming, a thick white border and a large golden pin. The crowd whooped and cheered, and Matthew, Prinplup and Cherubi all beamed in delight.

"Oh Matthew, stop showing off!" Fantina scolded, though she was laughing at all the attention as well.

"Sorry," Matthew replied as he was led out of the hall. "I am just so happy: it's my second ribbon! I only need three more and then I will be able to enter the Sinnoh Grand Festival! And you two!" He bent down and scooped Cherubi onto his shoulder and pulled Prinplup into a hug. "I couldn't have done it without you!"

"Cheruuuu!"

"Plup Plup Prin!" Matthew and Prinplup smiled warmly at each other: the Penguin Pokemon could understand Matthew's feelings and knew that he was at least sorry, and the fact they had won would definitely make sure they became a force to be reckoned with.

"Congratulations Matthew, you truly deserved it," a voice said, and Matthew broke out of the hug as Harrison and Lucinda walked towards him. It seemed that Harrison had left his smug attitude on the battlefield and looked genuinely happy as he approached them. "I would have liked to have won, of course, but your combination was just as wonderful if not better."

"Thank you Harrison," Matthew said, getting up and shaking his hand before introducing the two formally to Fantina.

"Now Fantina, are you going to tell me about what 'other stuff' is that you've been busy with over the past week that Matthew is so unwilling to divulge?" Lucinda asked, getting her notebook out as the group walked out the front doors, finding it cold with a light shower of rain in the air. Fantina's eyes bulged dramatically, and Matthew braced for impact.

"Miss Large, I refuse to divulge to any journalist the details of my personal life," the gym leader said, looming over the squat woman before her. "What I have been doing this week is nothing of your concern, and I would appreciate having a little privacy if that isn't too much to ask!" Her accent got stronger the angrier she got, and both Lucinda and Harrison looked a little shaken by what had just happened. Matthew thought it was rather funny to see them knocked down as they were always trying to get a scoop, but his laughter was short lived as the doors parted behind them.

"Matthew," a familiar voice said that caused Matthew to freeze. Fantina, Lucinda, Harrison and his Pokemon all looked shocked, confirming who was standing behind him, but Matthew wasn't sure if he could bring himself to respond: did he really want to open any old wounds, but at the same time, what if he had something important to say?

"What do you want?" Matthew snapped back, turning around to face his father. Adrian looked a lot weaker up close and seemed to have aged a lot in the short time since they'd last seen each other, but Matthew wasn't going to give him any breaks. His father smiled back at him but Matthew continued to glare back, letting him know he wasn't letting him off the hook.

"Can we talk in private, please?" Adrian asked, glancing over at the others. Fantina looked ready to say something but Matthew shook his head, giving her a smile to show he was willing to take it. The gym leader didn't look happy, but she quickly moved away with Lucinda and Harrison in tow.

"Plup Lup Lup Prin Prin!" Prinplup said firmly and Cherubi nodded, and Matthew was pleased to see they were refusing to move. Adrian didn't seem bothered by this, and took a step forwards, smiling warmly down at his son.

"That was some excellent work in there, I was so –,"

"Oh just get to the point!" Matthew snapped, letting his angry come loose and build up. "I am not here to talk about the battle, and don't act as if you actually care as we wouldn't be in this mess if you had just let me accept my win at Hearthome!" Adrian was taken aback by his son's anger and his eyes narrowed angrily, but Matthew simply didn't care if his father got upset with him as he deserved every word that was thrown his way.

"Alright then, I will cut to the point," Adrian said huffily. "I was watching you in there and I couldn't help but think that you could have done better. I had always wanted the chance to show you some of my skills so you would have the best chance of becoming the great coordinator you have always wanted to be, but, of course, this isn't going to happen."

"So what, you want to give me some extra training?" Matthew said grumpily.

"No, of course not," Adrian said. "I don't want to make things bad between you and your mother, so it may just be best if we don't see a lot of each other for a while. I am going to be busy for a little while on tours of the contest halls both here and in Hoenn, so I am not going to see you again for a long time." Matthew couldn't help but bitterly think _good_, but wasn't going to tell his father this. "While I'm away, there are three things I want you to strive for. These are things I have always wanted you, Peter, Leah and myself, but I feel that I have been too busy to truly let them show. I know you are going to be angry with me son, and I can perfectly understand that, but please for me, can you strive to be the best person you can possibly be?"

"What do you mean?" Matthew asked, rather taken aback by this, thinking this was something that was usually a given.

"I want you to try and be the most intelligent person you can be, to experience love and happiness, and to strive to look good and keep up a good image," Adrian said, smiling warmly as if this was normal. "If you can achieve these three things, than I know you will grow up into the person I want you to be." Matthew was taken aback by this, glancing down at Prinplup and Cherubi to see they had the same confused face he imagined he had.

"What the hell is this?" Matthew snapped, unable to comprehend what was being said. "What sort of messed up thing is that to say?" Adrian looked stunned by this reaction, and Matthew could imagine he thought he'd appreciate being told to strive for absolute perfection.

"Matthew, I just want what's best for you!"

"If you want what's best for me than bugger off and never come back!" Matthew said furiously, and before Adrian could say another word Matthew and his Pokemon strutted towards a curious looking Fantina, Lucinda and Harrison, trying to force all dark thoughts out of his mind but unable to shake what had been said.

"What happened, are you alright?" Fantina asked, staring over at Adrian.

"I'm fine," Matthew said. "He was just a moron, as always." He refused to turn around and face his father, and instead tried to focus on other things rather than the thoughts stuck in his mind about perfection.

"Hmmm…," Fantina said with a stiff lip. "To be honest with you Matthew, I never liked your father. I met him several times during my coordinating days and we did battle many times, and each time I won against him."

"You defeated him in the finals when you got your fourth win, didn't you?" Harrison asked.

"Indeed, and I don't think he will ever forgive me for it: it was quite an embarrassing loss on his part," Fantina said. "He has never let me join the Contest Board when he was appointed chief, even though I was too busy with my gym to care, but he would never let me in on a consulting basis." Matthew could remember his father complaining about Fantina in the past, but wasn't about to tell the kindly gym leader the horrible things that had been said. "I wasn't surprised to hear about his treatment of Felicity and trying to blackmail her, he has always had a bit of a violent temper. I remember back in the nineties, before you would have been born Matthew, walking in on Adrian arguing with Irena Ivan after he had defeated her in a contest. It was a very tense scene to walk in on, and –,"

"Irena Ivan?" Matthew interrupted, looking confused. "I've never heard of her."

"Really?" Fantina said, her turn to be confused. "Your parents use to be friends with her before her death, she was part of a strong group of coordinators with your father. You may have heard of her brother, he runs the Poketch Company."  
"Well, _ran_," Lucinda corrected. "It blew up last month, didn't you hear?" Fantina beginning interrogating Lucinda about it, shocked as she had been out of the country at the time, but Matthew zoned out: he was never going to forget Mr Ivan and waking up in the basement of the doomed Poketch building. He hadn't thought about it properly for a while, but now Matthew could remember Palmer mentioning Adrian's name when he told him about the kidnapping in Oreburgh City. Matthew glanced back around to the find no one standing behind him, but wondered what Irena Ivan and his father had to do with his kidnapping, know having a few questions in mind for when he eventually saw his father again.

* * *

Carrying Vanessa, Eden and Ninetales all the way back to the Pokemon Center would have been ideal for those getting the free service, but Vanessa's Pokemon were not up to moving the whole way and needed to stop. Staraptor found a large tree to place them under, and Vanessa and Eden were placed side-by-side while Ninetales was left to the side. The Pokemon all collapsed together, and Vanessa passed over a Super Potion and weakly sprayed it onto Monferno. There was a distant cry of a fire engine as it took a back route to get towards the flaming café and club, but Vanessa was too tired and annoyed at herself to even care and merely wanted to relaxed

"Gingernut," Eden slurred alongside, finally talking about spending nearly twenty minutes in silence, "after all that drama, did you actually get any good information?" Vanessa turned towards her Pokemon, seeing Monferno lying there weakly: she knew that Emerson must have sent one of his Pokemon out and caused some super effective damage against her starter, and had possibly used that Pokemon to help him escape the explosion. Seeing him lying there weakly, Staraptor using her talons to spray him with potion, it truly hit home the effects of the night.

"To be honest, no," Vanessa said, turning towards the injured drunk alongside. "All I know is that they have that spell book and they are searching for the legendary birds of Kanto, as well as the fact Saturn's Toxicroak killed Carolina Diamond, but asides from that, no."

"Well, what a waste of a night for you," Eden said with a cheeky smile.

"Your way to peppy for someone that just got shot," Vanessa snapped, but Eden merely laughed at this and raised her arm up: Vanessa was shocked to see that there was no bullet wound at all, only a small smattering of blood that was close to drying up.

"I was able to stop the bullet just as it entered my skin, and though it knocked me over, it was more the alcohol that knocked me out," Eden explained, giggling at Vanessa's surprised expression. "Some accelerated healing came in handy as well, I might add," Eden added and burst into drunken laughter. Vanessa was more shocked than anything else and didn't find the joke funny, merely staring out into the light rain falling and thinking about the night that was close to passing: it had been a rash decision frankly to go, and an even stupider one to agree to go in with Eden due to the destruction it caused. As soon as Sahara came back, there was no doubt she would be furious, and Vanessa wasn't sure if she could take any more rage.

"I know what your thinking about," Eden said, rolling forwards so she stared at Vanessa, "and you never seemed like the type to let the others get you down. Who gives a fuck if they are annoyed with you? You should just kick 'em where it hurts and move on: you seem a lot stronger than that."

"There is more to it," Vanessa said, stunned to be getting a pep talk from a murderous, magnetic drunk. "I have become closer to these people than I originally anticipated: I merely expected to hang on to them until I got some more ground under my feet and then ditch them, but, even though it rather pains me to say it, I have become quite close to them."

"Oh boo hoo!" Eden scoffed. "Just forget about them, they could easily do that same with you! Or is the fact your in looooove with Sahara clouding your judgement?" The drunk added teasingly, and if Vanessa had been in a better state she would have hit her. "Trust me, your wasting your time, she's too hung up on that Galactic grunt. Besides, I highly doubt being with her would be worthwhile anyway – hey! I can prove it!" And before Vanessa could say anything else, Eden had leant forwards and planted her lips on her own. Vanessa was stunned and taken aback, and was close to pushing her off, but she couldn't help but enjoy the feeling: it didn't have the same warmth or connection that it would have had if it had actually been Sahara, but Vanessa wasn't going to turn down the opportunity, especially when it seemed so close and fully embraced the touch.

"Va-Va-Vanessa…. What's going… GAH!" Vanessa's joy was shattered after a moment and she opened her eyes, not even knowing she had closed them, and found the same face looming over her but with a different expression that signalled a different personality. Sahara leapt up, looking shocked and disgusted. "What the hell is going on Vanessa? Did you get so pissed with Eden you resorted to pashing her?"

"No, Eden kissed me," Vanessa said, leaping to her own feet so she was face to face with her, rather confused by the sudden change in relationship.

"Why did you even let her stay around?" Sahara said, looking at her Poketch. "It's nearly 10, what was your problem?" She sniffed her dress and coughed at the smell. "I smell like I just took a swim in a brewery, did you even pay attention to her?"

"No, I was busy with Emerson and –,"

"You saw them without back up?" Sahara gasped. "What if they had tried something? They could have killed you and Eden wouldn't have done a thing about it!" Sahara waited for Vanessa to reply, but the red head froze up, a guilty look crossing her face, and Sahara turned towards Sahara's Pokemon and saw Monferno laying weakly on the grass. "They _did_ nearly try something, didn't they?"

"I got control of the situation, I –," Vanessa tried to explain, annoyed at herself for upset Sahara, but was cut off as her love's hand swung out and slapped her across the face. It was so unexpected that Vanessa stumbled backwards, leaning against the tree. She turned towards Sahara, who seemed almost close to tears but was furious at the same time.

"I KNEW this was a bad idea!" She shrieked. "I bet those sirens in the distance are going to the club, aren't they?" Sahara let out an angry cry and kicked several stones before turning towards the route. "I can't even look at you right now, I can't believe you've been so stupid! I've always known your reckless, but I never knew you could be this dumb!"

"Sahara wait, I can explain!" Vanessa called, still clutching her stinging cheek, but Sahara walked without another word back onto Route 210, the rain falling against her but unable to turn her back into Eden. Vanessa was so confused about the nights events, from Saturn and Jupiter leaving suddenly, Emerson's shadowed threat and now Eden somehow turning back to Sahara during their kiss, but she was too furious at herself to think of anything else. Her fully healed Pokemon gathered around her and nuzzled up against her for comfort, and while Vanessa appreciated the gesture and hugged them back, she couldn't draw her eyes away from Sahara as she disappeared into the drizzle, nor could she ignore the fact that this was both the saddest and most disappointing moment of her journey so far.

* * *

The battle between Xavier and Palmer seemed to be nearing its end, but it still wasn't clear who was going to win.

Bebe sat closer to the entrance where she was protected from the light rain, watching the serious concentration occurring before her. Lapras had fought well against Cresselia, but sheer power and strength was enough to crush the usually strong Ice type, leaving Xavier with two paths to go down: Drifblim and Heracross both had an advantage over the Psychic type, but she seemed more resistant towards Lapras' Special Attacks, and Xavier had settled with Heracross. His Fighting type was a disadvantage, but with a strong range of attacks, it was easy for the Single Horn Pokemon to bring Cresselia down to near the end of her health.

They had now been battling for twenty minutes, and both Pokemon were getting tired. Heracross was hunched over and panting, while Cresselia had the same expression on but was glowing a little less brighter. The light rain was more cooling than a bother and the two Pokemon seemed to find it refreshing, but Bebe wondered how long each Pokemon could keep on going as neither showed any sign of giving up.

The same could be said for trainers themselves. Xavier had worn the same expression over the course of the battle and anyone passing could think he was born, but his voice rang with more emotion than Bebe would have expected from him, and his intense and well thought out orders showed he was in this to win. Palmer had the exact same wish but an entirely different approach: he looked ready to kill, clearly frustrated at this battle not going as well as he would have liked, and boomed out his orders as sending Cresselia in to wipe out an army, when really she remained floating in the middle of the field and didn't seem to be entirely engrossed. Bebe couldn't see which side was going to win but knew that whoever did was possibly in for a long, hard quest to get the outcome they wanted.

"Bug Bite," Xavier commanded, staring over at his father.

"Signal Beam, now!" Palmer growled. He was losing his grip on the battle and it was not going to go his way. He needed to win this in order to prove he still had his battling abilities: not for himself but more for Bebe and Xavier. The two both travelled, with Bebe in constant communication with many elites and Xavier meeting them himself during his times on his journey. The story of his losses could spread around, and Palmer's respect in the battling community would be gone in a second.

"Hera Cross Cross Racross!" Heracross growled, leaping forwards as much as his tiring body could allow and sank lime green teeth into the side of Cresselia. Her face became pained as the attack sunk into her, causing her to sink down herself several feet.

_This is more than my body can allow, _Cresselia said, her eyelids fluttering. Her arcs flashed rainbow and a ball of the same colour formed in her mouth. The Moonlight Pokemon tossed Heracross loose and up into the air, than fired the Signal Beam directly into his chest. Bebe gasped as Heracross was blasted up into the rainy sky, soaring up several metres before rolling out of the beam's path and falling back down to the field. He landed with an almost comical splash into one of the puddles, but as the Fighting-Bug rolled over it was clear he was in serious pain and close to fainting. Bebe thought this was it, but she looked across at Cresselia was stunned to see that the Legendary seemed close to fainting, drooping lower than ever towards the ground.

"It seems we are nearing the end," Xavier pointed out. "It seems that whoever gets the next move is going to be the Pokemon to win, which is rather a pity, I was enjoying this battle quite a bit." Palmer nodded with an angry growl across his face, trying to work out a strategy to ensure he got that crucial win. He thought back to before how mentioning Carolina had managed to distract Xavier, and the distraction could be long enough for Palmer to pull a move off.

"Just so you know Xavier, I think your mother would be proud of what your doing," Palmer said, putting his patronizing smile on. Bebe found his second stab at this strategy both disgusting and pathetic and couldn't help but roll her eyes, and was glad to see that Xavier seemed unfazed by that.

"I wouldn't agree with that," he said bluntly. "Mother never really seemed to care about battling much and I am not doing very well in this battle, and you are battling as well, so even though you two argued a lot of the time I can imagine she would be torn as to who to cheer for." Palmer was stunned by this reaction, having hoped for something more emotional.

"Well, I am sure someone would be proud: my grandfather, Winston Diamond, was the original Champion of Sinnoh, did you know Bebe?" Palmer said, smiling over at the technician, but she merely shrugged, not wanting to join his side. "Well… I am sure he would be proud of you Xavier."

"Why, he was only alive for a few months before he died," Xavier pointed out, and Palmer once again was taken aback.

"Cynthia, at least, would be proud," the Frontier Brain said, clutching at straws to try and make an impact. "She and I may have had our differences, but I believe she would be very proud of the fact her nephew is so close to reaching the Sinnoh League."

"Indeed…," Xavier said, beginning to drift off a little bit. The mention of Cynthia by his father brought back a memory from the shadowy, death filled world he had been in only a week ago: _When it comes down to deciding who to trust, trust Cynthia over Palmer and it'll be the smartest thing you can ever do_. Xavier had been trying to work out what this meant between trying to solve the other mysteries they had been investigating, and now this was forced to the front of his mind: What had his mother meant? What was this situation he was going to be put into? Why would he trust Cynthia over his own father?"

"Excellent," Palmer muttered under his breath, taking great joy in manipulating and distracting his own child. "Cresselia, Lunar Dance, now!"

_As you wish,_ she thought pleasantly, and shut her eyes almost in relief. Bebe and Heracross were both taken aback, having no idea what this move did, and Xavier was becoming too engrossed in his thoughts to notice the difference. Cresselia's arcs began to glow a dazzling white that made her look even more like the moon, and than her entire body began to shine. The light was so dazzling that everyone was forced to shield there eyes as it reflected of the windows, the metal seats and in the puddles around. The light remained even as Cresselia's body seemed to collapse away, beams of energy moving back towards Palmer as he held a PokeBall out.

"You may be knowledgeable on many of my moves and Pokemon Xavier, but you clearly haven't been fully prepared!" Palmer called out in delight. All of Cresselia had faded away now by a ball of light remained, and Xavier turned towards this as a PokeBall was thrown back into the field. He snapped out of his train of thought, not even noticing his distraction, and was taken aback to find Dragonite forming around the beam of light.

"Draga Nite Nite Dragonite," the Dragon Pokemon said as the light entered his body, causing him to flash before all brightness suddenly faded away. Xavier couldn't see how Dragonite was back, but could see he seemed to have fully healed, no longer showing signs of stress or tiredness.

"Lunar Dance causes Cresselia to faint but fully heals the Pokemon that is sent out to replace her," Palmer explained as Bebe and Heracross looked shocked. "Dragonite is now a new Pokemon, and I legally have the right to use him! And, as you haven't called a move, I believe I can move once more: DRAGON CLAW!" Xavier was completely stunned, this sudden change in strategy something he hadn't prepared for. He had never know anything about Cresselia before this battle asides from legends, and having her arsenal of moves thrust upon him was something Xavier hadn't been expecting. He merely watched as Dragonite flew forwards at new found speed, claws glowing purple.

"DRAGON!" He cried, slashing across the weakened Heracross' chest,.

"HERAAA!" The Single Horn Pokemon gasped, clutching at himself and clearly wincing in pain, but this wasn't going to do anything to stop the severity. Dragonite flew like an orange blur back to Palmer's side, and all eyes watched as Heracross collapsed sideways into a puddle, eyes shut and arms hanging loosely by his side.

"YES!" Palmer shouted, leaping forwards and giving Dragonite a manly hug. Bebe gasped and rushed forwards to Heracross, ignoring the puddle beneath her as she got down on her knees and examined him. What Palmer had done was sneaky and cowardly, something that never would be allowed in any league or frontier battle. The technician looked up at Xavier, who was focusing down on Heracross with a blank look on his face.

"Oh well, I didn't expect to win," he said, pulling a Great Ball out and pointing it at Heracross.

"What?" Bebe gasped, leaping up to her feet as Heracross turned into energy. "Xavier, haven't you realized what your father just did? He has used your mother and your other relationships to play with your mind and to distract you from your battle, and than used a cheap move no one was expecting to bypass his own rules to win the match!" Bebe wasn't one to speak about against people that could so easily have her fired or penalized, but she wasn't going to sit back and let Matthew get abused and turned angrily towards Palmer. The Frontier Brain had turned to her in both shock and anger, clearly not happy with having his win rained upon.

"That is entirely uncalled for!" Palmer snapped, pointing angrily at the technician. "Just because he lost doesn't mean you can just throw accusations around, it is just pathetic!" Bebe was stunned and furious, appalled at the way he had acted and was how he was now denying it, and Bebe was tempted to say something no matter the consequences, but froze as a splash echoed around the silent field.

"Don't bother Bebe, he's never going to learn," a cold voice purred, and all eyes turned as they recognised the speaker. Cynthia walked into the light, looking steely as always but keeping with her natural beauty. "Palmer has always been rather cold and ruthless when it comes to his battle: I'd be more surprised if had actually played to the rules."

"Pleasant to see you again Cynthia," Palmer hissed, "but I never criticize your battling style, so I'd appreciate that you didn't judge mine."  
"That's because I have nothing to criticize," Cynthia replied with a hint of a smile. "Hello Xavier, I hope you know that you did fight well, I watched most of the battle."

"Thank you aunt," Xavier replied, not showing much reaction at the appearance of his dead mother's sister. "Are my Pokemon settling into life at the league?"

"Ponyta, Snorlax and Roserade are doing fine," Cynthia replied. Palmer's angry expression continued throughout Cynthia's arrival, but now it changed to a look of shock.

"You sent your Pokemon to her?" He said, sounding stunned.

"Where would you have expected I send them?" Xavier replied in a tone that implied the question was stupid. "Our house did get destroyed in a explosion, it clearly isn't safe for them to stay there."

"And, quite frankly Palmer, I don't think it would be that safe for them at the Battle Frontier," Cynthia added acidly. Bebe had heard that the brother and sister in laws didn't like each other very much, but had never expected the tense and hostile rivalry that was on display at the moment. She also saw that it was rather weird how Xavier seemed most similar to his aunt than to either of his parents, but none of these were important at the moment: Cynthia being here was no family reunion, and there had to be another reason.

"Cynthia, if you don't mind me asking, –" Bebe began, but Cynthia interrupted.

"Why am I here?" She asked, and Bebe nodded. "Well, whilst it is nice to see you and Xavier and to amuse myself at Palmer's expense, I have urgent matters I have only just heard of, and it may be too late. You are all aware, to my knowledge, that the Pokemon Spiritomb has been unleashed around the town, and –,"

"You aren't planning on catching it are you?" Palmer interrupted angrily. "I should have first choice, I was here first! Besides, no one knows where Spiritomb is!"

"Well actually, she is located currently at the Solaceon Ruins, based on an increase in dark energy in the area," Cynthia said with a slight smile, "and if I don't capture her before midnight in several hours Palmer, than we will all be dead by morning. Now Xavier, shall we go and heal your Pokemon?"

"Certainly, it sounds as if we may need them," Xavier said blankly, and he and his aunt departed the field without another word or serious reaction about Cynthia's proclamation. As soon as they closed the door, there was a rumble of thunder and the rain began to pour down, instantly starting to soak a shock Bebe, Palmer and Dragonite. The anger between them faded as they exchanged shocked expressions at this grim message they had been left with. As they rain poured down around them, they turned their attention towards the hills in distance where the Solaceon Ruins were located, left wondering what Cynthia's statement truly meant, and if Spiritomb was about to launch an attack she'd been planning all week whilst they'd simply sat around a few miles away.

* * *

"CHARLES! CHARLES, PLEASE WAKE UP! CHARLES!"

The voice sounded distant and distorted, something that Charles' semi conscious brain was unable to work out. Instead, it chose to focus on the various points of pain across his body, which seemed to be the majority of it. Charles groaned as he began to come around, unable to ignore the severe bruises and wounds that were scattered across his skin, and left confused as to what was going on. The last he could remember was seeing an angry Charlotte before teleporting away, but where had he ended up and what state was he going to be in?

"Oh Charles!" Roshonda gasped dramatically, pulling him into a hug as worry-fuelled tears poured down her cheeks. Charles groaned as he was heaved up, his eyes barely open, but Roshonda didn't care. She had awoken several minutes previously in a dark cave with only a crack of moonlight coming in through the roof, and it could easily be part of the ruins, but she had no way of knowing after Charlotte had messed with their ride home. It was cold, eerie and unnerving to be around, and Roshonda wanted Charles to be awake and around her so she could feel reassured.

"Charles, you need to wake up, I need you right now!" She said, letting go off him and leaning him against a boulder. "I don't know where we are or how we are going to get out of here, but I need your help in order to answer those questions! Please can you just wake up!" Charles groaned again and began to blink, trying to wake up but confused by the fact it was mostly dark where he was. Roshonda had the thin crack of light shining behind her, but her face was obscured and only her outline was visible.

"What… where am I…," Charles mumbled, his eyes failing to adjust to the light and pain throughout his body not doing him any favours. He could feel hands on him and edged towards them, his arms feeling like they were about to fall off from the pain, but he needed the reassurance that there was someone near.

"Don't worry, I'm here," Roshonda whispered, leaning in close and brushing hair from his face, staring at his bruised and beaten face and the claw marks on his chest, wondering why Charlotte had put him through that.

"Thank you Sahara," Charles said in his daze, managing a weak smile that caused his face to ache, "I appreciate all you've given me." And before Roshonda had a chance to respond, Charles pulled her in close and planted his own lips on hers. In his mind, Charles had little idea of what he was doing, but some nagging voice at the back of his head was telling him it was right. Their embrace last only a few seconds before Charles pulled away, leaving a stunned Roshonda above him.

"Charles…," she whispered back, not quite sure what to make of the situation. For as long as she had known Charles, part of Roshonda had seen him as one of the few attractive faces in the field of bland that were the Galactic grunts, and the missions they had worked on together and the time spent so close had made those feelings grow. However, Roshonda always knew that there was no denying the connection Charles had with Sahara, and knew that, whether she liked it or not, there was a little chance for changing it.

"Charles, don't stop," Roshonda whispered, and she leant down and began to kiss his him once more. Charles let out another groan that was either from pain or satisfaction, but Roshonda really didn't care as she moved her hands up his nearly bare back and moved her lips across his cheek and down his neck. Parts of her mind were telling her that it was stupid, but Roshonda's heart was beating louder, and she wasn't going to deny the only chance she may have to get this close to him. Ignoring their pain and the unknown situation they had been thrown into, Roshonda and Charles continued to hug, kiss and embrace, Roshonda knowing it was wrong but at the same time knew it was the way it should be. Charles continued to kiss himself, unaware of the true person he was embracing, but his heart and mind skipped with joy at the fact that, in his view, he and his love were finally becoming close.

* * *

Saturn and Jupiter had little idea of what had happened while they had been gone, and as they stood in the Galactic Hanger, the scene unfolding in front of them was something that could easily rival the news they had in store.

They had been waiting for nearly half an hour before the _Charm_ had come in to land, many grunts bustling around and getting organised. Minerva was commanding the operation and no one focused on the two admins in their different outfits, so they watched intensely as the airship came into land. A group of grunts were directing it where it touch down, but Charon directed it almost perfectly onto its designated spot, landing effortlessly and to a series of applause from those on the ground. Saturn had been about to ask what was happening, but the plane's engines hadn't even been turned off before the top began to whirr. Several arms were extending out of the walls, and Saturn and Jupiter watched in shock as a platform was pushed up to meet them.

"Is that...?" Jupiter began, but didn't even need to finish as the fiery bird in the rising glass cage was clearly who it was meant to be. Moltres appeared to be unconscious, looking like a sleeping beauty as she lay sprawled against the floor. She didn't even budge as the platform came to a stop several metres above the airship, where two arms coming out from the sides moved in. They had a half of a metal box each, and the arms pushed them onto either side of the cage, where the two joined together with the groaning of pistons and turning off locks. The third arm from above came down and attached itself to the box, heaving it up and moving it towards a platform above. The other arms and the platform moved back in, and it was now that the giant staircase was lowered down, a group of grunts leading the charge out.

"I can't believe it… we actually have one of the legendary birds!" Saturn said, nearly speechless and smiling as if he had just been given a giant present. Jupiter looked equally as happy, her wide smile making her look younger and more beautiful. It was only a small part of the Galactic master plan, but managing to achieve this was something they had never truly been expecting and it was a huge step forwards.

"This is big, bigger than big!" Jupiter said excitedly, pulling Saturn in close. "But when we tell him our news, it will look as if they just caught some common Starly!" Saturn snapped out of his excitement over Moltres, turning to his love and beaming with delight.

"That's the right attitude!" He said ecstatically, and leant forwards and planted a kiss against her cheek. Both of them would have preferred a bigger make out session as their night had been interrupted, but they could see Cyrus, Charon and Mars heading out and quickly rushed forwards.

"Ah, Saturn and Jupiter," Cyrus purred, extending his arms as he stepped onto solid ground, "how lovely to see you! We could see from overhead that the café and club had exploded, so I can only presume you had fun!"

"Oh yes, we just saw Vanessa and Eden," Saturn said quickly. "We shot Eden but we don't know what else happened to them, but that isn't really important right now."

"No, of course not," Cyrus laughed. "I think capturing Moltres is a far greater achievement! I say that we have a round of drinks, not just for the admins but for EVERYONE!" The nearby grunts heard this and cheered, and the news quickly began to spread. Mars giggled with delight and rushed forwards to hug Saturn and Jupiter, clearly happy about their capture.

"Having a drink would be lovely," Jupiter said once Mars had pulled away, "but I think you are need to be sober in order to drive a plane."

"What are you on about?" Charon snapped. "I really don't want to get back in that thing: it needs to have the kinks worked out before it goes out again!"

"Well," Saturn said, beginning to smirk, "you are going to want to hear this, and than you are going to want to get back in that plane so we can sort this mission out before any of this fucking Dex Holders get in the way." Cyrus, Charon and Mars looked relatively confused, and Saturn and Jupiter exchanged wide beams before they continued: they were about to deliver the biggest news Galactic had ever received, and they wanted to savour the moment before the adventure began.

"Let's just say, this will be just as sweet as getting Vanessa's head on a platter…."

* * *

**Sorry for the prolonged delay between this story and the last, but I hope that my schedule won't be so spread out and things will move better during the year. Feel free to check out the GalacticVerse community I started, where all the stories set in the same world as Galactic as in one place to make things easier to read - Charlotte will be the major connection between stories at the moment, but there are many more to come ;)**


	21. The Princess of Darkness

**Sorry for the very long delay, but as you may be able to tell from this story's number of words, it is quite long, so I think I can be excused :P Just the usual warning that there is some inappropriate language and a small amount of violence, so turn away if this may upset you. **

**The Princess of Darkness**

_Friday 13th April 5 AD _

_Charlotte watched in dismay as the army advanced towards her. She should have expected this, and she had known for days that they were nearing, but the ghost had not fully prepared herself for the battle to come. Charlotte should have been ready, she should have practiced the magic that flowed through her where her blood had once been in preparation for an attack on her life._

_Yet Charlotte knew she could not face her… not her friend… not like this._

"_Why are you doing this?" Charlotte sighed to herself, her worlds blown aside by the freezing winds of the permanent winter of Mt Coronet. "This war will not end in your favour. I warned you about this, I told you could not and wouldn't mind… Why do you insist on trying to avenge me?" Charlotte wondered if her friend could somehow hear her, and wished she would listen to the truth in her words. Wide scale death was unavoidable, and Charlotte wanted to do something to stop this all, but the army advanced further and further with each passing second, the snow unable to curb their advancement. _

I must stop her, _Charlotte thought, stepping closer to the edge of the cliff. _She will not survive, no matter what she thinks. There must be a way around this… there must a way to stop her… _Charlotte put one foot over the edge, staring down at the army as they got closer to the tunnels and caves, and it became clear that the blockades she'd put in place would not last long. Charlotte had no idea how she would stop this army, but she knew something had to be done to prevent the unavoidable. She shut her eyes and began to lean forwards, ready to do whatever it took…_

Charlotte, you mustn't! _The ghost froze as a voice hissed suddenly in her head, a voice so cold and high it was as if the wind had begun to talk. Charlotte floated backwards and stared around wildly, trying to find the speaker. It had been many years since she had last heard him speak, and many months since she had lost her of hearing him again, and this was exactly what she needed right now._

"_Giratina, is that you?" Charlotte whispered, her body shaking. "How are you talking to me? I thought… I thought you'd lost the ability to –,"_

Charlotte, listen to me, _the voice interrupted, echoing around the mountain. _There is little time. I am using all my strength to send this to you… You must stop Drusilla before it is too late!

"_I know, I am trying to!" Charlotte said, overwhelmed that she was even able to talk to him, all thoughts of their time together rushing back to her. She wished she could just stay here and keep talking to him and forget about the army coming from below, but a sudden screech sounded out around her. It cut through the air and wind like a hot knife, and Charlotte winced as she covered her ears. _

You are not trying hard enough! _Giratina's cold voice hissed. _She _must_ be stopped! She well be the death of our world if you don't stop her… you must destroy her and leave her ashes buried at the bottom of the snow!

"_You mean kill her?" Charlotte whispered as Giratina's screeching continued to sound._

Yes! Murder her… destroy her! Not a single part of her can remain if you want to be with mew! Do this for me Charlotte, do it for us! She will destroy me and everything we have planned if you don't stop this war! _The screeching suddenly stopped, and Charlotte found that she was suddenly warmer. She hadn't noticed any temperature change as she had been too absorbed in what Giratina had said. It had been the first time in years they had spoken, and it filled the space where her heart had been with joy. _

_Yet what he was asking… it had been too much when Arceus had asked, but now Giratina wanted her to do the same. But why? He claimed Drusilla would destroy him, but Charlotte had seen the future and the two were not foretold to meet. But was this why? Was Charlotte meant to kill her best, and at times, only friend? Could she really cast her past life away like it had never happened? Yet could she betray Giratina, the one she loved, the one she had died for? Wouldn't it all be worthless to throw it all away now…_

"_FUCK!" Charlotte roared, the word echoing around her. This was too confusing and Charlotte had no idea how to fix it. She was being asked to prevent something she couldn't see, and whatever option she took would betray both her lives. Charlotte glanced down at the army, which was much closer than when she had last looked down. There was be a way to stop the army and Drusilla without destroying her best friend. Was there any way to hold her off, change her mind, stop her cause…?_

Wait…_ Charlotte thought suddenly, a devilish smirk creeping onto her face. _That just might work… Giratina would never now… not even bloody Arceus would now! _Charlotte began to laugh, and it echoed louder than her curse. Her new idea was the answer she should have found hours ago, and it would achieve exactly what she was being asked to do without selling herself out. Drusilla wouldn't like it, and Charlotte knew it would be hard to explain, but as long as she stopped her army and kept her alive, than it was worth trying. _

"_Here goes nothing," Charlotte mumbled, and she moved back to the edge. The army was right up to the side of Mt Coronet, and she would have to act fast to prevent Drusilla from turning the snow red. There was a chance her idea wouldn't work, but Charlotte couldn't afford to worry. _

_Without another thought, Charlotte plunged over the side and towards the waiting army, ready to put her magic, her skills and her heart to the test. _

* * *

_February 10th 2010_

Matthew should have known it wouldn't last.

The night had gone so well: he had won the contest, Prinplup had evolved and shown Matthew her true skills, and he had stood up to his father. He ignored what Adrian and Fantina had said and decided to focus on the positives instead, and once Matthew set his mind on that, joy spread throughout his body. He moved back to the Pokemon Center with a skip in his step, despite the rain falling down as if he was walking through the ocean. Fantina, Lucinda and Harrison ran ahead through the puddle strewn streets of Solaceon Town, the houses and businesses disguised by the grey mist of rain, while Prinplup clutched a shivering Cherubi within her claws. It was such a gloomy night, a night where you'd expect everything to go wrong. Matthew should have known better, but his attempts to distract himself made everything around him oblivious.

But when they reached the Pokemon Center, it all changed.

"Thank god we're out of the rain!" Harrison said, gasping dramatically once Matthew, Prinplup and Cherubi had stepped through the sliding glass doors. "What I need is a bubble bath before I get hypothermia!"

"I am with you on that!" Lucinda said with a shiver, taking her soggy coat off and glancing around. "It is pretty quiet here, I wonder where everyone is. I thought all of your gang was staying here?"

"First of all, we're not a gang," Matthew said with a laugh as he took his jacket off as well, "but yeah, they are all meant to be here. None of them came to the contest, so I guess they should all be here then?" Just as he spoke, a loud shatter echoed throughout the quiet center, the rain thundering against the roof masking it so it sounded from far away. Lucinda, Harrison and Cherubi all jumped, and Fantina turned towards the source: shouts followed the crash down the corridor, and it was clear someone was down there and their night wasn't going well.

"I can only presume this is our friends up late again, but it is best to check these things," Fantina said with a touch of uncertainty in her voice. Matthew and Prinplup exchanged curious glances, wondering what these noises were and if it was their friends. Fantina moved across the still and quiet lobby, looking like an elegant shadow as she glided through the darkness, and Matthew, Lucinda and Harrison all exchanged looks and decided to follow, curiosity consuming them and their fear of staying alone overpowering.

It was eerie walking through the quiet corridors, not a single thing stirring except for their own feet. The rain crashed against the roof, the echoing and water-pounding-on-metal making it sound louder than it was outside, and a chill filled the hall that froze their clothes to their skin. Matthew looked out the window at the battlefield, though he could only see a few centimetres out before the rain consumed the field.

"IF YOU WANT TO KILL US, THAN THAT'S THE WAY TO GO!" A voice boomed out through the corridor, and they all looked towards the amber light creeping out through a door at the end, the only light still on. It sounded above the rain and made Cherubi jump again, and she burrowed herself into Prinplup's arms.

"That's Palmer Diamond!" Lucinda gasped and turned towards Harrison with a glint in her eye. "I wonder what he's yelling about?" Harrison nodded along, and Matthew turned towards them with his eyes narrowed.

"Let's just find out then rather than speculating!" He snapped, his elation quickly fading. "There is no story here you two, so don't start bothering anyone to find answers to a problem that doesn't exist!"

"Whenever someone denies a story, there is always an excellent one right behind them," Lucinda purred back accusingly. "You nearly revealed something before at the Contest Hall, after all! You lot are up to something big, admit it! Otherwise a gym leader wouldn't leave their gym behind for over a week!" Lucinda turned towards Fantina, and the gym gasped and stared back at her with bulging eyes.

"I swear nothing is going on!" Matthew insisted irritably, moving between the three before Fantina got annoyed. He crossed to the door, not noising the voices seeping out with the light, and turned the knob. "Just look and see that nothing is going on!" And he flung the door open.

Matthew should have known better.

As light poured into the hallway, the sudden brightness almost as if a spotlight had been turned on, the scene inside froze. Matthew stared in as Xavier, Palmer, Cynthia and Bebe all stared back out at them, frozen in their last positions as if Matthew's look had paralyzed them. He had opened the door to a conference room, and the long table within was loaded up with laptops, computers, keyboards and touch devices, with paper and maps strewn everywhere and piles of books looking as if they had been tossed aside. A projector was on, and Matthew instantly recognized photos of the Solaceon Ruins, the mountains to the east that he had seen every day since arriving here.

Everything fell silent except for the rain, which began to pound harder as if the weather was trying to brush over the awkward situation. Palmer and Cynthia were only inches from each other's faces and they slowly backed away from each other, but it did nothing to disguise the fact they had just been shouting at each other.

"Hello there," Palmer said, his voice half the volume it was a minute ago, his eyes fluttering between Matthew, Fantina and Lucinda and Harrison. "You all look like drowned Magikarp! Did you get caught in the rain? Nurse, would you mind getting these fine people some warm blankets and drinks?" A nurse appeared from behind the door, nodding awkwardly, and scuttled away down the quiet hallway. Silence fell again, and Matthew's face began to burn red as he felt Lucinda's eyes turn towards, wondering if it was too late to slam the door shut and pretend it had been the wrong room.

"Nothing's going on?" Lucinda laughed as she pushed her way past, stepping into the boardroom and glancing around. "Wow Pearl, I can really believe that one. What exactly is going on here? Planning some raid on the ruins? I've heard treasure is buried up there, not that any of you would need it, so what's going on?" Lucinda beamed at a stony faced Cynthia as she pulled a notepad out of her pocket.

"I am sure you would love to turn this into the biggest story of the year, something that would make Daddy shimmer with glee," Cynthia said with her face showing no emotion, "and I am all for supporting media and my good friend Mr Adiem. However, if you print anything about what is going on in this room, I will track you down and I will make you regret endangering the lives of everyone in this room." Lucinda's smile fell off as quickly as it had appeared, and Matthew felt uncomfortable as the already thick tension suddenly rose. And just for the icing on the cake, Cynthia's right hand disappeared down her coat and reappeared barely a second later, and there was a thud as she forced one of her daggers into the table top. Lucinda and Harrison squealed uncomfortably, and a slight smile crossed Cynthia's face.

"Matthew, would you be a dear and close the door please once everyone is inside?" The champion said sweetly. Matthew nodded, knowing it was best not to cross her, and waited until Prinplup and Fantina had passed through before closing it, and quickly crossed towards Xavier.

"Did you win?" Xavier said in greeting.

"Yes, actually, Prinplup did very well in defeating Harrison's Vaporeon," Matthew replied, lighting up a bit as he settled into a chair next to him, feeling his sodden clothes clinging heavily to his skin.

"Very good job then Prinplup," Xavier said, not sounding all that pleased, but it was still a compliment and praise coming from him.

"Lup Prin," Prinplup said with a smile, and Matthew patted her on the head. But their happiness slipped away as there was a cough, and everyone's eyes turned towards Cynthia. She had stood up and was moving around the table towards the computers, casting a steely eye across them all as if telling them to be quiet. Lucinda and Harrison settled nervously into chairs, while Fantina stood besides Palmer, waiting to hear what the Champion had to say.

"For those of you that have just arrived, I shall recap what we have been discussing for the past half hour." She nodded at Bebe, and the technician tapped a few buttons, causing the photo of the ruins to shrink to the corner and a graph to rise up. "There is a special wave of energy that Ghost Pokemon let out, as Fantina would be able to explain more in depth, but we do not have the time. I am not knowledgeable on the subject, but I do know that this energy can interfere with radio and satellite transmissions and electronic devices, and it is to do with the supernatural spirits brought from the afterlife by the Ghost Pokemon and their ability to phase through devices, yes?"

"Correct," Fantina said with a brief nod. "It is impossible to use a mobile device within my gym due to the number of Ghost Pokemon my trainers and I have."

"This energy is measured on a scale invented by the Silph Co., simply called the Ghost Energy Scale," Cynthia explained. "It monitors the number of Ghost Pokemon in one area and allows those watching to prepare for any interruptions to electronic devices and to alert special trainers to capture or shoo away the ghosts. Most areas will only have quite low levels of Ghost Energy, and this is usually quite manageable. However, a short time ago, this reading was picked up within the Solaceon Ruins." Everyone looked towards the graph on the screen, and Fantina let out a gasp: the Ghost Energy levels were going through the roof, and everyone could tell from the height of the graph that this wasn't a good sign.

"These numbers are quadruple the normal levels of Ghost Energy in any area, and is even higher than the Lost Tower's last recorded numbers," Cynthia explained. "These numbers are not caused by any ordinary Ghost Pokemon: only a powerful force of Ghost Energy could have caused numbers this high, and I happen to know which Pokemon are responsible." Another nod at Bebe, and another click brought another image onto the screen.

"Cherubi Bi Bi Cheruuu!" Cherubi let out a frightened squeal and leapt onto Matthew's lap, shaking in fear. Matthew gave her a soft pat, but even he was taken aback by the creature that had just appeared.

It was a painting, the style and aged quality of it signalling it had been done a long time ago. The central image was clearly meant to be a Pokemon, but it was nothing Matthew had ever seen before. The creature was almost serpentine except for many large feet topped with golden claws. Wings that looked almost like shadows fluttered from its back, blood dripping down like claws. A face rose out from the dark, ghostly body, gold wrapped around a twisted, screaming face, teeth the length of a human arm growing out with eyes small, black and soulless peering out towards the room. Matthew had no idea what this creature was, but if it was causing the trouble, he didn't want to know about it.

"This is an artist's redintion of the Distortion Pokemon Giratina," Cynthia explained, "though I am not sure of its accuracy. No one is as Giratina has not been seen for thousands of years, and this painting was done based on a since lost description."

"Has anyone seen this?" Harrison asked, quivering slightly.

"We believe that a very old friend of ours may have seen it, but we are unable to locate her," Cynthia replied, pursing her lips in an unimpressed manner. Matthew knew she must be talking of the strange ghost Charlotte, who he had not seen since the Lost Tower had collapsed, and wondered where she was when they needed her.

"We do know a lot about Giratina though. He is a legendary Pokemon that is part Ghost and part Dragon, and is believed to be connected to Dialga and Palkia, though we are not entirely sure how. Giratina is the only living Pokemon within the Distortion World, a place where lost souls congregate in the afterlife."

"Oh, I've been there," Xavier said suddenly. Silence fell in an instant, the rain hammering down above them. All eyes turned towards Xavier, who seemed rather unfazed at the shock his words had caused. "Yes, Jaki tricked me into going there. I saw Mother, which was nice. I probably should have mentioned it before, but I wasn't really paying attention to all the shouting before. Now that you mention it though, I do think I saw a long shadow back there… something was screaming loudly at any rate. I presume this will be Giratina. I do hope I haven't caused him to come out." Everyone exchanged looks with those nervous, rather stunned by this revelation, though Matthew did start to wonder the same thing.

"Th-thank you for that Xavier," Cynthia said, glancing down at the table with a sad look, looking thrown by this revelation. "But yes, I was just getting to that…. You are not responsible for Giratina coming in, no. The cause will be Sp-Spiritomb, the Pokemon Vanessa foolishly unleashed last week and has not been seen since then, though it is logical she fled to the Solaceon Ruins." She nodded at Bebe and the image of Giratina was replaced with a large canvas of brown. It was instantly clear it was some sort of cave wall, and it looked blank at first, but Matthew stared at it closer and saw etchings dug into the surface of the rock, though he couldn't make out what they were.

"It was destined long ago that Giratina would be defeated by a spirit of darkness that would render him nearly powerless," Cynthia explained. "It has also long been destined that when Spiritomb rose from her tomb, she would engage in an intense battle that would cast the world in darkness. Since this cave etching was discovered several decades ago, it has been thought that the two events would be connected: Spiritomb and Giratina would face off in a battle that would destroy the planet. Since Giratina's loss of power could alter the process of dying, the world could indeed be cast in darkness if he is defeated. The fact Spiritomb was released last week and these intense readings had come up tonight is no coincidence, and all signs are pointing towards this battle happening very soon. The Ghost Energy from the ruins is already spreading, and a scientist at the Pokemon League has informed me that we have until midnight to stop the energy from getting outside of Solaceon, otherwise it will spread outside of a manageable distance."

"Are you suggesting we must contain this energy?" Fantina said, her beautiful face twisted in confusion. "But there is no way to contain Ghost Energy. You would have to stop it at the source…" Fantina drifted off as her eyes widened in shock, and Lucinda gasped dramatically and turned between her, Harrison and Cynthia.

"We have to defeat that ugly snake thing?" The reporter shrieked, and Matthew felt his heart sink: were they really expected to track down this creature that controlled death that hadn't been seen for thousands of years? He glanced down at Prinplup and saw she was shivering at the idea, and Matthew pulled her into a tug, feeling his own body start to shake.

"No, I do not believe we are meant to defeat Giratina," Cynthia replied, and pointed to what looked like a squiggle on the rock. "This, many scientists believe, is a person that represents Giratina. It is believe that this person must be defeated or destroyed to stop Giratina, while Spritomb will have to be eternally captured, which I presume means the Odd Keystone."

"But we still have to go up there and go near it?" Lucinda squealed, seeming to shrink in her chair in fright. Cynthia glanced over at Palmer at this, and Matthew looked at his old neighbour: fire seemed to burn in his eyes as he glared back at his sister-in-law, and the argument and shouting they heard before began to make sense.

"I have requested assistance from the Council's Army to help us," Cynthia explained, though by the look on Lucinda's face this wasn't an answer she had expected.

"Army?" Matthew whispered to Bebe. "What army? I didn't know Sinnoh had an army."

"Not Sinnoh specifically," Bebe replied in hushed tones. "The Council's Army is an elite group that is used to defend all the regions from major threats to the safety of the people and Pokemon of the land. They work in secret, mostly underground and within mountains, as not to attract attention and to keep their operations out of prying eyes." Matthew nodded along blankly, but was stunned by this revelation: a secret army operating beneath them that he had never heard of before? How had he never noticed? Why had he never seen it? Now that he thought about it, where had this army been at all the battles he and his friends had had with Galactic: the Valley Windworks, the Cycling Road, Mt Coronet? How useful could they be if they hadn't stopped Galactic yet?"  
"The Council's Army is a fucking stupid choice!" Palmer hissed. "Malcolm is a fall that is more likely to kill us all than save any of us!"

"I am well aware that he is an incompetent moron," Cynthia snapped back, "but funnily enough Palmer, they had guns, they have tanks, they have missiles and rockets. We're in a town in the middle of nowhere with only about fifty Pokemon between us. How can we defeat a legendary and a demon with those numbers?"

"And how will firing at Pokemon that can phase through them do any good either?" Palmer shouted back. "Just because your team isn't that powerful doesn't mean we can just rely on the army! Leave it to me, I can defeat them both before midnight!"

"I highly doubt it father," Xavier said dryly. "My Pokemon nearly defeated you before, and I have had them for barely a fraction of the time as you." Palmer turned angrily towards his son and raised a finger, ready to say something, when a shriek and a crashing sounded from outside. All eyes turned towards the door, and Fantina whipped a PokeBall out, seemingly form nowhere, and grasped it firmly in her hand as she opened the door.

"Well excuuuuuse me!" A familiar voice boomed. "I might have seen you if some fucking lights were on in here! I am supposed to just wander around in the dark? What if I ran into an axe murderer? Do you want that nursey: axe murderers killing your clients?"

"Vanessa!" Matthew gasped, and he quickly leapt out of his chair. He had wondered where she had gone, presumably with Sahara, but the intensity of the situation in the room had pushed them out of his thoughts. He quickly raced out of the room with Prinplup, Cherubi jumping up onto the table as he stood, and came across the nurse as she scooped up broken tea cups from the floor.

"Vanessa, where have you been?" Matthew asked. His red headed companion was standing a few feet away, leaning against the glass window in an almost bored way. The rain seemed to be dying down, allowing some of the outside lights to seep in. Vanessa glanced towards Matthew with her white dress glowing, though the coordinator noted that it was from glowsticks stuck to her dress brightening her body yet casting her face in shadows. Her orange hair was a mess, looking as if she had just electrocuted herself and decided that the hairstyle suited her. At Matthew's words, Vanessa began to laugh, though it was deep and joyless, very different to her usual almost mocking laugh.

"Well well well, look who they've sent to come deal with me!" She slurred, stumbling forwards as she pointed towards him. "What exactly are _yoooouuuu_ going to do? Sober me up? Tidy me up? Undress me? I'm sure you'd like that!" Vanessa laughed again, and she kicked at the blankets lying on the floor.

"Where have you been?" Matthew asked, ignoring the jibe and grabbing the blankets to put into Prinplup's flippers. "Xavier, Palmer, Fantina and Cynthia are all in that room: there's some big stuff going on, we're going to need your help."

"Help, from me?" Vanessa sneered. "Is that all I am to you? Some colourful red head with a fancy umbrella to fight you battles for you? Well, fuck you Matthew! A, I am drunk, so I won't be good anyway, and B, I just don't fucking want tp! Fight your own damn battles!" Matthew was taken aback by the outburst, and wondered what had brought this on: she was usually dying for a battle like this, and if this army was as incompetent as Palmer said, they would need her strength and cunning.

"Come on Vanessa, just come in and sit down," Matthew said, pointing to the conference room. "Sober up a bit and get ready. We're about to face off against Spiritomb and save the world!" Shouting suddenly exploded behind them, and Matthew turned around to see Palmer and Cynthia face to face, arguing intensely as Fantina raced towards them.

"Oh wow, you'll really save the world with those ones," Vanessa cackled. She began to stumble forwards, looking like she was about to fall. "Matty boy, I will see you laaaateeer! Good luck with this one, fancy boy!" She began to walk away and Matthew turned after her. He suddenly felt frustrated, yet wasn't sure at what. He stared at Vanessa as her ginger hair bounced away into the darkness, and he saw his father's face, heard his list of goal's and Fantina's unintentional revelation. His blood boiled, and Matthew's anger broke through: whether it was aimed at Vanessa or not, his words were directed at her.

"This is your fault Vanessa!" Matthew roared. "We wouldn't be going to fight Spiritomb if you hadn't unleashed her! You should be the one to right this wrong and defeat her, not us! Xavier is waiting to fix this, and I know Sahara will help us as well: all of us going to fix something you started. I hope this just shows you what a selfish cow you are!" Matthew stopped talking but his words echoed in the silence. The conference room had fallen quiet, and it suddenly dawned on Matthew what he had said. Vanessa had frozen, about to round a bend, and the nurse quickly picked up the broken cups and scuttled away. Matthew glanced down at a stunned Prinplup and regretted his words, but as he opened his mouth to apologise, Vanessa turned around.

Her face was cast in the light from the conference room, and it wasn't happy: Vanessa looked murderous with her bared teeth and bulging, fiery eyes, and Matthew could see her hands tensing and veins growing in her neck and head. However, he also saw that her eyes were circled with red as if she had just been crying.

"Fuck you, you little rich boy bastard!" Vanessa hissed. She walked forwards with a hand on one of her glow sticks, and Matthew could only imagine what she'd do with it. "You have no right to tell me what to do and how to act! I released Spiritomb, yeah, so what! I tried to make amends, but you all excluded me from the research. But _now_ you want me, want me to fight for you and win for you? Screw you, screw all of you! Let's see what the world looks like after some nancy coordinator is done trying to save it!" Vanessa grabbed the glowstick and began to tear it from her dress, and Matthew raised his hands in defence, flinching in preparation for the attack.

"PRIN LUP LUP!" A stream of bubbles exploded against Vanessa's chest, and she cried out as she stumbled backwards. Matthew turned down towards Prinplup and saw the Penguin Pokemon staring boldly and angrily at Vanessa. The red head let go of her glow stick, leaving it hanging loosely from her side, and with one last furious glance she marched off towards her room, leaving only silence behind. Matthew watched her leave, feeling awkward about what he had said, though he knew in the back of his mind that it was the truth, and only wondered what had happened to annoy her so much.

"Thank you for saving me," he said, turning back towards Prinplup, "especially after all I said and did before." Prinplup merely smiled widely and went back to pick up the blankets. Matthew bent down to help, but paused as he caught Xavier approaching him out of the corner of his eye.

"What was that about?" Xavier asked before he'd arrived, but didn't wait for a response. "You have to come back now so you can be told your job for tonight." Matthew nodded half heartedly, still wondering what was up with Vanessa.

"Shouldn't we call Sahara?" He said. "She must be around somewhere, shouldn't she?"

"Sahara and Vanessa went to a club," Xavier replied. "Judging by the state Vanessa is in, I imagine it didn't end well. I have no idea where Sahara is, but we are going to be looking for her anyway, so I wouldn't worry.

"You never worry," Matthew replied grimly. He went to step forwards, but froze once again. "Wait… what do you mean we're looking for her anyway?' Xavier turned towards him, wearing a face of similar confusion to Matthew.

"Cynthia just spoke about a person representing Giratina. Who else could it possibly be except for Sahara and Jaki?" Matthew's jaw dropped, and he quickly exchanged glances with Prinplup before pushing past Xavier and running back into the conference room, unable to believe what he had just heard, but it quickly dawned on him on what the outcome of the night might be, and Matthew wouldn't be able to live with himself if they ended up killing Sahara.

* * *

The darkness seemed to suit Sahara.

She had no idea how she had come upon these caves. She had simply run off into the night, and had kept on running until her feet and legs ached with tiredness. When the rain began to fall again, Sahara ducked for the shelter of nearby trees, and she would have happily stayed there all night: it was peaceful, relaxing, out of the bad weather, a perfect place for Sahara to think over what had just happened.

Sahara would have stayed put if she hadn't heard a rustling, and she turned to see an unusual Pokemon racing out from a cave entrance. The Pokemon had been black with a simple white face with one eye and no other features. Sahara scanned it on her PokeDex and learnt it was an Unown, and curiosity seemed to drag her towards the cave. There was meant to be nearly 30 varieties of Unown, and the thought of it seemed to pull Sahara out of her nice hiding spot and inside the cave.

She had been wandering the cave for nearly half an hour now, and not a single Unown had appeared. Yet, for some reason, Sahara continued to walk. She wasn't sure why was still moving, but Sahara felt that it was helping to clear her head. The pure darkness was quiet and unmoving, full of anonymity and lacking in judgement and fear. Not a single thing clearly passed by Sahara's eyes, and that was exactly how she wanted it.

"Damn you Vanessa!" Sahara hissed under her breath. Why did she have to go and be so irritating as always? She could have been killed and could have gotten Sahara and all their Pokemon killed in the process. What was going through her mind when she let Eden stay, even though it would just end badly? Vanessa's reckless attitude was starting to affect their lives: first she had released Spiritomb, and now she had used Eden to try and get what she wanted. Had Vanessa even thought for a minute about what the effects might be? Had she even gotten the information she wanted?

And then there had been that kiss. What had that been about anyway? It had been a strange thing to wake up to, and Sahara had no idea what was going through either Vanessa nor Eden's minds when it had happened. Now that she thought of it, Vanessa had been acting rather quiet around Sahara over the past week, appearing more hurt about Sahara ignoring then anyone else. Was there a chance Vanessa had feelings for her…

"No, of course not…that is ridiculous!" Sahara mumbled to herself, though now that the thought was in her head she couldn't seem to sake it out. Needing a distraction, Sahara turned around and tried to make out something interesting. However, it suddenly dawned on her how dark it was: Sahara was surrounded by darkness, her body encased in black. How had she even made it this far when she had no idea where the walls were or what lay before her?

"Hello?" Sahara called out, hoping someone may be around to help, human or Pokemon, but only silence replied. Sahara felt the need to stand still and think of a plan, starting to worry about getting lost within the cave. Yet something else was compelling her to move forwards, like a voice whispering softly into her ear. Her feet seemed to be moving at their own accord as if they had a brain and knew were to go.

_This is getting weird_, Sahara thought as turned down a new tunnel, sweat creeping down her face and neck, either out of fear or from tiredness she couldn't tell. A sudden whooshing noise sounded around her, and Sahara turned around as several figures fluttered past, their white faces gleaming with light. They had the lone black eye of Unown, though their bodies were a different shape than what Sahara had seen earlier. The dozen that passed all seemed frightened, and were floating away as fast as possible. Sahara stared after them until they faded away into the darkness, and it was only then that she noticed dim light filling the tunnel.

"What the hell…," Sahara mumbled, and she turned around. The outlines of boulders appeared near her legs, and she could roughly make out where the walls were. Sahara could see purple light shining out from another tunnel several metres away, and slowly she began to approach: half of her didn't want to, unwilling to see what waited around that corner, while the other half could only focus on uncovering the truth. Sahara slipped a hand into her pocket and clasped it around Nutty's PokeBall, ready to face whatever was around there, and nervously she turned into the purple lit corridor.

It was a sight unlike anything she'd seen before.

Sahara gasped as she stared down into the tunnel, Nutty's PokeBall falling back into her pocket. A giant cloud was swirling right before her, a mass of purple light and smoke that mixed in with each other. Screams and cries were echoing from within, and an occasional flash of white light flickered within like lightning. The tunnel was colder than anything Sahara had ever experienced, and she could almost feel her happiness and courage slip away from her.

"What the hell is this!" Sahara screamed to no one in particular. She had no idea what it was, but it looked like some sort of gas explosion mixed in with a Gengar. Sahara wanted to run away, get out of the cave and find help, yet her legs refused to move: she tried to turn and flee, she tried to lift them with her hands, she thought only about walking, but her legs remained as solid as concrete poles. Tears began to fall down her cheeks, and Sahara stared towards the cloud, wondering if something in there had been what had been calling her and now seemed to be keeping her here.

"Run… you have to leave…" Sahara yelped at the sound of a voice nearby, and she looked down near her feet where the almost croak had come from. A figure lay before her, the hair and clothing making it a female, yet Sahara screamed again when she saw the ground through the girl's chest and saw dead eyes looking up at her.

"You have to leave… you will kill us all… get out of here!" The ghost girl groaned, laying sprawled against a boulder.

"I-I-I-I-I can't leave! M-m-my legs are frozen!" Sahara cried, her head starting to throb out of confusion. She looked at the cloud and wondered what the girl had meant: was she really going to kill everyone if she stayed here? Sahara would never do anything like that… yet, more than one mind shared her body…

"Oh shit," Sahara hissed.

_Oh shit indeed, _a voice cackled around her, and suddenly screaming filled Sahara's head. She cried out and collapsed to the ground, her legs suddenly giving way, and her face smacked against the hard ground. A roar sounded all around, joining the screams in tearing into Sahara's head and mind. She clenched up in pain as it felt as if fire had replaced her blood, and Sahara could feel her back twisting and moving.

"No, please no, not now!" Sahara cried, tears falling, but she knew it was unavoidable. The temperature continued to drop to near freezing, and the roaring and screaming only got louder. Wind coursed throughout the tunnel, and Sahara shut her eyes as her vision began to turn as black as ink.

The last thing she heard was a high, cold laugh before Sahara's mind shut down.

* * *

Team Galactic was starting to full appreciate the handiness of having an invisible plane.

As the rain varied between a light drizzle to monsoon weather, _Charm_ effortlessly glided through the clouded sky without any interruption. No other planes were flying due to the weather, and it was a rough ride, but the task needed to be done and now was the time to do it. The only sign anything was there was a slight whine above the rain and the distortion caused by a large moving patch where the rain wasn't falling.

When the airship reached Solaceon Town, it was able to descend without any interruption. Many Pokemon that were trying to hide from the rain were sent fleeing deeper into the trees as the turbines sent leaves, sticks and stones flying into the air, and they turned back to see what it was causing this commotion. Yet it seemed to only be a powerful gust of wind to them, and even the brightest Pokemon was unable to tell it was an airplane slowly landing before them.

As soon as _Charm_ landed, there was a flicker, and suddenly the airship was there, the rain bouncing off its metal and glass surface, the plain hilly field that had been empty a moment earlier now shrunken by the sheer size of the ship. Galactic Grunts began to descend down the ramp before it had even finished lowering, and they quickly began to spread out across the rain struck field.

By the time Cyrus had reached the staircase, the area had been secured and the Grunts were beginning to capture Pokemon within the surrounding area. The rain began to lighten up, though Cyrus still had to clasp the handrail to stop himself slipping down the already soaked surface. Charon and Minerva moved directly behind him, followed by his three Admins and a number of other Grunts that had just finished shutting down the ship and scanning the area: no humans were around except for Team Galactic, leaving the Solaceon Ruins free for the taking.

"You know, I have really been _this_ happy in one night," Cyrus said as he stepped onto the ground with a squelch. "We successfully captured Moltres, and now we have Spiritomb ripe for the taking within the ruins." He left the airship behind and quickly began to move towards the ruins, the plain brown walls visible from the airship's light. They had landed directly in front of the official entrance, and Cyrus planned to send small teams to secure the other known entry points. It was crucial that Spiritomb didn't escape their grasps, and Cyrus would take every precaution necessary to get to her.

"Status report," he bellowed to his admins.

"The Ghost Energy levels within the ruins indicate that Spiritomb is still within the walls," Mars replied instantly.

"The teams to mark the nine other significant entry points have already been armed within the necessary equipment and are ready to leave, and the Wranglers will be brought out in two minutes," Jupiter said quickly.

"Security cameras show that the Dex Holders are within the Solaceon Town limits, though there is still no sign of Sahara and Cynthia, Palmer and Fantina are still in the Town as well," Saturn concluded.

"As long as they are in the town, they are none of my worries," Cyrus replied. "As for everything else, it all sounds wonderful. Make sure the ship remains secure as well, and you three shall take up positions around the area as well." Cyrus stopped moving a metre away from the entrance, and stared into the darkness, ignoring the workers as they set up laptops and spotlights. Spiritomb could be down that tunnel, unaware that they were coming, unprepared for their assault. Cyrus himself hadn't expected the evening to go this way until Saturn and Jupiter had revealed that she had been unleashed, confirming several suspicions. But now he was ready: Spiritomb could end up being a key part of his master plan, and he would not give up the opportunity to take her over and speed this war up so it ended in their favour.

"Sir." A voice interrupted his thoughts, but Cyrus did nothing to acknowledge Charon asides from slightly grunting. The scientist approached his left side, while he felt Minerva come closer to his right. "Sir, are you sure this is a wise move? The Champion is nearby, and we are not as prepared as you might think. I think we should wait another hour to incapacitate the Dex Holders and secure Miss Plattina before she becomes a hassle. And these Ghost Energy levels are far too high to just be –"

"Charon, I think we can handle whatever comes our way," Cyrus replied simply. "The Dex Holders are easy enough to hold off, and Cynthia will come for me if she does show up, and I look forward to catch up with her again. Send a group out to find Sahara if we have the numbers, otherwise don't bother. We have the Adamant Orb, we have Moltres, and we will soon have Spiritomb: we are superior by far!"

"I am well aware of these facts, but what about –,"

"Are the weapons you've been working on all week ready?"

"Well, naturally, yes."

"Good. And are they not up to scratch?"

"I think that they are some of my best creations yet, and my thoughts generally turn out right."

"Excellent. Then I see nothing holding us back from entering the ruins." Cyrus turned towards Charon with a wide smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye, the look making him look either happy or psychotic. The scientist was still not convinced that this was the right course, but trying to convince Cyrus would take too much time and effort. Charon merely smiled and nodded and moved away, thinking about how badly this night could go, and looked forward to being able to boast about it later.

"Cyrus, we still do not have any sign of Charles or Roshonda," Minerva said quickly before Cyrus could ignore her. "I have tracked the entire area and restarted the system about five times, but I am not getting any sign that either of them are here. I am starting to worry Cyrus, I did warn you about sending him here! What if Spiritomb got to them before they reached Charlotte? The two of them could be dead and you wouldn't even care!"

"Of course I care you stupid little woman!" Cyrus hissed, turning around and staring into her tear filled eyes with his own psychotic glare. "I am sorry if I have more important things to worry about than their safety, but feel free to venture in with one of the groups and try and find them! Otherwise I will gladly help you once tonight's work is done, alright?" Minerva nodded, giving Cyrus a cold look as her face tightened up.

"You make me sick," she hissed, and turned and marched away, snapping at a trio of grunts as she passed. Cyrus turned to watch her leave, anger rising up from within. He needed full concentration on the mission, and there could be no distractions. Minerva could just deal with it herself or wait for him to be free, but Cyrus would not drop everything to simply find two grunts, even if one was his son.

_Tonight must go well, _Cyrus told himself as he stared into the tunnel. Capturing Spiritomb would put everything into their favour, and he would think of nothing else until the Ghost-Dark type was at his command.

* * *

Charles awoke with a start.

He quickly leaned forwards, breathing deeply and rapidly, his eyes darting around: he had no idea where he was or how he got here, everything a massive blur. Charles tried to think, but all he could see was fire and blood, and all he could hear was a high laugh and a blood-wrenching scream. Charles felt spasms of pain throughout his body, and his hands moved towards wounds that he had no idea how they occurred. Sahara's face flickered through his thoughts, and Charles had a strange feeling she had been near him…

"Charles!" A voice cried, making Charles jump with fright. "Charles, it's me, Roshonda!" Charles glanced around, but he could barely make anything out in the darkness that enclosed him. Dim light was coming through a crack above, with a steady drip of water seeping through, and it was just enough for Charles to make out another figure.

"Roshonda?" Charles whispered, his head still throbbing and his memory still fuzzy. "Where are we? How did we end up here, and in this way?" He glanced down at his chest and was staring to make out the wounds that spread across his body, and his hands moved across dried blood and bruises that made his entire body wince.

"Don't touch them, none of them are clean yet," Roshonda said calmly, pulling his hands away from his chest. "Do you not remember? Our mission backfired, and that twisted ghost Charlotte attacked us and then I am pretty sure stuffed up our teleportation! But we're alright, she hasn't been able to find us, so we're safe. Though… I have no idea where exactly we are, so maybe it isn't _that_ good of news… anyway, I will try and get in contact with base and see if someone can come and rescue us." Charles nodded along, but wasn't taking in anything she was saying. His mind was trying to put together the rough puzzle pieces he had jumbled around in his head: Charlotte laughing, a burning sensation, black filling his vision, Sahara in front of him, smiling at him, her breathe against his skin, all his worries going away…

"Have we seen anyone else tonight, asides from Charlotte?" Charles asked on impulse. Roshonda fell silent, and Charles turned towards her: her dark face was turned towards the small amount of light coming in, and Charles was able to catch her eyes as sadness began to settle in.

"No… no one else has been here… just me…," Roshonda replied in a quiet, almost hoarse whisper, and she turned her back to Charles, exposing her own wounds through her Galactic uniform. Charles was taken aback by this and wondered what had happened to cause this, but before he could say anything their cave began to shudder. Dust fell from the roof and rocks tumbled in through the crack, and Charles turned around as a crack began to appear on the rock wall a few feet behind him.

"Get back!" He cried, and stumbled blindly backwards in the dark, his hands grabbing onto a bag that he pulled with him. There was another, more violent shudder, and the wall suddenly collapsed. A freezing wind roared into the cave, and Charles had to squint in order to stop dust being blown into his eyes. A number of black figures emerged into the cave and instantly began firing blue and green balls at the roof, aiming for the crack.

"There'll be a cave in, we have to get out!" Roshonda cried, and she leapt forwards and ran towards to where the creatures had come from. Charles leapt up with the bag, though regretted it as his mind and body swayed in different ways and pain shot up his legs and back. He was going to shout after Roshonda and say that going the way they had fled wasn't the smartest move, but as sections of the roof fell and more moonlight and rain poured in, Charles' attention turned towards the Pokemon. He thought they had looked familiar, but now that they were in a slightly brighter setting, Charles recognized their different shaped bodies and their white faces, each with a single black eye staring fearfully towards him before they fled into the night…

_The Unown know more than even the brightest human mind... if something is able to upset an Unown, you know what you must do… _

"ROSHONDA!" Charles bellowed, running forwards as fast as his bruised and bleeding legs would allow, the words he had heard two years ago swimming around in his mind. The bag bounced painfully against her back, but Charles didn't care, only thinking about what could possibly have scared the Unown, and that Roshonda was heading towards it.

"ROSHONDA, COME BACK!" Charles screamed as he got to the hole in the wall, his torn clothes flapping violently in the wind. More Unown came flying through, and Charles had to duck low to avoid getting hit. The cave shook, and more light seeped in through the growing cracks, allowing Charles to see into the tunnel before him: the wind that was howling and screaming past still look black, casting strange shadows across the boulders and rock formations. The wind was coming from the right, and Charles put his head into the tunnel to try and find Roshonda.

He managed to see her, but he saw something a lot worse coming towards her.

Roshonda stood frozen in the middle of the tunnel, her clothes being blown apart by the wind as well, her hair whipping around her head, yet she did nothing to stop it. Charles couldn't see her face, but he knew she was staring forwards with the same level of fear he had.

Two figures were floating towards them: one he recognized as Charlotte, though her colour was changing from white to fully transparent at random points across her body, and her eyes were shut as if she was sleeping. The second was completely foreign: it looked like the rock that floated beneath it had cracked open and unleashed a strange mist of purple and lime green gas, though there were outlines of a mouth and eyes on what Charles could only guess was a Pokemon. The two were floating aimlessly towards them, though by the way their eyes were shut and Charlotte's ghostly body limp, it was clear something else was moving them.

"Roshonda, get back in here, NOW!" Charles yelled, his voice echoing around the tunnel, though Roshonda didn't seem to hear. She remained frozen and unmoving as if the wind had turned her to a statue. Charles looked back towards the growing hole in the roof above and could see the cloudy sky above, an exit that could led to salvation if only Roshonda would move.

With a groan, Charles forced his legs over the damaged wall and hobbled towards Roshonda. The wind tore the rest of his jacket and shirt from him, and his wounds began to sting as if freezing knives were being plunged into his skin, yet he kept going. Charlotte and the purple mist were getting closer, and Charles moved as quickly as possible to get up to Roshonda before they did.

"Roshonda, come on! Something isn't right, we need to leave with the Unown!" Charles said irritably, grabbing her by the arm and tugging her backwards, yet the movement simply caused her to collapse to the ground. Charles got down to his knees and cradled her head, staring to get concerned: Roshonda was shivering violently, and her eyes remained open wide with fright.

"Roshonda, what's wrong?" Charles asked, his tone becoming softer as he stared towards her, wondering what forces were at work that was causing all of this trouble. As the thought crossed his mind, a roar suddenly echoed from down the tunnel, and Charles had to shut his eyes as the wind blew stronger against him, threatening to tear his wounds open. The bag was nearly torn from his body, and Charles forced it between himself and Roshonda as screams joined the continuous roar, dust and rocks trickling down from the roof.

"My my, isn't this a pretty sight?" A familiar voice suddenly purred in his ear, and Charles' eyes burst open, darting around in the darkness to find the source. The wind was still strong, but everything seemed to be getting darker, a black mist curling around their bodies. Charles had no idea what was going on, but suddenly something wrapped around his arm, and turned in shock.

Sahara loomed over him, but it was not a Sahara he knew: her normal clothing had been replaced with a sweeping black dress that looked like it was made of leather, though at the same time it seemed to float around her skin. Her hair was longer and the colour of night, a shade that had been repeated in her eyes, on her lips, through her veins, her pale skin pulled back tight to expose her blood beneath like black spiders crawling across her skin. Gold jewellery rang from her wrist as Sahara lifted her hand up, letting out a laugh that brought the temperature down.

"Sahara…?" Charles asked quietly, though he knew what the answer would be. The person that looked like Sahara laughed louder, her cold laugh circling around them, and she brought her hands around his throat.

"Sahara's not here anymore, and she never will be again," Jaki hissed, and she continued to laugh as Charles' breath got in his throat, and his eyes closed onto blackness, and for a second he wondered what was going on, but then his mind went black as well.

* * *

Even with the rain thundering down, the cars were audible through the still night.

Cyrus stared out through the trees with a smile on his face. The scout teams had already left and were heading inside the ruins, and they could still get to Spiritomb before their rivals arrived. The Grunts were moving into position, guns and Pokemon at the ready, and Charon had ordered a team inside _Charm_ to man the guns if necessary. Cyrus didn't think it was needed, but thought he would let the scientist have it. The Galactic boss stood behind the rows of grunts, his hands around PokeBalls, ignoring the rain battering against him and focussing instead on the two round lights moving further up the hill.

"Sir, do you want us to strike before they get here?" Cyrus turned towards Saturn, smirking slightly at his trident like weapon that the admin had clasped in his hands.

"No, I do not think that will be necessary," Cyrus replied, turning back towards the approaching car. "Have everyone ready to strike if need be, yes, but I want to see what they are playing at exactly first. There is only one car coming from what I can tell, and that means there can only be a few people inside." Saturn nodded and moved away towards Jupiter, who had her axe swinging by her side and her Skuntank prowling around her legs. Cyrus laughed at this as well: all of them had their ideas about how to defeat the Champion, yet none of them had ever met her and only secretly wished they had a chance to battle her.

"No one knows my Scythe like I do," Cyrus whispered to himself, and he moved closer towards the grunts as the car began to enter their perimeter of light, ready to hear what they had to say and see if they were planning anything.

"Are you all ready?"

_No_¸ Matthew thought, though a 'Yes' came through his lips to join Palmer and Fantina, and Cynthia brought the pink VW they had borrowed from Lucinda to a halt.

He had only reluctantly agreed to join the three experienced trainers in their mission to the Solaceon Ruins. When Bebe's sensors picked up their airship, Cynthia arranged for them to go and hold them up until the army arrived, saying that they were nearly here and Xavier, Bebe, Lucinda and Harrison could greet them. Matthew had agreed only when Xavier mentioned recruiting Vanessa, and his burning rage rose up inside him once more.

Who did she think she was, telling him he couldn't fight? Matthew had always fought valiantly and bravely every time it was required of him, most of the times under Vanessa's delusional orders. Yet now she was calling him weak for no true reason? Matthew knew he could prove her wrong, and he put his name forwards hoping to teach her a lesson.

Now he regretted it. As he slowly got out of the VW, Matthew could see the rows of Galactic Grunts before him, standing with their guns on one sides and a multitude of Pokemon on the other, ready to strike at any moment. Matthew had not expected numbers like this, and he felt his heart sink into his stomach, and flinched when the car doors slammed. There were flashes of light, and Cynthia's Garchomp, Palmer's Dragonite and Fantina's Gengar joined the group. There was a series of clicks that sounded simultaneously around the quiet valley, and Matthew winced again as the Grunts raised their guns: what the hell had he gotten himselg into?"

"Cynthia Carter! How wonderful it is to see you again!" The Grunts parted ways to allow Cyrus to strut forwards, a wide, psychotic beam on his face and his arms spread wide as if welcoming them. "It has been too long my dear, how great it is to see you so healthy! How are things in that lovely palace of yours, looking down on the scum of the earth as you prepare to destroy whoever comes near you!" Matthew stood shaking to Cynthia's left and turned to see her face was blank, thought her Garchomp growled next to her.

"I am not here to play games with you Cyrus," Cynthia purred quietly. "The Council's Army is nearly upon us, and they will destroy you if you have not left by then. If you are planning on disturbing Spiritomb, then you are still as big of a fool as you were all those years ago. Leave now Cyrus and take your mindless followers with you, or we will tear you to shreds and scatter what remains in the wind." Cyrus' smile faltered slightly, and a grim, dark look came into his eyes, but he quickly recovered and began to laugh.

"Strong words… fighting words, even. But if you think you can scare me off that easily, you are a bigger fool than me," he hissed back. "If you haven't noticed, my side has a hundred guns pointing at you, while you have a failed coordinator, a failing coordinator and the biggest ego this side of Mt Coronet." Matthew gulped nervously at this, yet Cynthia only laughed. He was confused for a moment, but in that moment there was a flash of silver accompanied by Garchomp's roar. The ground began to shake with such speed and power that it even caused Palmer to stumble, but Garchomp's Earthquake managed to every one of the Grunts over. Cyrus could not protest, as one of Cynthia's daggers was now pressed against his throat, a single bead of blood flowing down his skin to mix with the rain thundering down.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you now," Cynthia said in the quietest, coldest voice possibly, and Matthew could sense a feeling of hurt and longing behind each of her words. Cyrus looked up at her, his eyes wide the size of coins, a look to match her voice.

"Because of Sunnyshore," Cyrus whispered back, and Matthew caught Cynthia's grip slacken.

That was when everything changed.

Unbeknownst to anyone, drama had been unfolding from the moment the car had arrived. Charon had stood by the monitors and computers, trying to keep them protected from the strong rain, when a sudden gust of wind rose from the tunnel. It had blown their shelters aside and nearly brought the computers down with them. The gust was so powerful that it sent the workers fleeing for safety, not noticing as the Ghost Energy levels tripled before the computers shut down completely. A laugh and a roar had risen out from the tunnel, and Charon had simply stood there in fear as his coat whipped around his body, a single thought crossing his mind of what to say to Cyrus later: _I told you so._

The black and purple wind burst out of the cave like a ghostly explosion, and it blew across the entire field. The Grunts still sprawled out on the ground were sent rolling, and computers and equipment were scattered into the air. Matthew cried out as the wind nearly knocked him backwards, and one of the car windows shattered next to him.

"What is this?" Palmer roared as the wind tore through them.

"This is Ghost Energy," Fantina yelled, "but not like anything I have ever seen!" The winds was sending the Grunts running for cover and was causing their clothes to tear into their skins, yet Matthew remained still, not sure how to react or what to do next. He thought he could hear a laugh echoing around them, but it was too confusing to decipher with the wind and rain battering them and not knowing what the cause was. He reached inside his pockets for a Dusk Ball and threw it into the wind, not sure if he was doing the right thing or not.

"Misdreeee!" Misdreavus cried as soon as she was formed, the wind nearly blowing her away. Matthew quickly grabbed onto her and turned his back to the wind, causing his jacket to whip around her.

"Sorry about this, but I think I'm going to need a Ghost," Matthew yelled over the breeze. He glanced back towards the cave where the wind seemed to be coming from: it was coming out like purple blood spilling across the field, oozing out thick ands fast. Matthew began to step away, thinking about what would come next.

Suddenly, figures began to emerge. Matthew watched in fear as the two creatures emerged out and could only wonder if they were causing all of this. However, their dark shadows were soon cast into light, and he gasped as he recognized both Charlotte and Spiritomb, their eyes shut but still moving forwards with limp bodies like limp puppets. Grunts shouted out around them, but Matthew couldn't even hear what Cynthia was yelling to Fantina as she threw Cyrus aside.

"Misdreavus Dre Dre Misdreee!" Misdreavus cried, and she began to pull away, towing Matthew with her as he remained clinging onto her.

"What is your problem?" Matthew shouted. "We need to stay here, we can't leave!" Yet Misdreavus continued to move away, and Matthew felt his feet lift off the ground. He turned around in fear, trying to signal for someone to help, but he saw that everyone seemed to have frozen in shock, and his eyes turned towards the tunnel, wondering who was standing there.

Matthew nearly let go of Misdreavus in shock: standing there in the mouth of the cave was Sahara, though not like how he had ever seen her. Even from this distance, he could see her skin was as white as snow, and black veins stuck out throughout her body. Her black, lips and eyes radiated with darkness, and her body was encased in a flowing black dress that was a stark contrast with her normal white jacket. The light caught gold jewellery that was suddenly on her body, and Sahara's lips were curled in a sadistic smile. Matthew's heart race slowed, and he knew what this meant.

Jaki had taken over her body.

Silence had fallen across the field, everyone staying still and turning towards the three figures that had appeared. No one was quite sure what to say or do, the sudden arrival of Jaki enough to shock and stun them all. Even Cyrus looked stunned, his face sunken and frozen in a dumbstruck surprise. No one had expected this, and even though Xavier had suggested the thought back at Solaceon, Matthew hadn't even taken it seriously. It seems now that that was a very foolish mistake.

"Hello everyone," Jaki said with a slight cackle, and descended into laughter as if it was the funniest thing anyone had ever heard. "Why have you all stopped? Everyone was running around a moment ago. Is there something in my teeth?" Jaki cackled again, and a chill ran throughout everyone in the area. Jaki merely smiled in delight, staring around at all the faces with sadistic pleasure. "Now, before I move on for the rest of the evening, I really want to know who sent these two into my midst's?" She clicked her fingers, and out of the purple smoke that hovered eerily behind her, two more figures appeared. Gasps rippled through Team Galactic as Charles and Roshonda floated out, but they didn't look familiar: their clothes had been badly torn, with Roshonda's barely leaving her covered, and their skin had been just as damaged. Bleed still seeped from some of their wounds, while the others were coated with dark red scabs and purple and black bruises that were visible even from a distance. Their eyes were shut like Charlotte and Spiritomb's, and they floated along just like puppets at Jaki's command. The girl began to laugh hysterically as she took in the shock from around her, and she clicked her fingers again, sending the two crashing to the ground with a thud.

"Did you actually think you could capture either of them?" Jaki cackled, and whirled her hands to make Charlotte and Spiritomb float around her. "No mere mortal can control something with as much magic and power as these two… so I guess it is a good thing I am no mere mortal, no matter what this pathetic exterior may have you believe." Jaki cast her black eyes across them all, and the smoke seemed to extend, beginning to encircle around them, leaving them penned in like animals. "I think it is time I teach this world a lesson about respecting those that could kill them by merely staring at them. Each of you here thinks you know how to control one of these two weaklings before me, but you have know idea the power needed to control them! All humans are fools weakened by your emotions, taking land that is not rightfully yours and thinking you can manipulate the world around you to your own pleasure! This land does not belong to anything human, and it is time to give it back to someone that truly deserves it!" A roar suddenly sounded, though it was nothing anyone had heard before: it was cold and piercing like a frozen knife, and it echoed constantly around them, managing to sound at multiple times. Matthew's ears felt like they were about to start bleeding, and he lost all sense as he let go of Misdreavus and clasped his hands over his head.

"Dre Dre!" Misdreavus cried, and Matthew felt himself stop after falling for only a moment, a strange feeling coming over him. Misdreavus floated down towards him, and slowly his feet safely touched the ground.

"Thanks," he shouted back, trying to wear a warm smile but the horrible noise was too much too bear. It felt as if there was something crawling up his skin and moving towards his head, and Matthew turned towards Jaki, wondering what she was planning. The darker version of Sahara merely laughed, and the smoke behind her seemed to thicken. She waved her hands, sending Charlotte and Spiritomb flying to the sides, and balls of black flames rose from her fingertips.

"It is time the world got what it deserves, and it is only unfortunate for you all that you will perish first!" Jaki cried, her voice getting higher and louder with each syllable until it sounded almost like a shriek. The balls of fire grew, and Matthew pulled Misdreavus close, waiting for whatever would happen next.

A whine suddenly began to sound around them. Matthew nervously looked up, expecting it to be some other amount of horror Jaki had concocted, but he was shocked to see a ball of fire hurtling through the rain and wind, coming from Solaceon Town. The whining got louder as it got closer, and the light coming from the airship revealed where the flames were coming from.

"There's a rocket coming towards us!" Matthew yelled hysterically, yet it was too late to point out. As his words echoed around the quiet field and all eyes turned from Jaki, the rocket crashed into the top of the airship. A ball of fire exploded from the roof, sending metal and glass flying high into the sky, though the deafening boom was unable to block the sounds of more whines coming their way.

"Their missiles from the Council's Army!" Cynthia yelled. The next one missed their field, fire erupting from within the trees, while the third slammed into the mountainside right above Jaki. She let out a hiss that was audible even above the explosions, and the roar rose up again, though the multiple explosions and sound of everyone fleeing was enough to mask the pain. "

The missiles seemed to grow in number, and what had been a dark night of rain was now a fiery night of destruction. All fear of Jaki had faded under this new threat, and Matthew could see that she did not seem happy with being ignored. She waved her hands with a furious look on her face, and the black smoke rushed back towards her. It swirled around her like a dark tornado for several seconds, but suddenly it faded away, Jaki nowhere in sight. Matthew wondered if anyone else had seen this, and his answer came in a shout.

"Contain Charlotte and Spiritomb before they can flee!" Cyrus roared.

"By hell you will!" Cynthia yelled, and she clashed forwards with her knives. Cyrus leapt backwards quickly, and his hands blurred towards his jacket and tossed two PokeBalls into the sky. Honchkrow and Houndoom quickly formed, the latter, landing on the ground with a growl.

"GAAAAR!" Garchomp roared and lunged forwards to attack. Matthew watched in horror as a battle erupted within the chaos: the grunts not helping with stopping the fires turned towards the group and opened fire, whilst their Pokemon leapt forwards to battle against Drifblim and Dragonite. Lucinda's front window shattered as more Pokemon were sent out, and Matthew gasped as Fantina kicked a nearby grunt in the stomach and disarmed him.

"I think we're going to have to fight…," Matthew mumbled nervously, wanting nothing more but to jump into the car and hide. However, he felt an uncomfortably cold feeling in his arms, and looked down as Misdreavus floated through. "Oh, alright then…" Matthew said again, watching as a Psybeam blasted a Geodude backwards. He stared at the battle beginning before him, and Vanessa's words floated through his head: was he truly a warrior if he couldn't even last in a battle for a few seconds?

"Here goes nothing," Matthew said reluctantly, and he went for his other PokeBalls, wanting to prove himself but wondering just how exactly to do so.

As the battle erupted and everyone from Team Galactic either started to fight the fires or their foes, not a single person noticed as Charlotte slowly faded away into nothing, nor as Spiritomb became consumed by the surrounding shadows. And no one noticed as Charles began to groan…

* * *

As Xavier, Bebe, Lucinda and Harrison stepped through between the sliding glass doors, the Solaceon Town that unfolded before them was completely different to how it had looked only an hour ago.

The rain had lightened, yet as the clock ticked closer to midnight, the sky simply seemed to get darker: only around a dozen streetlamps were providing any light, and it was only a dim orange glow that barely lit up the closest house. The street was a mess of muddy puddles and miniature ponds that seeped across every corner of the town, the earlier downpour enough to submerge the entire town.

Yet none of this was as shocking as the arrival of the army.

There was no sign of their approach until they actually hit the city, and they let everyone know they were there in a big way: the four had been sitting around peacefully but nervously when they were suddenly shaken by multiple bangs from outside. They quickly moved towards the source, and the army was waiting there for them.

Even in the dim light, Xavier could make out five army tanks parked in an orderly row only a few metres away. Around them were a number of open topped cars that were undoubtedly becoming saturated, and even more solider standing firm and tall around these machines. Xavier could not see clearly due to the grey rain, but he could sense that there were plenty of soldiers spreading out past the tanks, equalling around a hundred or more.

Despite the initial shock, Xavier found himself under whelmed by the army. Maybe it was the rain or the darkness, or that he had not entirely expected them, but they did not seem particularly impressive. Xavier had always had a certain view of armies from what he had read: hundreds of tanks rolling across wide, war torn battlefields, with thousands of men marching forwards with guns in their hands ready to fight the enemy. Yet the Council's Army, while straight backed and well organized, seemed barely enough to take on half of the challenges Xavier and the others had had to overcome, and Xavier could only ponder how effective they would be.

"Is this it?" He whispered to Bebe in a clearly disappointed tone, but the technician shushed him as a figure walked towards them. The orange glow from the roof above them cast the man's face into light only when he was right upon them: his face was tanned in a way that made his face look aged, though there was a lack of wrinkles and only his sideburns had gone grey, the rest of his hair appearing black beneath a dark green hat. Beady eyes glared out at the four, and Xavier could see the man's wide mouth twisting as if he longed to say something. His uniform was neat and tidy, dark green like the cap, with a number of medals upon the left breast that glittered slightly under the light.

"My name is General Malcolm Funkshin," the man yelled in an overly loud voice that made Xavier wince slightly. "Now who exactly may you be?"

"General, my name is Bebe," Bebe explained timidly, recoiling slightly from the foghorn-like voice. "This is Xavier Diamond, a Dex Holder and Cynthia's nephew, and Lucinda and Harrison from the Sinnoh Broadcasting Company. Cynthia had to go and attend to a problem with Team Ga –,"

"I am well aware when Miss Carter is," the General bellowed back. "She sent us a message and we have already fired a number of missiles towards their coordinates to help them deal with the threat at hand. I believe I did not ask you to tell me where she was, so why are you telling me this?" His eyes bulged out to twice their normal size, and Xavier began to find the man before him repulsive: the General's loud tones, rude attitude and seeming inconsideration of their thoughts was quite bothersome, and Xavier knew that he didn't want to have to work with him for the rest of the evening.

"I am sorry sir," Bebe replied sheepishly. "If you would to come in out of the rain, Cynthia left a possible attack plan back in our boardroom for you to have a look over." Malcolm scoffed at this, and he cast a glare across all four of them.

"What would Cynthia know of war?" He sneered. "I am the General here, not her, and I believe that _I _should be the one to decide on the battle strategies!"

"Well, you are welcome to come and edit them," Xavier replied, "as long as you stop being a… what's the right term to use here? I feel that most people would call you a dickhead at this point, but that seems a tad over the top."

"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME!" General Malcolm roared, and he stepped towards Xavier with his eyes sticking out even further. Xavier simply stared calmly back at him, feeling spit on his face but trying not to let it disturb him.

"I am merely saying that Bebe was only inviting you in to look at them, not demanding that you follow every single idea Cynthia has laid out for you, though I imagine if what she and my father said about you is true, than her ideas will probably be better than yours." A snigger rose up behind them, and Xavier glanced over as Lucinda and Harrison struggled to compose themselves, silent laughter spread across their faces, though he didn't understand why. General Malcolm raised a thick, hairy finger and pointed it directly in front of Xavier, and he opened his mouth wide to say something, but at that moment a roar suddenly sounded around them. They all turned to the skies as the roar sounded again, echoing all around them as if seeping through an invisible speaker system. The soldiers of the army looked fairly confused, reaching from their guns, and Xavier quickly pulled a Poke and Ultra Ball from his pockets.

"Is that thunder?" Harrison whispered nervously as Grotle and Lapras materialized before them, forcing the general to step backwards. The noise sounded for a third time, and Xavier could not shake a feeling that it was familiar.

_That is not thunder you fool, _Lapras scoffed, and Malcolm jumped at the sudden voice inside all their heads. _Any trainer should be able to recognize the cry of a Pokemon, even if it is not one they have heard previously. _Harrison looked put off by this, and Xavier would have commented on it if something else hadn't caught his eye. He turned around and stared through the grey haze caused by the rain and towards something creeping in from the distance: at first it looked like a snake crawling across the ground towards them, but Xavier quickly realized that the thing wasn't solid, moving and twisting as if the bounds of reality and gravity didn't apply. More curling black substances coiled in from the rain, and there were gasps from Bebe and Grotle as they noticed it as well.

"I believe this is smoke or some sort of fog, but this isn't anything I've seen before," Xavier said, and looked towards a nervous Bebe as she edged closer towards him for safety.

"I think we should all get inside and away from this," General Malcolm bellowed. "Whatever is going on here, I feel that proper planning is in order before we head towards the ruins and join Cynthia!" Xavier wanted to say that that was obvious, but Lapras gave him a look as if she had read his mind and he decided to ignore it for now. He smiled down at Grotle, who had a brave smile on that didn't match the fear in his eyes.

"We'll be fine, I believe," Xavier said.

"Grotle Grot," Grotle replied with a simple nod, and they walked towards the Pokemon Center. The doors buzzed slightly as Lucinda and Harrison approached first and they slowly began to slide open. It was only when they were moving when Xavier caught a smiling figure staring back out of him, but it was too late to point out: he turned to alert the others, but there was a loud zap, and suddenly black electricity was fired past him. Lucinda screamed as the sliding door shattered, though the glass froze before it was able to hit her. Harrison dragged her away, and the others followed suit as the orange light disappeared in a single, sparking explosion, orange glass cascading down towards them. General Malcolm began bellowing orders to his soldiers, yet Xavier turned towards the smiling person he'd seen, knowing that gunfire would do nothing to stop what he had suspected would be coming.

"Now now, I can't have all my prey trapped inside now, can I?" Jaki laughed. "Where would the fun be in that?" Her cackle sounded all around them, and Xavier moved closer to Grotle and Lapras, never letting his eyes leave Jaki. He had heard about Crystal taking over Sahara's body back at Mt Coronet in conjunction with an appearance by Palkia, so Xavier could only presume that Giratina and Jaki had done something to Sahara.

_We have to be careful, _Xavier thought. _She could be dangerous, and we don't need a reason for her to do anything to harm us. _

_I won't attack her, _Lapras replied, _but I can't say the same with the moron to my right. _Xavier's eyes briefly shot around as General Malcolm stepped past Lapras, holding his head high and a stern look across his face. Jaki smiled as he approached, grabbing the sides of her dress and bowing down into a curtsey.

"What can I do for you, fine gentleman?" She asked in a sickly sweet voice.

"I am General Malcolm Funkshin of the Council's Army, and I demand that you come with us to explain how you managed to destroy the roof of the Pokemon Center," the General bellowed. "We have serious business here tonight, and we don't need any hooligans like you getting in the way?"

"Hooligan?" Jaki asked, looking surprised. "In all my years, I don't think I have ever been called a hooligan… whore, bitch, slapper, tart, tramp, bastard, basically any rude name you could think of, but never hooligan… what exactly does this word mean?"

"If you refuse to come quietly, then we will have to restrain you!" General Malcolm bellowed, his face starting to go red and a nerve twitching in his neck. Jaki smiled at this, a smile that sent a chill down Xavier's spine he didn't expect, and he turned towards Lapras to see she had the same expression on her face.

"Just come and try me!" Jaki hissed. General Malcolm froze for a few seconds, taken aback by this response, but quickly recovered and turned towards his army, nodding. Bebe leapt aside as gunfire tore through the night, bullets flying across the open road towards Jaki. Xavier could only watch and wondered if the bullets would be enough to kill her, but he turned towards where she had been standing and saw the bullets were simply hitting thin air: she had disappeared.

"AAARRGGHH!" A strangled cry rose up from amongst the soldiers, and the neatly order rows moved asides to see what had happened. Jaki was now standing as between two soldiers, her hands clutching at their necks. Black smoke rose up from between her fingers, and the two young men squirmed and shouted in terror.

"Such pretty boys… your both too young to be fighting," Jaki purred, her eyes only on these two, not even noticing the guns aimed at her head. "It would be such a shame to kill you, especially when I haven't had a chance to see what more you have to offer me. Tell me, why are you fighting on the losing side, because you will always lose if you go up against me. Do you want to leave these dicks behind and come onto the winning team? No? Such a pity…" Jaki glanced up at Xavier, her eyes shining bright as he looked towards her, and Xavier had a feeling that the words were meant for him. But before he could properly deduct it, the two soldiers erupted into flames. Their screams cut through the night but only for a few seconds before they turned to ash. Jaki began to laugh as the other soldiers screamed in panic, and she spun around almost elegantly, shooting black flames from her hands. All the soldiers around her were hit, turning into ash, their guns landing on the earth. General Malcolm yelled orders, but no one could hear him over the fear and confusion.

"Waterfall," Xavier said simply, and Lapras nodded by his side. She smashed her front flippers onto the ground, and a moment later a torrent of water exploded beneath Jaki. She screamed as she became encased in the water, and the panic ceased as everyone turned towards the clear tower that rose higher and higher into the sky. It stopped after several metres and suddenly collapsed in upon itself, sinking back into the ground, Jaki nowhere to be seen.

"PSYCHIC BITCH!" A scream rang out, and Xavier turned around to where Jaki had been standing barely a minute before: steam rose from her as she dried herself off, and her hands were clenched in anger, a murderous gleam across her face. "HOW DARE YOU DEFY ME! THIS IS MY WORLD FOR THE TAKING, AND I SHALL DO AS I PLEASE! NO ONE WILL GET IN MY WAY OF ACHIEVING MY GOAL, NO ONE!"

"And what is your goal Jaki?" Xavier called out. "I am curious at to whether you have an actual purpose or just want to cause death and destruction." Jaki turned towards him, and a smile came back onto her face. Her hands relaxed, and she slowly stepped backwards. Overhead, the dark rain clouds began to swirl, and the smoke they had seen before began to rise up towards the clouds, engulfing every house, fence and street lamp in its path.

"Ah, my dear boy, death and destruction _is_ my purpose!" Jaki hissed. "I will destroy all of humanity as punishment for what they did to my lord. I will turn everything in my path to ash, and every Pokemon that betrayed their species will be slain. And nothing can stop me: not Dex Holders or Champions, no amount of soldiers or weaponry. Everything shall fall to our might, and that purpose begins tonight: before the sun has risen, Solaceon Town will be ruins, and everyone of you will be dead!" The roar sounded again, this time louder and tearing into them. Lucinda whimpered in Harrison's arms, and Grotle moved closer to Xavier for comfort.

"What is that?" Xavier asked, turning to the skies, and suddenly noticed that the rain had stopped, yet the clouds remained overhead, turning into one giant mass. Jaki laughed, and thunder boomed from above.

"You've met him Xavier, that day I sent you to see your dearest mummy," she hissed. "This is my lord, the one I serve, the one I have always served! This planet belongs to him, every soul should rightfully be with him. He has waited over two thousand years to get his revenge, and it is time for everyone to see his might! Giratina is not just my lord: he is life, he is death, and this world is HIS!" Jaki rose her hands again, and black lightning was fired from the clouds. Windows shattered, roofs exploded, cars were turned into fiery wrecks. General Malcolm shouted orders at his soldiers and Lucinda began yelling for what they were to do, but Xavier's only focus was on the clouds: a hole was appearing amongst the swirl, getting wider and wider with each second that passed. It was as if the cloud was being sucked inside, and Xavier knew that something was inside there, waiting to come out…

The roar sounded again, and then the face of death emerged from the clouds.

The ancient painting they had seen earlier was not far off the target, though nothing could prepare anyone for Giratina. He coiled out from the hole like a snake, though he was longer and wider than any Pokemon Xavier had ever seen. His body was mostly grey, though black and red stripes moved down his middle. As he emerged from the clouds, six thick feet seemed to grow, each one covered with gold claws that matched the gold that adorned his neck and masked his face. Though nothing was able to cover those eyes: they stared down at Xavier, and he could see his mother, his grandparents, hear screams of terror and explosions, a frozen chill engulfing his body. He forced himself to focus on Giratina's wings, which could be shadows if it wasn't for three red spikes on each of them, making them look more like torn cloth caught in a breeze.

But as a whole, Giratina was a monster. Xavier had no idea why he thought this, but as he felt his body freeze, and felt Grotle shiver next to him, he knew that this was an unnatural Pokemon, a creature that wasn't meant to be in their world but had somehow seeped in. Giratina let out a furious roar, and Xavier had to clutch his hears, his head shaking in pain. He heard Lapras' voice in the back of his mind, yet he couldn't hear her words over the roar.

"Enjoy your last hours," Jaki screeched across the night. "Death is upon you all." With a sudden screech and a laugh, Jaki exploded into black smoke, a ring of darkness spreading across them all. Giratina let out another roar, and suddenly blue fire was raining down from above. Xavier knew it was Outrage, and he could see it heading for the Pokemon Center, but there was nothing he could do to stop it. He only watched as the center instantly exploded, blue burning into his eyes, yet bits of wall and roof that rained upon them were deflected by Lapras' Psychic, an invisible barrier against the destruction.

"I WANT EVERY SOUL IN THIS PLACE TO FIND THAT GIRL AND KILL HER IN WHATEVER WAY DOES THE JOB!" General Malcolm roared into the night. "AND SHOOT THAT BEAST DOWN BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE IS DESTROYED! AND TELL CYNTHIA TO GET HER ARSE BACK HER BECAUSE WE'RE ENTERING INTO A FUCKING WAR!" Xavier turned and watched as missiles were fired into the sky, but Giratina simply swerved away, causing them to crash down into the heart of the town. A tower of fire rose up, and sirens began to sound all around them.

"We have to get the civilians out of here before they are all killed!" Bebe shouted to the four once the debris had stopped falling. "Leave the army to deal with them: safety is more important right now!" Xavier, Grotle and Lapras nodded, and Lucinda and Harrison exchanged reluctant looks before nodding as well. Bebe got her tablet out and began discussing a plan, but Xavier ignored her and turned back to the remains of the Pokemon Center. It had completely collapsed, gone from a healing place to a pile of rubble, blue flames dancing across the surface. Xavier thought of Vanessa who was still inside, and of the bag he had left behind, and turned to the sky wondering how they could stop something like Giratina that had just destroyed a building in a single second.

Xavier thought his hardest, but he could not think of a single logical way for them to win.

* * *

_Friday 13th June 6AD_

_Thunder boomed overhead. Lightning flashed barely metres away. Storm clouds as black as night rumbled in the skies, and Charlotte tensed in fear. She was never afraid, no matter what happened to her, yet there was something about this storm that managed to worry her: the last time she had seen lightning like this and heard thunder as loud, Charlotte had died, and her murderer had every right at the moment to be furious with her. _

"_Brood all you want to Arceus," Charlotte mumbled under her breathe, "it won't change my mind." She turned back towards the pile of mismatched rocks that stood before her. Nothing seemed particularly interesting about it, simply rising up to around Charlotte's chest if she placed her feet near the ground. Only when you looked closely would you see a space at the top of the tower, clearly as if someone had removed one of the rocks. _

_Charlotte waved her hand, and a rock the same shape of the gap rose up towards her. It was a simple rock in itself, though there was a sharp crack through it, and someone finding it may expect it to come across easily. No one would expect the rock to be a magical object, nor would they think for a moment the soul of a young girl was trapped inside. _

"_I am sorry for this Drusilla," Charlotte said, a ghost of a tear crossing her cheek as she stared at the damaged rock. She had not wanted to do this, but it had been the only option she could come up with. Giratina would be furious if Drusilla had died, and Charlotte hoped he would be pleased with her at least being trapped. She had worked hard on coming up with a fool proof way that would ensure Drusilla would stay protected and away from any prying eyes, and after months of planning and researching, Charlotte had decided that the tower would be the best solution: if she ever needed or wanted to let Drusilla out, than the rock only had to be placed inside the tower to let her back onto the world._

_However, Charlotte knew leaving the rock lying around would be too easy for something bad to happen to her friend. She tore her eyes away from the rock and the tower and stared at the ground below her, waving her hands in a circular motion. The ground quivered slightly, and suddenly a tiny hole appeared. It quickly grew, sucking the bare ground inside like water through a crack. Once the hole had reached the right size, Charlotte reached out and brushed the rock with one of her fingers. It stopped floating and instantly sank down into the hole, which quickly covered itself over once Drusilla's tomb had entered. _

_Charlotte stared at the ground feeling more emotional than she had felt in years, knowing that she had torn her friend apart and was using her for her own devices. She wanted time to herself to grieve and think of a way out of this, but a bolt of lightning struck the ground less than a metre away. Charlotte was able to feel the heat and shut her eyes against the bright flash. _

"_I hope to see you again some day Drusilla, once I know what's going on," she whispered, and then glanced up at the rumbling sky. The world around her began to distort and swirl around, and Charlotte rose rapidly up towards the clouds, leaving her sadness behind as she went to answer for actions._

* * *

Giratina was not one for feelings of happiness, but the night was going so perfectly that he couldn't help but smile.

The Renegade Pokemon stared down at Solaceon Town as clouds of grey smoke rose up, coinciding with the dull haze of rain that did little to stop the raging fires. Rows of houses lay as smouldering ruins, and many more were beginning to burn, their flames either yellow and red from failed missiles to a black as dark as the surrounding night that consumed everything in its path. Sirens were audible even from high in the sky, and Giratina watched as fire engines began to battle the blazes, while the army only created more.

"Foolish humans," Giratina laughed, his voice high and cold, sounding like he was being strangled, yet there were several different tones to his words as if they were automatically echoing: an unnatural voice for an unnatural creature. "They think they can stop me! They have no idea how long I have been planning my attack, how long I have waited in the shadows ready to strike. Everyone that stand in my way will perish, and these imbeciles are only asking for my fury!" A high pitched laugh rose up to Giratina's ears, and a slight smile crossed his face.

"Ah, Jaki… I knew you would pull through for me…" he said aloud, shutting his eyes and beginning to slowly drift off course. "When the world has fallen, you will be paid for everything you have done. Charlotte shall be my queen, but you… you will have whatever prize it is that you desire." Giratina glanced down as the sound of explosions rose up to him, and he knew Jaki would hear him, and he knew what she truly desired, and he knew exactly how to give it to her. But first, the world must fall, and Giratina let out a roar that cut through the air, and his wings stretched out, ready to swoop down and tear the town apart.

But before Giratina could move, something washed him over him, a pain that he had not experienced in a long time. A second roar escaped from his mouth, and Giratina found himself forced downwards by what he could only presume was a Pokemon attack.

"Who dare defies my rule?" Giratina screeched, and turned around to face the skies. The anger that burned on his face softened into a thin smile, though his eyes were still roaring with black fire as he stared towards Spiritomb. She floated several metres above him, her thin shadow of a body fluttering in the breeze, the cracked rock that had been her home swinging uselessly beneath her. Her crooked mouth was in a smile, completely happy with who she had come across.

"I thought you and Charlotte had made the other unconscious," Giratina snarled.

"I've spent the last two thousand years pretending to be a rock, I can fake sleep whenever I feel like it," Spiritomb replied icily. Her wide eyes glanced down at the city, and Giratina silently began to plan his next attack while she looked away. "So, your planning on destroying the town? Interesting plan of attack. Do you really think anyone will care if this little town in the middle of nowhere becomes ruins? Solaceon provides nothing for the rest of Sinnoh, only a cave for tourists and dumping ground for Pokemon that trainers are too lazy to teach themselves. If you want to make an impression, there are hundreds of other places that could be destroyed and the world would bow down before you, but you have never struck me as a great thinker." Giratina roared in the back of his throat, and wanted nothing more but to destroy her.

"We have been destined to fight for quite some time, though I did not expect it to happen tonight," the Dragon hissed. "What reason do you have for striking me anyway? I have done nothing to wrong you?" Spiritomb let out a laugh that was cruel and mocking, her eyes staying on Giratina, judging the serpentine legendary.

"You had Charlotte destroy me simply because you were afraid of what I might do to you," she snapped though kept her smile. "I think that is grounds enough to get revenge, wouldn't you? You should know by now Giratina that those who try their best to avoid a destiny they do not want usually end up bringing it upon themselves." She winked at this, and Giratina roared furiously at her, blue flames shooting from his mouth. Spiritomb dived down to avoid them, and a wave of dark energy was unleashed from her body. Giratina swirled around to avoid it, though the Dark Pulse struck his tail and forced him back towards the clouds.

"HOW DARE YOU?" Giratina screeched. "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO ATTACK ME LIKE THIS! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW LONG I HAVE BEEN PLANNING THIS ATTACK, AND I WON'T ALLOW YOU TO GET IN MY WAY!"

"I have been resurrected, risen from the dead after being trapped in that rock for longer than I can remember, and I refuse to die now!" Spiritomb yelled back, her smile being replaced with a furious scowl. "If you think you can destroy the world only a week after I escaped, than you have another thing coming for you! I have my own revenge to achieve: I planned on defeating you last, but if you will get in the way of my own plan, then I think you will find in the next few minutes that I was the wrong person to mess me."

"Person?" Giratina smirked. "You are no human. You are barely a shadow of your former self, a broken fragment, a mind cast in darkness. Do you even know what happened to your body after Charlotte tore you apart?" Spiritomb let out a cry that was louder, higher and sharper than anything Giratina could ever muster, and he untimely winced in pain. A ball of black and purple energy formed in Spiritomb's mouth, and she unleashed the Shadow Ball with all her fury. Giratina saw it coming and dived down, the attack flying uselessly above his head, and blue flames rose in his mouth. But as he fired the Outrage, Spiritomb countered by firing a Hyper Beam: the pure white energy collided with the flames, and an explosion similar to fireworks lit up the darkening sky.

"Some legend you are," Spiritomb hissed. "Can't even defeat a broken fragment that's been trapped in a rock for a few hundred years!" Giratina roared back, and he flew forwards, his body becoming lighter and falling apart. The Ghost-Dragon collapsed into shadow, and his body engulfed Spiritomb, smothering her with darkness. Spiritomb let out a cry as Giratina began to crush her, and the Renegade Pokemon thought the fight was already over when there was a sudden bang, and he screamed in pain as a force sent him spiralling away, his Pokemon reforming as he flew. Spiritomb was looking around in shock, and their eyes turned towards the clouds to the source of the attack.

"Stop this!" Charlotte wailed as she floated above them both, her body turned steely grey by the clouds. She looked distraught, her usual obnoxious, selfish nature gone. Charlotte stared at them both with wide eyes, and she seemed unable to even keep herself steady as the wind began to blow against her body.

"Keep out of this Charlotte!" Giratina hissed, though he felt pity for her as he spoke: Charlotte was his true love, and he would do anything to protect her until the time when she was free to be with him. But now was not the time for her to get involved in something she barely understood.

"Yes Charlotte, listen to him, just like you always did!" Spiritomb hissed. "Tell me, if the world gets destroyed and Giratina takes over, what happens to your arrangement with Arceus? Are you going to side with him so you can escape your punishment?"

"I am not taking sides!" Charlotte cried, her voice filled with sadness. "I can never choose between my best friend and my lover: I couldn't two thousand years ago and I can't now! You both need to stop fighting each other, or I will stop you myself! I never wanted this to happen, this is why I went to such great lengths to prevent you from properly dying Drusilla!" Spiritomb seemed taken aback at being addressed like this, and for a moment she seemed to share Charlotte's saddened, pleading look. However, the surprise quickly left her face, and a beam of white energy rose around her mouth.

"If you loved me so much, then why did you DESTROY ME!" Spiritomb roared. "You may complain about being Arceus' bitch all these years, but at least you have never been trapped inside a rock for hundreds of years! You always were a pretentious, stuck-up child Charlotte, and it's about time you got what you truly deserve!"

"No one shall harm her!" Giratina screeched, blue flames appeared in his mouth again. Spiritomb smirked as she turned towards him, the Hyper Beam growing with each second that passed.

"Well then, I guess I'll have to indirectly hurt her then," she hissed. Giratina roared again, and he flew forwards, his body turning to shadow once more, but the flames of his Outrage circled around her, turning him into a torpedo of darkness.

"STOP THIS, DON'T!" Charlotte screamed, and she dived down between the two, just as Spiritomb unleashed her Hyper Beam. She began to glow white, her hands outstretched as if she was going to hold onto both of their attacks, and her body began to shake violently. Giratina could not properly see Charlotte flying in front of him, and by the time he had realised it was too late to stop. He collided with her, and there was a sharp, piercing scream that echoed through the night, a horrific sound that only doubled when the Hyper Beam struck. There was an explosion of light, and Giratina roared as he blasted backwards, his body seeming to spread out as if he had been torn in half.

By the time he had recovered and reformed, Giratina saw it was too late to save Charlotte. She was floating between him and Spiritomb, yet she looked weak, and her body had changed: black swirled throughout her transparent body, filling her almost like blood. It looked unnatural, and Charlotte looked pained, though this didn't mask the sadness in her eyes. She stared at Giratina for a moment, her eyes seeming to plead with her for forgiveness, but giving the same look to Spiritomb. Then, as if she had simply fallen asleep, Charlotte fell to the earth.

"NOOOOO!" Giratina screamed, but there was nothing he could do: Charlotte was descended faster than he could fly, her body disintegrating on the way down. He could only watch as she fell, and eventually she was consumed by the thick layer of smoke and black fog that was covering the entire town.

A tense silence fell between the two. No noise seemed to reach them, not even the sounds of explosions and sirens from beneath them. Giratina simply stared at Spiritomb with all of the hate he could muster: the air seemed to become thicker around them, and Spiritomb's eyes couldn't help but glance around.

"This is your fault!" Giratina hissed. Spiritomb merely smiled back at him.

"I thought killing two birds with one stone would be more effective," she said with a smile. "Destroy one of you and it would destroy the other. Am I right? Has it worked?" Giratina roared in response, mustering the loudest and most painful one yet. Spiritomb flinched, unable to control herself from the pain, and it was at this moment that Giratina striked, unleashing a furious Ominous Wind that tore through the night.

He would destroy the world soon enough, but first Giratina had to destroy the only creature that truly stood a chance of defeating that vision.

* * *

The battle in Solaceon Town was easily heard from the ruins, the explosions, sirens and screams echoing as if they were right next to them, and they could see the fire and smoke, the collapsing buildings, and nothing could disguise Giratina and Spiritomb as they warred high above them all.

Yet those at the ruins had their own worries.

The battle between the two sides raged on, as the fires from the missiles burned around them all. Team Galactic was divided, trying to stop the blaze that threatened to destroy _Charm _whilst trying to load it up with their supplies, while at the same time trying to break through the barrier created by Cynthia, Palmer, Fantina and Matthew. Bleeding bodies covered the ground from where Cynthia had cut them to shreds, and the roars and shouts of duelling Pokemon filled the air. In a normal situation, Cyrus would have called for order and a proper plan, but he had failed to escape from Cynthia, and they were now locked in a personal battle of knives and fists while their Pokemon fought viciously alongside. The admins had joined the battle to push the others away, leaving Minerva on her on to salvage the team from flames as Charon lay unconscious amongst the dead. No one bothered with the Unown as they flew above them all, acting more like floating decorations, and no one noticed as the black smoke that had seeped from the cave before crawled back out again.

While Fantina fought off Jupiter with surprising ferocity, and Palmer had his team tear through every Pokemon and Grunt that came his way as he eyed the bigger prize of Saturn, Matthew was left to battle with Mars, and he was less then impressed.

Prinplup and Misdreavus were facing off directly with Purugly and Tentacruel, while Beautifly and Cherubi protected them from attacks coming in from all sides. Purugly and Tentacruel were fighting viciously, the Tiger Claw Pokemon using her claws to ensnare Prinplup every time she got close, and the Jellyfish Pokemon continuously knocking Misdreavus down from the sky, and bowling over anyone else that got close whether friend or foe. Matthew was horrified, but was trying to keep a level head: glass from Lucinda's car had cut his right arm and lower back, and flying rubble had caused a gash on his head and Matthew was barely able to stay conscious. In a normal situation, he'd be fine, but trying to give four different orders while legendary bringers of death roared overhead and fire burnt around him was more than he could handle.

"Metal Claw, Shock Wave!" Matthew commanded half heartedly, hoping his Pokemon had more resistance then he did. Prinplup charged into battle, her claws glowing silver and she drove them directly into Purugly's face, while Misdreavus flew high overhead and fired the yellow bolt so that it hit Tentacruel's jewel. The command seemed successful, and Matthew managed a smile for a moment before Mars began to cackle.

"Nice sparkly move there," she hissed with laughter, her whip clutched in her hands and seeming to shake with every sound she made. "However, if you want to win a battle, you are going to have to do more than just fly away and shoot sparks at me!" Mars gripped her whip firmer and smashed it against the ground. As soon as they heard the crack, Purugly and Tentacruel responded with a simultaneous growl: Purugly pushed Prinplup backwards and then leapt forwards, landing on the Penguin Pokemon with her claws sinking into her flesh, and in the same moment Tentacruel sent several tentacles speeding up towards Misdreavus. The thick grey tentacles knocked her out of the sky, and Misdreavus squealed as she became entangled, unable to escape.

"NO!" Matthew cried, only able to watch the two writhe in pain before him.

"You truly are weak, aren't you?" Mars laughed, gleefully snapping her whip against Prinplup's outstretched flippers. "Do you seriously think you could defeat me with a bunch of Pokemon that are able good as soft toys and decorations? If you don't die tonight Pearl, take a little tip from me: go out and get some Pokemon that actually know how to fight rather than just being able to sparkle whenever you ask them to." Matthew looked down at his Pokemon, shaking with fury and shock as they struggled before him, knowing there was nothing he could do. Vanessa's words came back to him, and he wondered why he had even come here if only to put his Pokemon in the line of fire.

"CHERUUUUU!" A cry sounded out behind Matthew, and before either he or Mars could react, green seeds were flying across the open field, hitting Purugly and Tentacruel squarely in the eyes. Purugly hissed, then wailed as Prinplup sent her rolling backwards with a well aimed Metal Claw. Misdreavus fell to the ground with a grunt as Tentacruel slithered backwards, but barely got a metre before his tentacles became entangled, white string suddenly appearing around them and tripping him over.

"Beauti Fly Fly Beau!" Beautifly called as she flew over, Cherubi riding on her back. A second String Shot was fired, hitting Prinplup and being used to pull her out of the battle. The Penguin Pokemon looked weary, and Matthew was shocked to see she was bleeding.

"I am sorry Prinplup," Matthew said, pulling her into a hug. Misdreavus floated over, not as battered from her fight, but Matthew still pulled her in. "You two fought valiantly, and thank you for saving them," Matthew added, smiling up at Beautifly and Cherubi. The two smiled back, not showing the same weariness of their team mates. Matthew looked back over at Mars, who was holding her whip furiously as Purugly pulled the String Shot away from Tentacruel. Fire roared behind her, blending it with rich red hair so it looked as if her entire body was ablaze, her Pokemon burning alongside her. Matthew didn't want to keep fighting anymore, willing to forfeit and go back to the Pokemon Center and tell Vanessa she was right. But it didn't seem like that likely.

"See, that is how a battle like this should play out," Mars purred. "Underhanded, dirty little tricks like that are exactly what I'm looking for in a foe, good job. However, if you really want to win, you have to be prepared to go all out. You have to be ready to watch your opponents bleed before you, and have to be willing to tear them all to shreds and leave them dead in your path, and I am sorry Matthew, but I don't think you have the guts for that." A scream tore across the night, and all eyes turned as Fantina and Jupiter engaged in a violent hand-on-hand fight, Jupiter's axe lying uselessly at her side, while Gengar and Drifblim fought off Skuntank.

"Doesn't that look like fun?" Mars giggled. "_That_ is the style of fighting we should be at, but I am happy to keep at our little Pokemon battle for now. However, you seem to have four Pokemon on your side… that seems a little unfair, doesn't it?" Mars cracked her whip and cackled again, and Matthew and his Pokemon looked around nervously: Galactic Grunt Pokemon were slowly making their way towards them, teeth and fists barred angrily at them. Houndour, Geodude, Zubat, Murkrow, Skorupi, Stunky and Croagunk were among those that approached, looking at them with murderous, vicious glares. Matthew's heart sunk quickly, and it seemed to fall into his stomach as an angry roar sounded nearby. He turned half heartedly as Mars' Drapion marched towards them, leaving his battle with Palmer's Rhyperior and advancing with long arms flailing madly.

"Get them, destroy them all, but leave the boy for me!" Mars shouted, and cackled as the Pokemon began to advance forwards, emitting growls and hissing at Matthew and his team as they stood weakly in the middle. Matthew desperately looked around, hoping to signal for Cynthia or Fantina to help him, but they were focussed on their own fights, leaving him trapped and alone.

"Prinplup… Plup Plup Prin!" Prinplup said, her voice rougher than normal, but Matthew gasped as she stood up straight and swivelled around, facing the Pokemon coming towards them. One claw suddenly began to glow silver, and the other burst into a dazzling lilac light. Prinplup stared at her fellow teammates, and Matthew was stunned as they nodded and split up, surrounding him like points on a compass, each of them facing a different side coming their way. Matthew couldn't believe his eyes: he was ready to give up and go home, yet here was his team ready and waiting to fight for him despite their injuries, and his heart moved back to its rightful position as it swelled with pride.

"Aerial Ace, Psybeam, Hidden Power and Grass Knot!" Matthew yelled, and he turned towards Mars, smiling widely at her. The Galactic admin growled as an onslaught of attacks exploded between them, Matthew's team going at their opponents with everything they had. "Your move," Matthew called, and smiled to himself as he turned to assess the battle. If his Pokemon were willing to keep fighting, then so was Matthew, even if they had to keep at it all night until their job was done.

Matthew just only hoped they could last that long.

***

Charles felt useless as he watched the drama unfold around him.

He sat uncomfortably on a pile of stones, the dead and the dying surrounding him, trying to ignore wails as bullet wounds, fire and Pokemon attacks consumed the lives of his fellow Grunts. Charles could only watch as Palmer got closer into the heart of their side, his Dragonite and Rhyperior slaughtering every Grunt and Pokemon that got in their way, and his eyes were still drawn back towards the flames dancing around them, getting closer and closer towards causing major damage. Unown were spread out around them, flying around uselessly and buzzing irritably, and as Charles remembered the advice he had received about them, he couldn't help but feel useless around.

When he had awoken quarter of an hour earlier, Minerva had refused his request to join the fight or help clear up, telling him to simply recover. Charles was bleeding from several areas, his body was decorated with bruises and it was merely luck that his uniform was staying on, but he wanted to do more than simply sit around. He wanted to help put out the blaze, and he knew that any member of his team could defeat Palmer and stop him from destroying their camp.

But mostly, Charles wanted to go after Sahara.

Charles still struggled to understand Sahara's alternate personalities, but she knew that Jaki had taken over her body and seemed to be causing mayhem. He only had to look to the sky to watch Giratina and Spiritomb attempt to kill each other, the odd blue fireball exploding into the mountainside from time to time. Charles knew that he couldn't simply be sitting here while Sahara's body was used to cause all of this destruction, and he knew that he had to do something about it. He still wasn't sure what had happened back in the ruins, but Sahara's face kept swirling before him: a happier, smiling face, fill of joy and laughter, not the sadistic glare he had seen before blacking out again. Charles knew he had seen Sahara before this had happened, and he knew he must see her again to stop the destruction.

"You know, I am half tempted to shoot myself just so I can hide amongst these bloody corpses!" Charles looked up and wasn't surprised to see Addison standing next to him, her uniform splattered with blood and her usually well kept hair matted and singed.

"Trust me, you don't want to be in my position," Charles mumbled back. He glanced around and saw that her Ledian and Victreebel were fighting against Palmer's Milotic, while her Persian and Hitmonchan helped with the forest fire. "Where has Brody disappeared to?"

"He's either dead or caught up in the fight, I don't care either way," Addison replied casually. Charles merely nodded in response, staring out to the battle and longing to swap places. "What's the matter with you?" Addison said in a curious tone. "You tell me off a lot whenever I am mean to him, even though I have every right to dislike him. Are your war wounds bringing you down?" Charles wanted to tell her to leave him alone, but a sudden thought dawned upon him: there was no way Minerva would let him go, she always seemed too fond of him. Yet she was busy telling her Ludicolo what to do as the fire brought a tree down. She wouldn't notice if he slipped away, but Charles would need help to do so, and who else would help him but the person who seemed to hate being a member of Team Galactic?

"Addison, I need to get to a car right now!" Charles cried, pushing himself to his feet, wobbling furiously but trying to ignore it. "I don't have time to explain why, but I will if you actually care, but later… can you just help me find one?" Charles thought she might protest, so was shocked when she shrugged and pulled a set of keys out from her pocket.

"Why the hell not!" Addison said, reverting back to her casual demeanour. "I have nothing better to do: there are too many people putting out the fire, and I am not going to dive in front of the Tower Tycoon and try and hold him back. Besides, the risk of being caught is always a bigger thrill!" Addison laughed at this, and even Charles managed a smile. She hooked her left arm around his waist and began to drag him away, glancing around to make sure no one was looking, though with the two battles to fight, everyone else seemed distracted.

The Wranglers had been removed just before the fighting began, and as the threat of fire worried everyone, the more important equipment had been taken away first. As Addison explained whilst she pulled Charles towards several of the cars, she and other Grunts had been given the keys and told to move the Wranglers were the time appeared, but they had been too busy to move them yet. This left seven cars simply sitting next to _Charm_ doing nothing, though they were out of the way of the fire for now.

"This one," Addison said, the headlights of one in the middle flashing as she pressed the button to unlock. Charles' legs and back were aching after only standing for a minute, and he felt relief as Addison opened a door and pushed him inside. He was about to thank her when he realized it was the passenger seat.

"I didn't say you had to come," Charles said as Addison slipped into the driver's seat. Addison simply turned to him and gave him a sadistic little smile.

"I know, but I have the keys, so that generally makes me the driver. Besides, you look like your about to throw up, and I really don't you can drive with vomit covering the windscreen." Charles was in no mood to argue, and merely buckled up as Addison started the engine. The vibration sent shockwaves through his body, and Charles put his hands to his head, trying to steady his already unstable mind. He shut his eyes, and simply felt as the car reversed and turned around, and then shot forwards, his body pressing back against the seat.

"Fast enough?" Charles asked, and Addison cackled.

"Not really, but it'll do," she replied as they drove over a bump. Charles bounced on his seat, and he flinched as the pains across his body rose up again. It wasn't the best, but Charles needed to get to Solaceon Town before anything worse happened. He didn't think he could live with himself if something bad happened to Sahara and he wasn't able to do anything to stop it. Charles settled back into the chair, keeping his eyes shut and allowing his mind to wander back to what seemed like years ago back in Sandgem Town…

With his eyes shut, Charles didn't notice as the Hyper Beam was fired across the sky and headed towards the hills above them. Addison didn't notice either until the flash shone across the windscreen, and she yelled and stamped on the brakes. Charles' eyes burst open as he was flung forwards, his head nearly smacking into the dashboard. He looked up in time to see earth and rocks falling down towards them, and could only watch as they slammed against the side of the Wrangler, pushing it towards the edge.

Charles heard a roar in the distance, and could only think of what would happen to Sahara now as the landslide pushed them over the edge of the hill and his world turned upside down.

* * *

Despite the efforts of everyone in town, nothing seemed to stop Solaceon from burning.

Half the houses already had been destroyed, entire streets consumed by fire either red or black. Rubble and craters littered the streets, some even preventing people from being able to flee to safety. The rain clouds remained overhead, obscuring the clouds and making the fire the only light. Everything appeared red and grey as if hell had come to their town, though none of the people in Solaceon were fully aware of how true this was.

And Jaki loved every minute of it.

There wasn't a second where she wasn't laughing. Jaki simply strutted through the streets, watching as everyone fled from her as she approached. With a simple click of her fingers, fire or lightning would be unleashed upon them, either destroying possessions or turning someone to ash on the spot. The public tried to fight back with their Pokemon, but Jaki would stay and fight them until they died, and would only laugh harder. She faced every confrontation with glee and pleasure, feeding off their suffering, though she fled whenever the army or Sahara's so-called friends got close. Jaki was enjoying her time, and trying to fend off them would only take away from her enjoyment.

As Spiritomb fired a Hyper Beam overhead that slammed into the Solaceon Ruins, Jaki reformed for the fifth time. Giratina had unleashed her powers to their near entirety, and now Jaki could simply dissolve into the shadows and travel in seclusion, away from the prying eyes of those intent on stopping her. And her new location seemed far away from anyone else: it was a quiet corner of the town, surrounded by trees that turned it into a dead end. Jaki looked around and could see there were no signs of any war, though no one seemed to be stirring behind the windows of the nearby houses. For the first time in nearly an hour, Jaki was alone.

"This feels strange," Jaki murmured to herself, glancing around in the trees, wondering if any Pokemon were hiding. "I do not think I have ever gone this long without slaughtering someone… yes, this is strange." She waved her hands, causing every window in the house closest to shatter, yet the mindless destruction didn't seem as fun when no one was there to watch and scream in horror. Jaki looked around grimly and realised that being alone was not as fun as it seemed: she spent enough time crammed away in Sahara's mind that she didn't need loneliness now.

Jaki had hoped that she and Giratina would be working together on consuming the world in darkness, but she had not spoken to him since this battle had begun. Jaki stared angrily up at the skies, watching as Giratina and Spiritomb continued their own private battle. Jaki was stunned that Giratina wasn't able to defeat Spiritomb by himself, and part of her questioned the Dragon she was meant to be following. But Spiritomb was a vicious and cunning battler from what Jaki knew of her, and it was no surprise that a Pokemon with no weaknesses would be able to evade capture. But Jaki needed company and she needed help, and Spiritomb was getting in the way of that.

"Now, I cannot fly yet," Jaki pondered to herself, trying to block out the screams and sirens as she thought of what to do, "and my attacks won't be able to reach her. But if I could someone to attack for me…" and then it clicked. Jaki beamed a devious smile, and she reached into a pocket. Sahara had left her bag back at the Pokemon Center but had brought her PokeBalls with her, and when she had altered Sahara's clothing, the four PokeBalls had passed over. Jaki smiled as she pulled the four out, knowing that they were technically hers to command, and knew that they could help her defeat Spiritomb.

"Come out Pokemon, it is time you obey me!" Jaki yelled, and she threw the four onto the ground. With a variety of flashes and bursts of light, Nutty, Aqua, Smash and Hammer formed before her. The Pokemon all looked around in confusion, and when their eyes settled on Jaki they gasped: the black clothing that seemed almost like shadows did not belong to Sahara, and the pale, black veined skin only confirmed their fears.

"Pachi Pachi Ri Ri Risu Pachi!" Nutty wailed, staring up at Jaki with a shaking body. Aqua and Smash, however, tensed up, both of them baring their teeth and readying to attack. Jaki merely laughed and waved her hand around as if slapping them: Smash was sent flying with a roar towards Aqua, knocking him flying towards the trees.

"Don't for a second think you can destroy me," Jaki cackled sadistically. "If you refuse to obey me or try to hurt me, I will destroy you before you can even repeat your name!" To emphasize her point, Jaki clicked her fingers: balls of fire appeared in both hands, and she smiled as she threw them towards the two closest houses. They exploded with a ghostly scream, sending Nutty scampering behind Smash for protection, and rubble flew high into the air. Jaki clapped her hands in delight, pleased to have an audience once more, and beamed at Sahara's Pokemon. Aqua rejoined Nutty and Smash, all three of them exchanging looks, and reluctantly they moved into an ordered line.

"Excellent!" Jaki hissed, deflecting a charred piece of wood with a simple wave of her hands. "I am going to need you lot to defeat a Pokemon for me, and then I _might_ let you spend the rest of the night in your PokeBalls, agreed?" The three Pokemon nodded, and Jaki clapped her hands again. "Perfect, now, you need to hit… wait, what are you doing over there?" She froze mid sentence, staring downwards. Hammer was simply sitting by himself once again, legs crossed, fingers pressed together, eyes shut as if nothing was happening around him. Jaki was furious, and she flexed her hands before firing a single bolt of black electricity. Hammer opened his eyes just in time and raised a hand: the bolt stopped right in front of him for several seconds, enough time for the other Pokemon to see what was happening, before it was deflected towards the flaming rubble nearby. Jaki was stunned, and a for a moment she let it show on her face: this had never happened before, no one had ever managed to stop one of her attacks.

"You're a little smart ass, aren't you?" Jaki hissed, reforming her face so the surprise didn't show. "What makes you think you can simply defy me and get away with it?" The Meditite said nothing, simply staring up at her with a blank expression. Jaki could see the other three exchanging looks out of the corner of her eye, and she knew that everything could be ruined if she lost the Pokemon.

"If you aren't going to obey me, then I am going to have to do something about it!" Jaki hissed, and she raised her hands, huge balls of fire rising up. Hammer continued to simply sit there, only infuriating Jaki more, and she prepared to unleash them. Suddenly, a rumbling noise rose up from behind, and Jaki turned around to see a green tank rolling into their street, surrounded by soldiers.

"PUT DOWN ANY WEAPONS YOU HAVE AND RAISE YOUR HANDS!" A voice bellowed from a loudspeaker. Jaki looked at the two dozen guns pointed in her direction, and at the main gun of the tank pointed directly at her. Destroying the houses must have attracted their attention, and Jaki cursed her foolishness, but then she realized how the situation could play in her favour.

"Sorry boys, but I don't have any weapons on me," Jaki called out, "but I'd happily raise my hands for you." Her arms stretched up above her head, the balls of fire still burning, and she began to laugh as she pushed them together. The soldiers all cried out, but Jaki didn't hear over the roar of fire rising from her hands, and she watched gleefully as the black jet soared towards the tank. The tank exploded into a glorious tower of black flame, the shockwave sending the soldiers flying and washing across Jaki and the Pokemon. Nutty squealed in pain, and Jaki savoured in their pain, letting it wash over her. She watched as the fire and smoke began to clear, leaving only twisted metal smouldering within a crater.

"This is what happens if you defy me!" Jaki yelled, pointing at the wreckage as she turned back to the Pokemon. "If any of you consider trying to stop me again, I will take great pleasure in turning you to ash! That wasn't even my full potential! Anyone that crosses me will fall, and you will end up just like those men!" Screams of pain rose up as if on cue, and Jaki paused for a moment to enjoy the sound. She turned back towards Hammer, expecting the Meditite to be moving towards the others, ready to accept her message. Jaki smiled as she watched Hammer stand up, and instantly began planning her next move now that everyone was onboard. But all thoughts stopped as he began to glow white.

"What is this, what is happening?" Jaki hissed. The Meditite began to grow rapidly, suddenly growing in height and width especially around his legs. Something rose out from his head, and his arms got longer. Jaki stepped backwards, not quite sure what to make of this, and only watched as Hammer evolved right before their eyes. All blue from his body disappeared, being replaced with a tall grey midriff, long arms and face, and a pink red that formed a strange headpiece and swollen legs that appeared as if he was wearing pants. The Medicham was now human height, and stared directly at Jaki with wide, almost blank eyes, his hands still in a meditation position and raised to his head.

Jaki stared back in stunned silence. She had not witnessed an evolution for many years, and was taken aback by the inopportune time that this one had arisen. This only threw her attempts to gain back their control further off course, and Jaki knew she had to act while Sahara's Pokemon were still stunned by the evolution.

"Changing your form and rising in strength still will not defeat me!" She yelled, and fire once again appeared in her hands. "I can defeat you even if you turned into the strongest Pokemon alive!" Jaki stared back at Hammer, daring him to defy her, but was shocked when a hint of a smile crossed his face, the first emotion she had seen on it. And then, before Jaki could react, Hammer swung his right leg around and rammed it into her stomach. She flew backwards, pain spreading through her body like she had never experienced, and it doubled as she crashed through a wall of a nearby house. Jaki hadn't even landed when the house started collapsing, and even her abilities could not stop her from becoming consumed.

* * *

"Uggghhhh… stuff me…"

With a groan, Vanessa forced herself through the rubble that had nearly buried her alive. She rubbed her head as she emerged into the open night air, a large bruise above her right eye. Vanessa couldn't remember how she had been knocked out: all she could remember was a blue flash and a wave of heat, and her bed flying up towards her. It seemed that that had saved her, the Pokemon Center collapsing onto that well she lay beneath it. Vanessa had been forced to use her umbrella to blast a path out, and now she sat on a piece of orange roof, staring out towards Solaceon Town.

"Am I still drunk?" Vanessa mumbled to herself. Everywhere she looked she could see fire, towers of heat consuming street by street. Everywhere she looked she could see people running, fleeing from the fire yet with no idea of where they were actually running too, the entire town seeming destroyed. Vanessa was stunned as she grasped that this was actually real: the streets were really littered with potholes, buildings lay ruined as if they had been casually knocked over, and there appeared to be army tanks rolling through the streets, firing into the skies above.

"Holy shit…," Vanessa gaped, turning her head to the sky. It was a mass of swirling grey and black, smoke mixing in with something unnatural. She could see Spiritomb firing a Dark Pulse metres in the air, and it collided with a large Shadow Ball in mid air. The Ghost attack came from one of the most frightening Pokemon Vanessa had ever seen: long, thick body, torn wings flapping in the wind, a monstrous face that was twisted in a roar. She could remember her grandfather telling her stories of a creature called Giratina that simply caused mayhem and death whenever he went, and though she had never seen any pictures, the description matched the Pokemon above her. It looked more terrifying than anything Vanessa had ever imagined, and it sent a shiver through her body.

_What the hell is going on here? _Vanessa thought to herself. _How long was I unconscious? _She stared across the town and wondered where the others had gone. Maybe Xavier and Matthew were still buried beneath the Pokemon Center…. Hadn't Vanessa seen them earlier? She clutched her head, struggling to remember anything from before the explosion when her mind had been clouded with her emergency supply of alcohol. Vanessa could barely even remember what had happened at Milkshake, though one event was clear in her mind.

Her feelings for Sahara had been growing lately, and the rejection earlier in the evening had been a tough blow to handle. Part of Vanessa had known that Sahara wouldn't reciprocate her feelings, but that didn't dull the pain at all. She didn't even know where Sahara had gone after storming off, and watching all the destruction within the city, Vanessa began to worry about where she might be. No one seemed to be bothering with the ruined Pokemon Center amongst all the other chaos, and everyone that came near only gaped in shock before running on to find safe ground. Vanessa had no idea where any of the people she knew could be, but sitting on a pile of rubble wasn't going to do anything.

With a slight pain in her legs that she hadn't noticed before, Vanessa got to her feet. She picked up her umbrella and her yellow bag, brushing the dust off both, and quickly clambered down the rubble. She stared around, trying to think of where to go looking, but a sudden whooshing rose up behind her. Vanessa grabbed her umbrella and gave it a spin, quickly turning around with her sword sticking out.

"Unown Unown Unown!" Four Pokemon were floating before her, each with only a single large eye that was currently focussed on the umbrella pointing directly at them. Vanessa lowered her sword, examining the Pokemon curiously before reaching for her PokeDex.

"Unown .. interesting little Pokemon," she murmured, glancing between the four. "What exactly do you want with me though?" She asked, putting her PokeDex away to focus on them better. The Unown simply stared back at her with their single eye, and Vanessa sighed. "Look, I'm still drunk and probably have a concussion, I don't have time for mind games!"

"Unown Unown," the four Unown cried simultaneously, and the one to her far left moved closer to her. Vanessa stared at it, remembering what had been said about them coming in different letters of the alphabet, and realised that this one was a J.

"Alright, you're a J," Vanessa said, and the Unown nodded. It moved back into line and the second one floated forwards. "And you're an A… and you're a K, and you're an I. And that spells… Jaki…" Vanessa froze, her heart sinking, her mind spinning. "Jaki's taken over Sahara, hasn't she?" The four Unown nodded, each one suddenly looking concerned. "And that's what's causing all this destruction, isn't it?" The Unown nodded again. Vanessa sighed and turned back towards the town, watching as another building exploded, this time in blue flames that damaged the surrounding houses. Soon, there would be nothing left in the town, and it was hard to think that Sahara could be held responsible for it. She could just imagine Sahara waking up amongst a fallen building, bodies littered around her and an army tank pointing its gun directly in her face.

"You want me to stop her, don't you?" Vanessa said to the Unown, and turned around to see them nod once more. She sighed and nodded herself, and the Unown began to rise up. A number of other Unown were spinning around overhead, and the four that spelt JAKI rejoined their group. Vanessa pulled several of her PokeBalls out from her bag, and paused for a moment: what if what had happened earlier had caused this to occur? What if Jaki proved to be too powerful to stop? What if Sahara had chosen to let Jaki take over?

_No, she wouldn't have done that_, Vanessa told herself, shaking her head clear. It caused her head to throb painfully, but Vanessa didn't have time to worry about that. With the town nearly fully destroyed, there wasn't long left to stop Jaki before the entire place fell. As Vanessa through Staraptor's PokeBall into the air, she knew that Jaki had to be found and had to be stopped before it was too late, and Vanessa could only hope that she would be able to do what needed to be done, no matter what her heart wanted.

* * *

Charles' eyes fluttered open for the fourth time that evening to find himself in pain, in darkness and with no idea why he was upside down, and a voice at the back of his head told him it was time to find a new job.

It didn't take long to remember about the explosion and the landslide, and Charles realized he had to be upside down. He raised his arms and was able to feel the roof a short distance away. Carefully, Charles undid his belt and grasped onto the sides of his seat with all his strength, and then tilted his legs forwards. He hoped to land gracefully on them and move into a sitting position, but Charles gasped as a spasm moved through his arms, and his entire body fell.

"Shit!" Charles hissed as he landed flat on his stomach where many of his bruises were, and a sharp pain made it feel as if he had a broken rib. _No surprises there, _Charles huffed to himself, and he rolled over onto his back. There were still bruises there, but it was marginally less painful, and a little less pain was something Charles could handle.

"Having a nice little sleep there? I thought you wanted to find that love of yours." The voice seemed to emit out of nowhere, making Charles shout and leap up, though his head collided with his seat. He swore, and a dry laugh sounded around him. Charles looked around and watched as a white figure formed in the middle back seat.

"It's you!" Charles gasped. He had spent many nights wondering about the strange man he had seen at the Sandgem Pokemon Center and could remember the face well. Now he was sitting directly above him as if it was normal, and Charles was stunned that he was able to see the seat through the man. "Are… are… are you a ghost?" The elderly man shrugged, staring down at his own body.

"I guess you could call me that, though I have never seen myself as a ghost," he replied quietly, "more of a spirit wandering the earth, helping those that require my help and serving someone that requires my service." Charles nodded along, not entirely sure he understood what was happening. He had always wondered why seeing the man made him have intense flashbacks, and being a ghost helped explain things, though Charles always felt even more confused.

"Are you like Charlotte?" Charles asked, and the ghost laughed.

"I can sure you I am nothing like her," he explained.

"That's reassuring," Charles sighed. "What is your name, and why exactly are you following me around?" The man paused at this, and he suddenly floated down, his body shifting so he landed the right way up and sat down next to Charles.

"My name is Winston Diamond, and yes, before you ask, I am related to Palmer Diamond: he is my grandson, though I barely knew the boy," the ghost explained. "I was the Sinnoh Pokemon Champion for many years, and when Cynthia finally defeated me in my old age, it was not long before I finally slipped away. I was never fond of death, to be honest, and as I had spent many years helping the people of Sinnoh and the other regions and islands I'd travelled to, Arceus granted me the opportunity to help people that he saw needed a little extra guidance. I have never revealed my true form to them though until now, so you should feel very special." Winston smiled at this, but Charles was quite taken aback by his words to find it funny.

"What do you 'little extra guidance'?" He asked, his words accusatory as he faced the ghost. "What do I need guidance in?" However, as the words passed his lips, Charles had an idea of why he needed help, and wasn't surprised that Winston gave him a judgemental glare.

"My dear boy, you require more guidance than I could possibly give," the former champion replied, his voice soft and quiet but his words still shook Charles. "You have come from a different region against your will, leaving your girlfriend trapped in another time zone with a known murderer, and you allowed yourself to fall in love with your saviour yet continue to attack her on behalf of a team you only reluctantly joined. These are Dex Holders you are attacking in a team with as twisted goals as Team Rocket: don't you see the irony in this?"

"I know, I know!" Charles shouted, trying to silence the ghost and the guilt in his head. "I didn't want to join them, but I was forced too, and I've become too entwined in it to escape now even though I desperately want to. And I try not to hurt the Dex Holders, though that Vanessa is a right bit –,"

"Yes yes, I am sure she is," Winston said wryly, "but that is besides the point. You are staying with Team Galactic even though there are chances for you to turn the tables on them: fake your own death, join up with Sahara and fight back. Whether you know it or not, you want something from Galactic, and that is keeping you from leaving." This had never dawned on Charles before, but now that it was out there, he had a feeling that there was something he desired from Team Galactic. They had a number of machines at their disposal, as well as Charlotte's book and the Adamant Orb. Was there some plan he was forming in the back of his mind that he wasn't truly aware of yet, but would bring about his departure from the group?

"While you think about that, let's discuss Sahara," Winston said, pulling Charles from his thoughts. "I am sure you care for her very much, even if you are not entirely sure of your feelings for her or Lyla, and that is the main reason why I am here. I have witnessed the destruction that is currently occurring in Solaceon Town and it is quite horrific. Jaki must be stopped, and I believe you are the only one that can do it."

"In case you haven't noticed, I am upside down in a car trapped below a landslide and I feel pain in every place in my body," Charles replied, and Winston sighed, rolling his eyes.

"I am well aware of that, but you can still help the world without leaving this car," the champion explained, his tone becoming serious. "Jaki and Giratina have a special bond between them, something that is too long to explain now, but basically Jaki is the embodiment of Giratina, his representation in our world, if you will. Giratina appears to have feed a lot of power into Jaki, which is not only making her strong but is also acting as an anchor for Giratina: by controlling Jaki and feeding some of himself into her, Giratina will be able to stay strong until she is defeated.

"This is where it gets confusing. Jaki must be defeated in order to get rid of Giratina. However, Jaki cannot be defeated while Giratina is so powerful, as his power is seeping into her. Giratina must be wounded or badly attacked in some way that will break their connection for a moment, and in that moment Jaki can be stopped and Sahara can be brought back."

"Then what of Giratina?" Charles asked. "He is hardly just going to surrender."

"No, he won't, but he will be unable to stay in our world without his anchor," Winston continued. "Earlier, shortly after you and Roshonda teleported away, Spiritomb confronted Charlotte. They had a brief battle that resulted in an explosion. Unfortunately, the Solaceon Ruins is one of a number of places where the barriers between our world and the other worlds is weak, and, due to the aspects of the two, the explosion tore a hole into the Distortion World where Giratina lives.

"The Distortion World is seeping out into our world due to the rift, and it must be fixed before it gets too far out. Once Jaki is defeated, Giratina will be drawn back towards the rift, but he must be forced back into the Solaceon Ruins before it can be properly closed. The Unown will be able to seal the rift with their abilities once Giratina is back in, and this nightmare will be over." Charles nodded along, taking all of this in. It was a lot to process and try to remember, especially when you'd been knocked out as much as he had in the past few hours, but he understood enough to know how to stop things.

"I understand what I have to do, but I don't know why I have to do or how I am suppose to," Charles said, trying not to sound too much like he was accusing the ghost. "Why couldn't you have told someone closer to the town so they could actually do something about this?" Winston's ghostly eyes twinkled, and a smile crossed his face, not the response Charles had been expecting.

"I feel that you are not sure about which side to be on, and I am giving you a chance to prove to me and to those higher than me exactly where you stand," the former Champion replied. His body was suddenly starting to fade, and Charles gasped, questions rushing through his head that wouldn't get a chance to ask. "I recommend you get out of here soon. Your chance to prove yourself will soon be passing by."

"WAIT!" Charles yelled, but he blinked and Winston was gone, only the memory of his smirking face lingering in Charles' mind. He sat there for a moment, staring off into space, thinking over the last few minutes: he somehow had to get Jaki and Giratina in the same place so the two could be defeated, yet he was too far away to do it himself. Charles wasn't sure quite what to make of this, but he knew that getting out of the car and the landslide was his first priority.

"Gliscor, Metal Claw on the windows!" Charles shouted, sending out the PokeBall. The red flash illuminated the car, showing the dirt that surrounded them and Addison as her arms hung limply from her body, and then Gliscor appeared, his body cramped inside the car.

"Scor Gli Gli Scor," he said, examining the scenario with interest before attacking the windows with silver claws. Charles moved towards Addison, struggling to see her in the dark, but felt her body until he came across the seatbelt. He clicked it and slowly lowered her body onto the roof, at the same time as the window shattered behind him.

"Excellent work Gliscor, now use Metal Claw to clear a path," Charles cried, and he began to drag Addison along the roof. The pain in his back, arms and legs made this difficult, but Charles needed to get out of the car and couldn't simply abandon Addison there. He stepped over the broken glass of the back window, and slid out onto an empty field.

"Gliscor Gli!" Gliscor appeared by Charles' side, his claws covered with dirt, and took Addison from him. Charles could only smile as he collapsed backwards, the remnants of dirt remaining in the grass below him. He had no idea how long they had been down, but he breathed in fresh air as if he had been starved of it for years. He watched Gliscor move Addison to a clearer spot out of the corner of his eye, and took a few moments to himself to gather his thoughts. He needed to find a phone or something and get in contact with somebody in Solaceon Town. If he could reach the Pokemon Center, than maybe he could find the Dex Holders…

_Dex Holders… what do you want with the Dex Holders?_ A voice whispered in the back of Charles' mind, a voice so soft and sweet that the question felt almost nice, despite the implications behind it. Charles had never heard the voice before, and he looked around for some sign of who it was. He saw Gliscor up ahead, resting Addison down amongst a clear spot near the path they had travelled along, and stared towards the trees, wondering if it had come from in there.

_You shall not see me until you tell me your true purpose_, the voice said again, a slight smirk in the feminine voice. Charles was charmed by the voice and smiled, and knew he could say anything to it.

"I need to tell them something that will stop this madness," he cried to the wind. "My… friend Sahara is being controlled by an alternate personality called Jaki, and I need to save her before the world ends!" There was a pause at this, a pause that seemed to spread across the entire world: Charles didn't feel any wind, rain or heat, didn't hear a single sound, nothing around him seemed to stir at all, everything around him stopping and waiting to see what had to be said.

Then, out of nowhere, a magnificent Pokemon appeared. Charles gasped, staring at the Pokemon that glowed like an angel and shone like the moon, the pink and purple body curved like a flawless crescent moon, and wings the same shape rose from her body. Charles knew straight away that this was a legendary, no normal Pokemon being able to shine as brilliantly as she did, and he reached out to touch her, a yellow head peering down towards him.

_My name is Cresselia, _the Pokemon said kindly, _and I am willing to help you if your words are true. Tell me, dear boy, what knowledge can you impart that will save the one you love?_

* * *

For a moment, it seemed like the chaos had stopped. There had been no explosions of black fire, no senseless murders, no houses destroyed. The army had stopped firing, saving their missiles for Jaki rather than wasting them on Giratina, who could merely turn into a shadow and wind. For a moment, it seemed as if Jaki had given up, as if there was a chance Solaceon could be saved before it all fell.

And then the last untouched street had exploded.

Xavier ran across the main street where this chaos had stared, watching as the public ran in the opposite direction, the sensible direction. Grotle and Heracross thundered by his side while Drifblim flew overhead, Lapras sliding along behind them as fast as she could go. A tank rolled in front, clearing the path for them, though it seemed pointless: one had just been destroyed, so was there any point bringing another one along to ruin it? Xavier wanted to tell General Funkshin this, but he was running too far ahead, barking orders to any of the soldiers that would listen, though Xavier chose to ignore whatever was said by the incompetent man.

Bebe, Lucinda and Harrison ran alongside him, their own Pokemon between them: Bebe's Glameow, Lucinda's Miltank and fearsome Aggron, Harrison's Vaporeon and Pidgeot. They were all looking worse for wear after the night, with Harrison having to hold Lucinda up so she could make it. Xavier wanted to leave them all behind, but he knew it would appear rude, and they had been helpful in trying to stop the chaos that had befallen the city. Their heavy breathing filled his ears, and Xavier struggled to push it out as he saw unconscious soldiers ahead, only metres away from where the town limits ended.

"Grotle Grot Till Till Grot," Grotle puffed from alongside, and Xavier sighed, unable to think of an appropriate answer.

"I hope we can stop her Grotle, but I am not sure if we can," he replied after a moment. "Let us just hope that you are all able to attack her enough that we can bring Sahara back, otherwise the world could indeed be consumed by the Distortion World, and I didn't like it there very much." He exchanged looks with all his Pokemon: Grotle and Heracross both looked grim and Drifblim looked frightened overhead. Xavier paused and turned back to Lapras as she struggled to catch up, her flippers moving along at a steady pace. She looked exhausted, but managed to catch Xavier's eye, and he knew she would have heard his words one way or another.

_I think we have a chance, _she replied. _It is a slim chance, but I think everything we've done has been on based on slim chances. _Xavier could only agree, and began running again, wondering if they could survive this turn.

Jaki groaned, the weight of the fallen house crushing her body. She struggled to move, pushing her hands up against the rubble and trying to move it. How had a simple Medicham been able to do this? Jaki could only imagine the other three lining up to take hits as well, not that she would allow it. As soon as she was clear of the house, Jaki had several choice moves planned to take care of them, and never again would anyone even consider trying to stop her.

"YOU FOUL LITTLE SHIT!" Jaki roared, blame flames curling from her hands and incinerating the floorboards that were trying to kill her. "YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS, YOU HEAR ME, YOU WILL PAY!" She blasted the rubble aside and rose up, ready for vengeance. However, Jaki was stunned to see Hammer standing right in front of her, unfazed by her words, and didn't see the ThunderPunch until it was driven into the side of her head. She spun forwards, rolling down the rest of the house and crashing into the side of the next, stars appearing before her eyes. Jaki cursed and went to stand, but suddenly Hammer was there, and with a simple wave of her hand she was sent sprawling across the street, landing on her feet next to Nutty, Aqua and Smash, who were in stunned silence.

"You think some simple tricks will defeat me!" Jaki yelled. "Everything you do only makes me angrier!" And she let out a hiss before waving her hands: black electricity was fired out, and Hammer had to leap aside to avoid it, the attack instead blowing a hole in the nearest house. Jaki growled and drew the electricity back in, concentrating it into a single ball that she threw forwards. Hammer's eyes flashed pink and the ball disintegrated before it reached him, firing bolts everywhere that sent Aqua leaping for cover.

"Cham," Hammer said simply, and black ovals formed around him. They quickly moved towards his right hand, spinning furiously, and a punch sent the Hidden Power towards Jaki. She spun around on her right foot, drawing her arms in, and then came to a stop before the attack could hit: Jaki spread her arms wide open, and a breeze tore out from the forest. The Hidden Power was sent back towards Hammer and exploded against his chest, the wind tearing around him and threatening to blow him away.

"You don't seem to like wind, do you?" Jaki sneered, her cackle coming back. "I can do a lot more with wind, just you see!" She swirled her hands around and then lifted them to the sky. Hammer turned as the house he had just buried Jaki in rose up, the wind roaring through the rubble, and flew overhead towards him. Black ovals swirled around his body while his left fist went yellow, and the Hidden Power formed around the ThunderPunch. Jaki watched as an Electric-infused Hidden Power slammed into the rubble, spinning through it like a drill and turning it all into dust. Hammer's eyes then flashed pink, and Jaki screeched as the dust flew towards her, flying around her like a cocoon. She quickly redirected the wind, and she felt an unnatural chill as it blew against her body and forced the dust away.

"If you want to play with the big guns Chammy, your asking for it!" Jaki hissed. Fire rose up in one hand, while lightning crackled in the other. The wind rose up through the street again, causing visible discomfort to Nutty, but Jaki merely smiled and stared defiantly at Hammer, daring him to try and counter her. The Medicham simply gazed back at her with wide, almost blank eyes, not appearing to use any move. His eyes were almost filled with sadness, his head cocked the side in a curious fashion, staring directly at Jaki. Her lips began to curl: she wanted to a fight, not a staring contest. She was about to say something when a rumble sounded from behind, and Jaki turned around to see a second tank rolling into the street, surrounded by more soldiers and the general.

"What are you doing here?" Jaki yelled, becoming more angry than gleeful. "I destroyed the last one you sent, so what good do you think a second will do?"

"My name is General Malcolm Funkshin, and I ORDER you to stop this now before we are forced to kill you!" The general bellowed, and he gave the soldiers a hand signal: their guns all raised as one, and Jaki smiled slightly at the dozens of guns pointing her way again.

"I suggest you look around you before you start giving me any orders," she called out, and pointed with a flaming finger at the dead soldiers scattered around the crater. "Your already going to have a hell of a job making recruitment videos, do you really want me to slaughter more of yours boys unnecessarily?" The soldiers hands wavered as they looked at their fallen comrades, and Jaki couldn't help but laugh. "Look at your mighty heroes! Look at how a few dead bodies are able to put them off their job! You get these men to defend you when they can't even hold their dinner at the sight of blood? You people truly are pathetic!" She raised her hands, the fire and lightning cackling around them, and readied to fire and end their miserable lives.

"Jaki, stop this right now," a familiar voice called in a normal tone, and Jaki froze, watching the soldiers curiously. They quickly moved aside towards the houses, leaving room for Xavier to walk through, leading Bebe, Lucinda, Harrison and their Pokemon behind him. They walked up towards the crater, spreading out so they were all in Jaki's line of sight. "I ask you to stop this pointless chaos now, otherwise we will attack you, and it will be a lot more painful than being shot and left to calmly die." Jaki's eyes gazed across her new foes, and her lips curled again, this time into a smile. And then she began to laugh: it wasn't a cackle or a sadistic sound of glee, it was a genuine laugh that almost sounded like Sahara's, one filled with real surprise and real joy.

"You people think you can kill me?" Jaki wheezed, starting to double over. "Seriously? This is an even bigger joke than that boy scout army behind you! An android, a fatty, a gay and a nerd: talk about your band of misfits there! You know what, I will actually stand still and give you a free shot. Give me the best move you can possibly pull off, and let's just see how strong you really are!" Bebe stepped forwards, her Glameow following in her stride, but as she went to order Xavier put a hand out to stop her and shook his head. "Yes, that's right, you know you can't stop me, so just give up and stop trying!" Jaki hissed.

"Blim Blim." A voice suddenly spoke behind her, and Jaki spun around, stunned that someone had crept up behind her. She stared into the wide face of a Drifblim, the Balloon Pokemon's eyes narrowed and wide mouth twisted in discomfort. "Drifblim Drif Drif Blim!"

_This one's for sending me through the portal, _a voice hissed in the back of Jaki's mind, and suddenly the Drifblim moved: an Ominous Wind burst out through beneath her, and Jaki screamed as it tore through her clothing and sent her flying backwards. She stumbled down into the crater, her foot going right through a jagged piece of metal.

"HERAAAA!" A second voice yelled, and before Jaki could respond a spiked arm swung out from behind her, striking her on the head and knocking her to the ground. She looked up with rage as a Heracross, Aggron and Vaporeon approached her, all of them looking furious, arms and mouths glowing as they readied attacks.

"If you want a battle," Jaki hissed, "then YOU HAVE A BATTLE!" She boomed and the last words, and on 'battle' she swung her arms forwards. Wind sent the three Pokemon flying, and Jaki leapt to her feet, murder in her eyes. She swung her right hand and sent flames shooting across the lines of soldiers. They screamed as the front row was burnt alive, but Jaki didn't care for their yells. Bullets tore through the night, sending Xavier and company leaping to the floor, but Jaki ran forwards with all her might, the bullets smashing harmlessly into the ground behind her.

"This is for the building!" Jaki hissed, and she unleashed electricity on Hammer before he could even expect it. His eyes went blank as the black lightning shook through his entire body, and after a few seconds he collapsed backwards onto the grass.

"BLIM!" Drifblim yelled, and Jaki screamed as she was struck in the chest by a Thunderbolt, the attack coursing through her body. She struggled to concentrate as her body was rattled, but Jaki channelled the attack through her veins, pushing it out to her hands. She fired, and it was Drifblim's turn to yell. Jaki's body stopped shaking, and instead she watched with glee as Drifblim fell to the ground, eyes shut and smoke rising from her.

"Perfect," Jaki hissed, yet it wasn't too last: attacks start bombarding her from all sides, most of them hitting the ground, but she yelled out as several hit her on the arms and back. She turned around to see all of the Pokemon were firing at her, unleashing whatever Special moves they could manage: Razor Leaf, Charge Beam, Aurora Beam, Air Cutter, Dragon Pulse. Jaki hissed and tried to avoid them, but more attacks kept on coming, and she was being pushed back towards the trees, unable to fend them off. She hissed and shouted, and tried firing them off herself, but nothing seemed to slow them down.

"STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT!" Jaki roared, and she summoned as much fire as she could into her hands. As an Aurora Beam hit her from one side and a pile of stones cut her leg on the other, Jaki clapped her hands together, letting out a horrible, ear splitting screech as she did so. The shockwave burst across the field, incinerating the grass and the leaves around her and washing across all the nearby Pokemon. They were sent flying backwards, Smash entangling around Nutty and Aqua, Aggron sent flying towards the tank. The soldiers were all knocked down, and the walls of the nearest standing houses were cracked. Jaki paused for a moment, gathering her breath and regaining her control over the situation. Everyone seemed frozen in fear, yet Jaki wasn't satisfied yet.

"You think you can try and stop me?" She yelled, her voice echoing in the silence. A gust of breeze rose through the street, blowing at her cloak and sending a chill across the others. "You think you can defeat me? I am more powerful than all of your Pokemon put together, and you should make sure you remember that as I torture you into your graves!" Jaki stepped forwards, moving swiftly into the middle of the street, the wind picking up and starting to blow debris across the ground. She stared into the frightened faces of Sahara's Pokemon, and looked across at the petrified stares on the so called brave soldiers, their guns shaking in their hands.

"When Giratina and I conquer this land, you should all thank us for pulling you out of your pathetic, sheltered lives and forcing you to stand up for yourselves!" She yelled. "When you bow down to us, think of how much more exciting your lives are and think of the chances your being given to actually make improvements to the boredom you currently lead! I am your saviour, and you should be thanking me!" There was a movement out of the corner of her eye, and Jaki whipped around as Xavier slowly got to his feet. It was obvious he was going to say something, but Jaki would not allow anyone else to get in her way.

"SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN!" She screamed, and she waved her hands. Xavier made no noise as he was sent rolling down into the crater, landing on his arm and coming to a stop at the bottom amongst jagged metal. Some appeared to have cut him on the way down, and Jaki felt gleeful as she stared down towards him. "Xavier, you have always thought yourself intelligent and wise, but it is time for me to burst that bubble for you and cast a true light onto your existence. You shall be the example I will use to show everyone what happens to someone that defies me!" Jaki began to laugh, her cackle creeping back in, and she raised her hands: fire brewed in both of them, and the wind began to blow faster, whipping her hair around and spinning around her feet.

_You shall not hurt him! _The voice in the back of her head yelled, and Jaki looked up, finding Xavier's Lapras staring directly at her. Her beautiful face was twisted in rage, and though she was using Psychic, her ices flashed a steely pale blue.

"What exactly are you going to do?" Jaki hissed. "Fire melts ice, you stupid little sea beast! I will melt you before you even know what hit you!" Lapras smiled at this, and as the wind around Jaki whipped faster and faster, doubt began to settle as the Transport Pokemon continued to smile at her in a mocking way, her shell starting to glow blue.

_Oh, this ice queen still has a few tricks in her shell, _Lapras purred, _just you wait and see. _Suddenly, her entire body began to glow a pale blue, the ice seeming to seep out from her eyes and her shell, encasing her entire body in ice. Jaki had to step backwards and turn her head to avoid the harsh blue light she was letting off, the brightness consuming the darkness around them. She had to act quickly before Lapras initiated her attack, and forced herself to look back around, hands still burning. The glow was consuming everything around and behind Lapras, preventing Jaki from seeing anything, and the light was nearly covering Xavier.

"STOP THIS, I MUST DO THIS!" Jaki screamed, the wind spinning around her like a furious tornado. The temperature was getting colder, and she had no idea what was happening, but furiously she spun her hands around and unleashed the fire into the crater.

There was an explosion unlike anything Jaki had ever experienced: she felt both hot and cold at the same time, yet her body seemed to be freezing over. All Jaki could see was white, and her yell was silenced by a roaring wind that she hadn't summoned up. She tried to fight it, but whatever Lapras had done was too powerful…

And then there was only silence.

* * *

_May 17th 1910 _

"_I always knew I was a fool to trust you, but I never thought you would do something like this."_

_Charlotte floated several feet away from Arceus. She was trying not to get angry with him, and if she had to look at him then she knew she would lose her temper. Instead, she stared out to the fallen festival before her: the wooden stalls had mostly all collapsed, consumed by fire and then put out by water. It made for a strange sight of a charred, sodden wood, but Charlotte had seen far stranger things in her lifetime. Charlotte examined the bunting and the merchandise, and knew that only a street away a band had been playing, more festivities to enjoy. It had been a long time since she had been to a party she had actually been invited to, and Charlotte wished she could be at one now… _

"_Charlotte, you must answer for your actions!" Arceus roared behind her, the world seeming to shake as he spoke. Charlotte sighed and growled at the same time, and she turned back around, struggling to keep her emotions under control. She straightened her expression into one that was calm and collected, wondering if Arceus would be pleased with it or know she was taunting him._

_Her murderer was not entirely visible: only a beam of light that shimmered between blinding white to pure gold flickered before them in his shape, something Charlotte has always viewed as him thinking he was too good for the mortal world. A second much smaller Pokemon floated next to him, and Charlotte would have been genuinely pleased to see Jirachi under better circumstances. The snow white Pokemon smiled at the ghost, though her eyes always looked constantly sad due to the tears around them, and the mysterious blue eye on her stomach was unfortunately off putting._

"_What exactly do you expect me to say?" Charlotte snapped as she floated forwards. "I put my book there because I thought it would be a safe place. No one is allowed to take anything from the Mirage Tower, and it is a lot safer than leaving magic lying around!" The beam of light flashed as an angry growl rose out, and Charlotte had to shield her eyes. _

"_You put that loop hole in there though!" Arceus yelled. "You made it so that people would still be able to take it! Your book is legendary from those that know if it, and you simply built in a way for people to take it from the tower, no matter what uses they had!"_

"_I put it in there for my own use!" Charlotte shouted back. "I needed a way to take it out of there, and the idea of it getting wet in a desert seemed like a safe option: how was I suppose to know the little black girl would have her Starmie soak it?" _

"_LIES!" Arceus roared, and the world shook along with the light, and Charlotte clutched her head, pain shaking through the memory of her body. She struggled to hang onto the veil of illusion separating the three from the people clearing the Star Festival, and when the vibration suddenly stopped Charlotte felt like lying down and resting, unable to take any more punishment._

"_Arceus, we cannot judge her until we have proof," Jirachi said, her voice high and sweet and showing no sign of anything except kindness. "Charlotte has acted like this before, but there is no way of knowing whether she is lying or telling the truth. What is important is that there is a book of magical spells out there that could potentially damage the world, and it must be located." Charlotte looked up to the light, and could tell from its shimmers that Arceus was thinking. _

"_Fair point," he said after a few moments. "Finding the book is our top priority. Charlotte, you must be able to track your own book, so I want you to track down the person who has stolen it and return it to my immediately, before this gets –,"_

"_No." There was a pause, one so tense that it seemed the world may have frozen._

"_No?" Arceus repeated, his voice cold and deep. _

"_No!" Charlotte repeated firmly, getting unsteadily to her feet and rising up above Jirachi. She knew that she shouldn't get angry, but there was nothing to stop her, and her rage was starting to consume her. "NO! You have spent nearly two thousand years telling me what to do, and I am sick of it! If my book got out, than so be it, it isn't my problem! It can't be destroyed, and I do know where it is, so if I ever need it I will find it, but if you want it, then find it yourself!" She waved her hands, and for a brief moment the illusion fell, and there was surprised gasps from the rescue workers as they saw the blinding light. Jirachi's blue eye shone bright, and a blue veil appeared, leaving the workers confused._

"_Do not anger me Charlotte, I am in no mood!" Arceus boomed. Charlotte merely smiled and turned away, refusing to look at him any longer. Part of her knew she was being stupid, but the other half wanted to make a statement, and she knew exactly how to do so. _

"_Why don't you try sorting out your own problems Arceus," she snapped as her body began to melt away, "you're a big boy, you can handle them. Fuck ya later!" _

"_CHARLOTTE!" Arceus roared, but Charlotte ignored him and fully disappeared. To anyone watching, it seemed she had exploded into dust, but really Charlotte was defying reality and space, taking a simple step forwards and jumping from one place to the next. It was the world that shook and shimmer around her as if moving at a different pace, and Charlotte ignored the blurs as she concentrated on her destination…_

_Within a second, the world had reformed, but where fallen stalls and skyscrapers had been moments ago was a blank dirt road enclosed with trees one either side. Charlotte looked ahead and could see the town of Solaceon in the distance, and smiled as she knew she was in the right place. _

_As she moved towards the Hallowed Tower, storm clouds quickly formed overhead. Charlotte watches a Wormadam lead her Burmy away as lightning flashed, followed by earth shaking thunder a moment later. The ghost knew it was risky, but she was sick of being Arceus' slave, being forced to do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted it. Charlotte knew that eventually she would suffer for her actions, but for the time being she would savour the moment. _

"_Here you go Arceus," Charlotte whispered as the ground open up before her, "let's see what you make of this." And for the first time in hundreds of years, Charlotte's eyes fell upon a cracked stone as it rose from the earth, and moved slowly towards the pile of rocks and the gap made specifically for it, all while doubt started to settle into Charlotte's mind…_

* * *

Quiet lay across Solaceon Town. As it was if the chaos had simply been switched off, leaving the small town still and unmoving. The fires had all stopped, the fallen buildings lay on the ground undisturbed and the army tanks were frozen in their paths. All the residents that had been fleeing for their lives were kept perfectly still by the ice that had spread across the town, stopping everything in its path. For a ruined, blown apart town, Solaceon suddenly looked angelic and beautiful: a winter wonderland war zone, only the wind left to disturb the unnatural and hollow beauty that Lapras had created.

In the last street in the town, the last before the road ended, the ice was at its worst. Soldiers stood frozen in their steps, their guns hanging out like icicles, while trainers had been turned to statues: Lucinda and Harrison cowering in fear, their eyes frozen over and cold, Bebe knocked to the ground and turned to a lump of ice on the path. Lapras was not frozen herself, yet she lay unconscious on the ground amongst her creation, the Sheer Cold drawing most of her power away and she couldn't have kept them open for another minute.

In the very centre of the road, one person stood still, yet the ice was melting away, dripping down her black dress and black hair, crossing her pale skin in a way that made her look even colder. Jaki's eyes slowly flickered open, unaware of the heat from her own body that was slowly freeing her. However, once the ice had melted away from her feet, Jaki let out a strangled gasp and collapsed forwards, landing on her hands. Despite her body heat she was shivering, and Jaki had no idea what had just happened. All she knew was that Lapras had done something, and her eyes flickered towards the frozen landscape around her.

"What the hell was that?" Jaki hissed to herself, and she stared up at Lapras with her body shaking. The silence around her was almost painful: where were the sounds of sirens and explosion, the screams of the civilians as she terrorised their lives? Why was there no fire to illuminate the town, and why was no one else moving or trying to stop her? It felt strange, and Jaki wanted to fix the problem. A single but distant roar sounded from above, and Jaki looked up to see Giratina and Spiritomb were still fighting, the ice doing nothing to those in the air.

"We can't have things frozen," Jaki hissed to herself as she slowly got back to her feet, her eyes darting around maniacally. "Heat… fire… flames… that is how people truly die… there's a show in fire, there's nothing in ice…" Jaki raised her hands, which were still shivering, and she pointed them towards the army tank. "I'll blow them all up… that should heat things up… won't it?" She began to laugh, though it was not her normal laugh. Even Jaki could notice that she sounded unhinged, delirious, thrown off her balance… was it even her? Was it Sahara, or Eden, or Crystal, or some other personality noticing the sudden change? There was something in her mind, playing with her memories and her reality… Jaki needed to fix this, and she needed to fix it now…  
But as her hand flexed, and a single ember rose up from her fingers, Jaki froze: there was a click, a distant noise that didn't fit in to what was happening. Someone else was moving, something else was out there… and Jaki wanted to know what it was.

She shut her eyes and leapt forwards, and her body felt like it was moving through water. Jaki loved the feeling of the shadows and the darkness moving across her, swallowing her up and pushing her onto the other side, and for a moment it managed to calm her, relax her, take her mind off things….

And then her feet touched solid ground, and Jaki looked around. She was back on the main street, back where this had started. The road was a perfect blanket of ice, and Jaki was impressed that the attack had managed to cover so much of the city. Yet her mind wondered where the noise had come from, and she stared around ecstatically and desperately, trying to find the source. But Jaki didn't have to look far, and she froze as she stared at the figure before her, a smile creeping onto her face.

Vanessa smiled back, and she took a steady step forwards along the ice, her umbrella dangling by her side. She showed no sign of being frozen, and wasn't surprised to see Jaki standing before her, even though she had just materialized out of no where. A breeze blew across the road as silence fell between the two woman as they walked towards each other, both smiling at their opponents.

"I am surprised you decided to try and fight me," Jaki whispered after a minute, her words carrying in the silence. "I am well aware of what happened between you and Sahara, though you'll claim it was Eden, won't you? Anyway, Sahara seemed a tad shaken by it, didn't she? How has that affected you gingey? Is your heart broken? Are you going to cry yourself to sleep tonight?" She paused and let out a cackle that sounded with the wind, and Vanessa merely laughed as well, though it was quieter and the sarcasm behind it only annoyed Jaki.

"If you are afraid I am going to go easy on you, don't be," Vanessa replied, still wearing her same smile, "I do plan on taking my sword and putting it right your spine if that's what it'll take to stop you."

"Oh deary, do you think it will be that easy?" Jaki said, laughing slightly, but there was hatred and anger burning in her eyes. She waved her hand in mid air several times, the wind gathering around it, and there was a sudden burst of flame. Vanessa paused and watched as the flames parted, leaving behind a sword so black it looked like a shadow, a shimmer of darkness clasped in Jaki's hands. Vanessa turned her umbrella, her own silver sword coming out, and the two stood still and poised only a few metres apart, the world around them disappearing as they stared at the other, both ready for the fight to begin.

"Tell me Ness," Jaki said, swinging her sword around, "before I kill you, how exactly did you avoid the ice?"

"I have my ways," Vanessa replied, keeping her face battle ready. "Let's just say that it was easy to see coming, and my umbrella is quite good at protecting me." She lifted it up, and Jaki was startled to see there was ice across the surface she had not noticed before. "Good luck defeating the indestructible."

"I've fought bigger foes than you, Miss Backlot, and I won't let myself fall to some little lesbian red head with a few fancy contraptions," Jaki hissed back. She took a step backwards and raised her sword, putting it so it was only a few centimetres in front of Vanessa's eyes. "Shall we?" Vanessa smirked back, raising her own sword and stepping backwards, a smug look joining the fire in her eyes.

"It's been a long night, and it would be nice to end this," she replied. "I am very much looking forward to killing you Jaki."

"And I am looking forward to tasting your blood," Jaki hissed back, and with a swish of their swords, the fight began.

In the silent main street of Solaceon Town, the clanging and clinging of their swords hitting each other rang out beautifully across the town, a sound that only matched the furious but graceful dance the two were locked in. Vanessa and Jaki's eyes were connected together, not wavering from the other for even a second. Their hands moved as if being controlled by puppets, and they barely noticed their swords as they smashed into the other, exchanging the roles of stepping forwards and backwards. It seemed their battle had little point, but Vanessa and Jaki were silently judging the other, trying to get a taste of how they fought and the methods they used before the true test began.

"Who taught you how to fight?" Jaki asked, keeping her eyes on Vanessa as she planned how best to change things.

"Myself," Vanessa replied calmly, thinking the exact same thoughts. "Who did this to Sahara, and what causes you to come out?" Jaki smiled deviously and shook her head, though her eyes remained still and focussed.

"You can ask her that over pillow talk," she replied, "though you should really ask Mr Plattina about that one." The last syllable had barely left her mouth before Jaki spun, bringing her sword with her, and brought it back up in both palms, ready to strike. Vanessa, however, had anticipated a move and ducked down, the black blade barely passing over a long strand of tangerine hair, and she brought her own sword sweeping up. Jaki quickly stepped back and brought her sword up as a shield, staring down at the silver blade as it stopped barely an inch from her chin. She swung around, rolling beneath the blade and drawing hers around in a circle and carving it around towards Vanessa's stomach. The Dex Holder acted quickly, drawing her sword back in and pulling it up to her chest in defence: Jaki straightened up with her feet touching Vanessa's, and their sword were the only thing that stopped their chests from touching.

"You should really give up now you silly little girl," Jaki hissed, spraying Vanessa with spit. "You think you have power and you think you are strong, but that is when you are battling any ordinary fool of the street. My mind is thousands of years old, and I have seen things you couldn't even dream of. Giratina's blood and abilities flows through my body, and it will keep flowing until the end of time, so lay down your sword, and it shall be an easy death!" Vanessa only gave her a flash of white before forcing her backwards with a push of sword, and for the next few seconds they swung their swords again, the blades hitting each other with more strength and fury than before.

"I would watch my words if I was you," Vanessa snapped back as their swords froze, each of the woman trying to fend the other off, "you never know just when your head will finally fall."

"But my head is Sahara's head, and could you really do that?" Jaki purred back, a bead of sweat trickling down her face. "Would you really put that sword through my throat and out my neck, and watch as Sahara's blood drips down this lovely, curvaceous body? Because, Miss Vanessa Backlot, I don't think you have the guts to kill me, even if I was about to murder everything you have every and will every care about, because it would mean Sahara would die as well." Vanessa froze for a second, and Jaki could see the fear filling her eyes, could see the realization of the truth washing over her, and she smiled with glee as she drew her sword away and swung it around. Jaki would have liked to have savoured her death more, but time was running out, and she could always bring the body with her…

There was a clang, and Jaki froze, staring as she saw her sword stop as it pressed up against Vanessa's throat, a trickle of blood escaping from the torn skin. Yet the black blade did not pass through, Vanessa's sword only just holding it off. Jaki looked into Vanessa's eyes and could see that the fury was back, and it seemed to have grown in the few seconds it had wavered.

"I will never kill Sahara, but I will harm her as much as need be if it means your dead," Vanessa whispered back, and her free fist suddenly flew up. Jaki stumbled backwards as she blood erupted from her nose, stars flying around her eyes, and she didn't see the flash of silver as it swung around, but felt it as Vanessa embedded in near her ribs. Jaki screamed as loudly as she could, a noise so horrible that it nearly blew Vanessa away, and suddenly Giratina roared overhead, the two noises shaking the very air. But before Jaki could raise her sword in defence, something was smashed against her shoulder, and she barely saw a flash of neon yellow before a bolt of electricity was fired directly into her heart, and Jaki yelled as she was sent flying backwards, pain coursing through her body.

Vanessa let the shattered glow stick fall to the ground, watching as Jaki fell before turning her attention to the skies above her. She ignored the blood dripping onto the ice as she watched Giratina and Spiritomb falling towards the ground, exchanging attacks as they soared towards her. Vanessa wanted a moment to breath and recuperate, but she had two creatures of darkness careening towards her, and knew that a break was out of the question.

"Why is it always me?" She muttered under her breath, and raised her sword up, ready to swing it at however came nearest. Giratina was still roaring, the horrible noise getting louder the closer he came, and Vanessa was struggling to resist it. She could see blue flames forming in his mouth, but there was a touch of black in there as well that was seeping throughout the fire, and Vanessa knew it wasn't going to be good.

"SHOOT HIM!" A voice screamed across the night's sky, and Vanessa looked around for the source, yet Spiritomb had suddenly disappeared, leaving Giratina alone in falling towards Vanessa. The trainer stared up at the Dragon as he came closer and closer, his golden mouth open wide to show the darkness within. Vanessa wasn't sure if this was the right thing to do, but she turned the handle of her umbrella, causing her sword to disappear only to be replaced by her gun as quickly as if the two had morphed into each other. Trying not to think of the potential consequences, Vanessa raised her umbrella and pulled the trigger, holding on hard to keep the beam steady. Giratina roared as the orange beam exploded in his face and kept on going, forcing him back up into the sky. His long body curved around as he turned and Vanessa had to duck to avoid getting hit, sending the beam off course and towards a streetlight. As Vanessa straightened up, a black shock wave stretched across the grey sky, and Giratina roared again as it collided into his stomach, sending him crashing to the ground several streets away.

"I need a drink," Vanessa sighed, dropping her umbrella to the ground and clutching her head. Her night seemed to be dragging on, ranging from a fight in a burning club to emerging from a collapsed building and nearly getting flash frozen. She eyed her umbrella, wondering how many times it had kept her alive, and was satisfied that it had managed to stand up to the severe beating it had had tonight, but Vanessa was feeling worse for wear. She glanced over at Jaki and saw she was still groaning, and wondered how long she had before she had to fight Giratina or her best friend again…

"Don't worry red, if you survive this, I'll pour you a drink with my own hands, if I still had any!" Vanessa turned around, swooping down to grab her umbrella, and by the time she had straightened up it was back into a sword pointed directly into Spiritomb's face. The Ghost-Dark type merely laughed and stared back at her with a mocking glare. "Really? I am Ghost, you silly girl! I could kill you simply by staring at you before that things does any good." Vanessa kept her arm steady though, staring at the floating rock and gas for the first time since she had let her escaped.

"What do you want?" She hissed.

"I want the same things you want," Spiritomb replied with a smile, "and if we're going to stop these two, then some teamwork is required. You must be up for that: you did release me, after all."

"How are we supposed to defeat a legendary and that psychotic bitch?" Vanessa asked, glancing back as Jaki seemed to calm down as she lay on the ground, at the same time as a distant growl rose up from where Giratina had fallen.

"Another legendary is out at the moment, and she is a good friend of mine," Spiritomb explained, glancing towards the Solaceon Ruins. "We have a common nightmare, if you pardon the pun, but that's besides the point. She sent me a message that in order to defeat the two, someone has to badly wound Giratina and then Jaki needs to be disposed of before he can recover. I was thinking that some old fashioned tag teaming would be just what we need to kill the bastards."

"Right…," Vanessa mumbled, nodding along but not sure if she knew exactly how things would work. She stared into the distance and could see a flash of gold rising above the houses, and mutters echoed down from Jaki as she stumbled back to her feet. "How exactly are we meant to defeat them though? They both seem to survive any hit that comes their way." A twinkle appeared in Spiritomb's eyes that Vanessa instantly didn't like, and the red head watched nervously as Spiritomb moved up near her chest, facing Giratina as he roared once more, rising up above the houses and staring around for them.

"I will tell you when to strike, and you then you need to stab Giratina in the first most vulnerable place you can get to," the Pokemon explained, "and leave Jaki up to me to deal with."

"You aren't even facing her!" Vanessa hissed and glanced towards Jaki. She was back on her feet, a hole burnt through the middle of her dress, leaving her pale chest on display. Jaki was slowly stepping forwards, a smile across her face, and her hands were raised in a way that Vanessa didn't find reassuring.

"Leave it to me!" Spiritomb hissed, and Vanessa reluctantly turned back towards Giratina. The Ghost-Dragon had risen back into the air, his head moving around rapidly trying to find them, and his eyes soon fell upon them. Vanessa watched as he tipped his head back and let out another roar that seemed to crack the ice beneath him, and suddenly he was diving forwards, moving faster than Vanessa would have expected. Sweat trickled down her face: despite everything Vanessa had ever been involved in, this was the most stressful thing yet. She was putting her trust in a vengeful ghost that had her trapped between two psychotic demons. This was high ranking in tense life moments, and her umbrella suddenly didn't seem all that powerful. But Vanessa gripped onto the handle like it was her own life source: she knew what would happen if she didn't stop Giratina now, and she wasn't simply going to die now after everything that had happened. And Vanessa could only imagine what would happen to the rest of the planet if Giratina escaped, and what would happen to Xavier, to Matthew… but especially Sahara.

"Let's do this," Vanessa hissed under her breath. She stared forwards as Giratina rocketed towards her, his body seeming to flake away at the speeds he was travelling. Jaki was laughing behind her, but Vanessa didn't lose focus, and she raised her sword to her shoulder as Giratina reared closer. The gold was shining into her face, and Giratina's hideous, monstrous head was filling every inch of her vision. The roar was getting louder and louder, Vanessa's ears shaking with pain, and the metres disappeared as Giratina got close enough that she could count every sharp fang in his mouth… this was it… this was the moment where Vanessa either saved the world or died trying, leaving only a trail of dead bodies behind her and friendships in tatters... what would her legacy be…

"NOW!" Spiritomb roared, the scream shattering any other noise around her, and Vanessa yelled and swung her sword forwards. She had no idea that Giratina was so close, but her arm brushed against the gold of his face as she plunged the sword into his eye. Vanessa screamed as Giratina roared directly into her, a pain that shook her entire body, and she was certain blood was dripping from her ear. She was well aware that Spiritomb had fazed through her chest, and the white light reflecting off Giratina's face was enough to show that Jaki's scream was due to a Hyper Beam.

Yet Vanessa knew her job wasn't done, and she forced herself to push her entire umbrella inside Giratina's head. His roar got louder as a wave of blood like thick, sticky ink washed over her body, nearly forcing her to her knees: Vanessa winced as it burnt her skin, but she kept her mouth shut and narrowed her eyes, trying to save herself. But she would not take her eyes off Giratina. She wanted to watch him, see the pain in his good eye, savour in knowing that she had achieved her goal. There was pain throughout her body like she had never known, and she wondered if her dress was melting or if it was just Spiritomb. Whatever it was, it was the strangest moment of Vanessa's life, but also her proudest: tonight, she may have just saved the world.

"I WILL GET YOU FOR THIS, VANESSA BACKLOT!" Giratina roared, yet his words came out only as a cold hiss, and Vanessa felt that she would be the only one to hear them. "I KNOW ALL YOU SECRETS, AND YOU CANNOT HIDE YOUR PAST FOREVER! ONE DAY, I WILL KILL YOU, AND YOUR BLOOD WILL REVEAL EVERYTHING YOU HAVE TRIED TO HIDE!" And without warning, the Renegade Pokemon exploded into black dust. The shockwave from it was so strong that Vanessa was blasted through Spiritomb, her blood soaked umbrella falling from her hands, and she smashed into someone only a few feet away. Vanessa bounced off them and crashed to the ice, her face smashing hard against the frozen surface, yet the pain evaporated from her mind instantly. Vanessa instead stared down at the black blood that completely covered her, and listened to the buzz in her ears that she was sure was some sign of deafness. Her skin felt like it might fall off, but Vanessa didn't care in the slightest.

"Well I'll be damned, I just stabbed the damned," Vanessa mumbled to herself, and she simply lay on the ice, a laugh brewing up inside of her. "Who knew it would be that fucking easy…" She blinked several times to get blood out of her eyes, and suddenly saw someone staring directly at her, wide eyes filled with terror focussed on her like a Pokemon caught in the headlights. Vanessa wanted to reach out and hold her, but she knew it was too soon. Even talking to her seemed like it would be pushing things, but joy danced in her chest as Sahara spoke first.

"What happened?" She whispered, her voice hoarse and weak, but it only brought a smile across Vanessa's face, pleased to hear her friend talking normally once more.

"Where exactly should I begin?" She replied, and rolled onto her back. A smile crossed her face as she saw the stars for the first time that evening, and watched as the clouds moved away as if being drawn somewhere else, knowing that, for the first time in years, Vanessa Backlot had done something good.

And, for some reason, she couldn't have felt happier.

* * *

Matthew knew that his battle was lost.

Looking at the others, he could see they were having success: Cynthia's team had swept Cryus', the leader bleeding heavily from knife wounds, while Jupiter lay unconscious at Fantina's feet as the gym leader sent her Ghosts out against the Grunts. Palmer had defeated every Grunt he came across, yet Saturn had managed to avoid him. The Tower Tycoon had sent Cresselia out to search for him but got nothing, and now the Moonlight Pokemon was simply blowing apart anything left behind. The forest fire was out and most of Galactic had retreated inside their airship, leaving only a few straggles and the dead behind.

Yet Matthew was left fighting Mars on his own. The others were so engrossed in their own battles that Matthew seemed to have been forgotten. Prinplup, Beautifly, Misdreavus and Cherubi fought their hardest, yet they were nearly dead on their feet. The Pokemon belonging to the Grunts had either been defeated or left to battle elsewhere, but Mars' team was ruthless: Drapion and Tentacruel used their long arms and tentacles to knock any of them flying, and Purugly could flatten one of them in a second and would quickly start hacking at them. Misdreavus managed to take Tentacruel down, but Drapion defeated both her and Beautifly in a single crushing defeat, and Matthew did not have the strength left to return them.

The trainer could barely stand, could barely remember even of his team's moves, blood seeping through his clothes and the explosions from attacks leaving him just as battered. Matthew felt like a zombie as he stared across at Mars, a tired Prinplup and Cherubi before him and a snarling Purugly and Drapion before her.

"Just give up boy!" Mars snarled, curling her whip around her arm. "There is no way you are going to be able to defeat me! Look at your Pokemon, they can barely even stand! Maybe if you surrender, I will go easy on you… maybe," Mars added with a purr, and she began to laugh, a cackle that her Purugly echoed.

"I am on the winning side, I am not going to surrender!" Matthew growled back, though he felt woozy as he spoke, and he could feel all the strength and determination he had felt before slipping away. Mars only laughed harder, and glanced around at the three he had arrived with.

"And why aren't they helping you? They have basically ignored you, what good are they? You may as well be alone right now pearly-whirly: none of them are going to help you, you really should have realised that by now." Matthew looked around, and he knew that there some truth to what she was saying. None of them had offered him any assistance, too busy clearing the Grunts to think about him. Would they notice though as Mars destroyed his Pokemon and then killed him? Matthew didn't even know anymore, and it was hard to imagine that a short time ago he had won his second ribbon, the path to the Grand Festival seeming so close…

"I am getting bored, and I think we are going to have to leave soon…" Mars sighed. Matthew looked up hopefully, wondering if his life would be spared, but the light was crushed in a second: Mars had procured a gun from her dress, and Purugly and Drapion were slowly moving forwards. "Night night Matthew. It wasn't that nice knowing you… you weren't as pretty as the others…" Mars laughed again and swung her whip around, and before Matthew knew it he was on the ground, his head smashing into the rain soaked earth, and he was pulled forwards as Purugly pounced. Matthew looked at Prinplup as she stared back at him pleadingly, and he wished that there was something he could do to save her from this fate. But Purugly pushed her out of his sight, and Matthew turned around as he stopped moving, his eyes staring into the barrel of Mars' gun as she pointed it towards his face.

A million thoughts rushed through his mind at once: the unborn egg he had left back in Solaceon, his two ribbons, the only ones he would ever receive, his home in Twinleaf Town, his mother, his brother, his father, his father's wishes for him, the affair, Vanessa, Xavier, Sahara, Harrison, Lucinda, Marley, Mira, Prinplup, Beautifly, Misdreavus, Cherubi… It boiled down to one single thought: Matthew was going to die, and there was nothing he could do to stop it, only stare up at Mars as she smiled down at him and wait for the gunshot….

Yet his death never came.

As Matthew tensed up, expecting his dying sounds to be the cries of his Pokemon behind him, a roar shuddered throughout the field. Silence fell across them, and every eye turned towards the skies. Black smoke appears to be rushing towards them, swirling around as if caught in the wind, though Matthew could feel no breeze. But as the darkness swirled, he suddenly realised that Mars had her back turned, leaving both weapons hanging loosely at her side…

"YAH!" Matthew yelled, and he leapt forwards with the last of his strength. Mars turned at the last moment but wasn't quick enough, and yelled out as she was bowled to the ground. Matthew wrenched the whip from her hand before she could hold it properly, and then flung it backwards with everything he had left. Purugly hissed as she was struck in the stomach, and howled as Prinplup drove a Metal Claw into her neck before turning and firing a Whirlpool at Drapion, blasting him backwards and freeing a cowering Cherubi.

"You chose the wrong coordinator to mess with!" Matthew hissed, and he stared angrily down at Mars as she struggled to push him off. He forced his right hand down on her left to try and keep her still, but froze as his fingers brushed against something: Matthew stared towards the gun as his fingers moved across it, and reflected back on all the times he had seen one fired. Would he be able to prise it from Mars' fingers, and would he even be able to use it?

But just as Matthew's hand began to tighten around it, there was a second roar, one so loud that it made him collapse with pain. The roar echoed inside his head, and glancing around Matthew could see it was doing the same to everyone else, Cynthia and Cyrus collapsing on top of the other. Matthew looked towards the sky, and his heart sank further than it had all night: Giratina was floating above them, the Ghost Dragon that had destroyed Solaceon Town and terrorised the skies above. Fear instantly filled Matthew's body, and he slowly backed away towards Prinplup and Cherubi, wondering if there would be a way to escape unnoticed.

"Plup Prin Prin Plup!" Prinplup whispered in Matthew's ear and pointed with a flipper. Matthew followed the direction and stared towards Giratina's left eye: it seemed to be oozing some dark liquid, most likely black blood, and he was trying to see them using only his right eye.

"Something's happened to him," Matthew whispered back as Cherubi leapt into his arms, shaking in fear. Giratina hissed and flapped his shadow-like wings, descending to the ground before them. He was almost the same size as the airship, and it was no wonder that Mars began to back away in fear as the giant Renegade Pokemon approached them.

"You have no idea how much I despise human beings!" Giratina hissed over them. "Humans have destroyed my life, from ruining my world to now half blinding me. My eye shall heal, but the wounds will forever stay open until I get my revenge! My world is drawing me back, but I will resist the pull long enough to at least murder each and every one of you and watch you burn down to ashes!"

"UNLIKELY! Garchomp, Dragon Rush!" Cynthia yelled, but Giratina only laughed before turning towards them.

"You have spirit… I always appreciate those that think they can stand up to me, but you should know you aren't going to last!" And he opened his golden mouth wide, blue flames rising up from his throat. Matthew clutched his Pokemon hard, simply wishing for this night to be over…

"Unown Unown Unown." Voices sounded out throughout the forest, and Matthew looked around in shock. Unown of all different shapes were spilling out from the forest, dozens of them growing towards a hundred filling the field. Giratina froze, staring around at the latest intrusion to his plans as they began to float past all the humans and other Pokemon and rise towards him. Within only a few seconds of their first cry, a giant ring of black was encircling Giratina, and the Ghost-Dragon stared around in shock.

"What could you possibly do?" He hissed. "Leave here before I destroy you!" But the Unown only stared back blankly, and suddenly ovals were surrounding them, each one a different colour to the Unown on either side.

"Unown Unown Unown," they repeated, and then their Hidden Powers were fired. Giratina roared and screamed as he was bombarded, all varieties of the attacks exploding against him and seeming to shrink him. Matthew could see black smoke curling out from the cave entrance, and it was creeping towards the Dragon as the Hidden Powers forced him towards it, wrapping around his thick legs and drawing him backwards.

"You cannot defeat me!" Giratina roared. "Even if I am trapped for now, I will find a way back to destroy you all for your disobedience! Just wait and see!"

"Cherub Cherubi Ru!" Cherubi huffed, and her smaller bead glowed green. She fired her Bullet Seed towards Giratina, and Matthew both gasped and laughed at the same time as the green seeds struck him in his stabbed eye. Giratina let out another roar that nearly split the sound barrier, but the black smoke began to consume him, and only an echo remained as the last round of Hidden Powers forced Giratina inside the cave.

"Unown Unown," the multiple Unown said simultaneously, and they floated quickly down into the cave and after the shock. Everyone watched them enter, and were forced to shield their eyes a moment later as a white flash suddenly shone out, nearly blinding those nearest and engulfing the entire field.

Then silence fell. Matthew opened his eyes and stared towards the cave: nothing was stirring from inside, no Giratina, no Unown, nothing. The quiet was almost overwhelming as he stared around the field and found that for the first time in a what seemed like hours, not a single Pokemon was battling. Fantina stood strong and silent with her Pokemon, while Mars was retreating away to deal to Jupiter, her Pokemon back inside their balls and her whip and gun back on her person. Matthew thought of the moment where he had touched the gun, and thought of Vanessa and all the times she had fought: there must have been countless people she had killed without a second thought, yet when Matthew had the option to do the same, he had frozen. Was Vanessa right, was there no way he would be a fighter of her level?

"I think it is fair to say that the battle is lost," Cynthia's voice called out through the silence, interrupting Matthew's thoughts. He turned to see her standing above Cyrus as he remained on the ground, her Garchomp, Altaria and Gastrodon surrounding her. Palmer's Dragonite, Rhyperior and Cresselia moved in closer, while Fantina's Gengar and Drifblim turned towards Mars as she checked on Jupiter. "You are outnumbered, countless of your 'Grunts' are dead and the rest have already retreated. Just come quietly Cyrus, and maybe we will be lenient." Cyrus slowly rose to his feet, a grim, angry glare in his eyes, and Matthew wanted to yell out to Cynthia, half expecting the Galactic Boss to whip out a weapon and murder her before their eyes. However, the glare quickly turned into a smile, and Matthew wasn't sure quite what it meant.

"If you think I will give up that easily Cynthia, then clearly you don't know me as well as you use to," he hissed, the smile staying spread across his face. "NOW!" He yelled, and suddenly a whirring noise came up from _Charm_. Blue light began to pulsate out after a few seconds, and Cyrus rose a hand and began to wave at Cynthia, something blue flickering around his wrist. Mars laughed and Matthew turned, seeing the same thing glowing on her and Jupiter. The blue light got intense, covering the entire ship, and it quickly began to cover Cyrus and anyone else from Galactic still on the ground. Matthew shut his eyes against the light, though it began to burn through his eyelids, and he held Prinplup and Cherubi close again.

There was a sudden swishing noise, and all the air seemed to be sucked towards a certain point. The blue light burnt brighter than ever, and Matthew cried out as the air was forced backwards, gushing over him and sending him rolling backwards. The pains in his body only increased at this, and Prinplup's metal flipper struck him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. But when Matthew stopped moving and opened his eyes, the blue light had disappeared, but so had all of Galactic. Only Cynthia, Fantina, Palmer and their Pokemon remained, and Matthew could see Beautifly and Misdreavus from where they had fainted, looking small and alone now that the field was empty.

"What happened, where the hell did they go?" Palmer shouted, staring around widely. "Dragonite, Cresselia, search the area!"

"There is no point Palmer, they have teleported," Cynthia hissed. She angrily kicked out at a nearby rock, sending it spiralling across to where the airship had been only a few moments ago. "We need to secure the area to prevent anyone from nosing around and stumbling across something they shouldn't, and then we need to get back to Solaceon and find out what the hell is going on." Fantina nodded, but Matthew merely collapsed backwards into the grass, staring up at the suddenly cloudless sky. He wanted to sleep for the next forty eight hours straight, just let his body rest and heal from the night's events, and sleep would clear his mind and take away all thoughts that were nagging away at his brain.

"I think we've earned a week off, haven't we?" Matthew mumbled, and Prinplup and Cherubi wearily agreed.

* * *

"HOW COULD THIS HAVE HAPPENED!"

Team Galactic had only been back for a minute, but already Cyrus was venting his rage. He flipped over a worktable, sending a computer and a variety of airship components crashing to the ground, where they smashed and scattered across the tiles. Many Grunts quickly busied themselves so they didn't get involved in his fury, helping carry wounded to the medical wing or unpack supplies that had been brought along. Yet Cyrus' angry roars were easy to hear wherever you went, and many people couldn't help but turn back and watch as he threw a soldering iron through the window of a Wrangler being removed from the airship.

"He's a dramatic one, isn't he?" Addison chuckled as she placed an ice pack to her head, soothing a bruise that had formed from smashing into the steering wheel. Charles and Roshonda nodded half-heartedly next to her, sitting on boxes as they waited for wheelchairs to be brought down for them. The two grunts were unable to even walk, and it was painful even moving their bodies just slightly.

"My god, this was a long night, wasn't it?" Addison said with a sigh. "I can't even remember half of what happened! How did we get back to the battle again?" She asked, turning towards Charles. Charles paused, rubbing his head as if struggling to remember. He didn't want to reveal that Cresselia had helped them back as she was Palmer's Pokemon, nor that he had passed on the message that had ended the fight and caused Cyrus to get this furious. But Addison and Roshonda were both staring curiously at him and he knew he needed to say something.

"Gliscor dragged both of us back, that's all! I thought I'd already said that," Charles replied, putting on an indignant tone just to annoy her. Addison paused, trying to think back to if Charles had said something, but all thoughts were interrupted by a loud shattering that rang around the room. Everyone turned towards a glass cabinet that now had a chair wedged through the front, broken glass scattering the floor and its contents spilling onto the tiles. Silence quickly fell throughout the airbase, and Cyrus turned around towards them all, fury in his eyes.

"Next time any of you see ANYONE that could get in our way, putting a bullet straight through their eyes!" He shouted. "Don't wait to try and torture them or manipulate them, don't bring them to me to deal with: kill them, dismember them, blast them into the next bloody dimension for all I care, just make sure they die!"

"Sir, maybe you should calm down a little bit," Charon said warily for a seat nearby, his face pale and his eyes surrounded by purple bags following his trip into unconsciousness. "As much fun as smashing all your possessions is, it isn't entirely productive and you aren't going to be the one that tidies it all up, are you?" Cyrus wheeled angrily around to face the scientist, and Charles wondered if he was going to be attacked. But before Cyrus could say anything, a smile crossed Charon's face, a familiar, all knowing smile Charles had seen too many times before.

"If you would like to sit down and talk about something like a normal adult, I have a certain project waiting back in my laboratory for you to look over. It is nearly complete, and I would like you to have a quick look over it before I do the finishing touches." There was a pause after this, and everyone's eyes flickered between Charon and his smile to Cyrus and his slowly softening face, the anger creeping out which each second that passed. Charles wanted to know what this project was, though he knew that if any of them asked, even someone like Minerva, they would simply get ignored.

"I want _Charm _emptied of anything important so repairs can start in the morning, and then I want everything put back in its rightful place before any of you even think of sleeping!" Cyrus yelled to them all, before turning and stomping away through a doorway, followed closely behind by a smirking Charon.

"You heard him you irritating swine, get to work!" Saturn yelled, but then turned and moved towards Mars, engaging in whispers as soon as he was near. Charles wanted to find out what was going on, but there was a cough and he turned to find one of the medical staff waiting with a wheelchair.

"I guess I will see you all later then," Charles said with a weak smile as he heaved himself onto the chair, a jolt of pain shooting through his back as he settled in. The nurse began to wheel him away, and Charles smiled at Roshonda and Addison as he left. While Addison gave a slight nod, Roshonda suddenly turned away as if Charles wasn't even there. He was surprised by this, and wanted to ask her if something was wrong, but the nurse taking him seemed in a rush and Charles was already travelling down a hallway. He simply sighed and looked at the perfectly white path ahead of him, thinking back on the night's events. Winston Diamond had left him with a lot to think about, from his feelings for Sahara and Lyla, to his true intentions to staying with Galactic. Charles had been dished a harsh look at his life tonight, and it was always a painful thing to look at, but he simply wanted to start recuperating and try and heal his latest wounds…. The problems of his life could wait until morning…

* * *

_February 11th 2010_

"I would hate to be the one charged with cleaning this place up," Vanessa mumbled, staring out at Solaceon Town. The ice had melted away through the use of multiple Pokemon moves, mostly done by Monferno and Spiritomb, leaving large cold puddles of water spread across the town, a lot of the water seeping into the craters in the middle of the streets. It made it seemed that a tidal wave had swept through the town, leaving dozens of destroyed buildings in its path. Solaceon residents were making their way to a number of different sites set up by the army, and the sadness and shock they had just experienced was evident on their faces.

"Don't make jokes Vanessa, these people have just lost their lives!" Sahara said with a sigh next to her. The two were sitting on the rubble from the Pokemon Center, watching as the rescue and clean up operation began. Sahara was too weak to stand or do anything, and was comfortable wrapped in a warm blanket sipping at a hot chocolate, her usual white coat somehow back now that Jaki was gone. Vanessa rose a hand that was stained black with Giratina's blood in apology and remained silent, simply glad that the two were managing to talk again on a semi civil note. They watched as Smash pushed aside the remnants of a fallen house from the streets so an army car could get through, and saw Grotle and Luxio dragging carts of supplies in the direction of the nearest tent.

"I wish there was something I could do," Sahara sighed, putting down her hot chocolate and staring sadly out at the ruins. "I just feel responsible for all of this… I know that it was Jaki and I am not to blame, but I just can't shake the feeling that _I_ did this! Looking at all these people whose lives have been destroyed, that have probably lost friends and family as well as their homes and possessions… I just wish I could control these personalities and stop them from doing things like this to people that don't deserve it!" Her voice began to shake at the end, and Vanessa moved closer, putting an arm around her, trying to be comforting.

"You are not responsible for what happened here, and no one blames you for it! This was all Jaki and Giratina, you had no part in this at all!" Vanessa said, hoping it sounded kind. "You cannot let Eden, Crystal or Jaki control you like this. Just keep your chin and focus on fixing their messes, not letting guilt for their actions get the better of you. They may leave you to take the fall, but it is up to you how you deal with it." Sahara was nodding along yet still looked sad, and Vanessa wondered if there was something else she could do to fix things. However, before anything else came to mind, there was a grumble of an engine and a screeching of tyres, and both girls looked around to find an army truck parked only a few metres away, the back door swinging open.

"My god, look at this place!" Palmer cried as soon as his feet touched the ground. "It never was that good of a town in the first place, but it was a hell of a lot better than this wreck!" He moved aside, allowing Cynthia, Fantina and Matthew to get out. All of them looked weary and wounded, and Sahara gasped as Matthew raised his right arm, showing blood stains across his sleeve and back.

"What happened to you all?" Sahara cried, and leapt to her feet, only to collapse a moment later as her weariness got the better of her. Cynthia was the first to turn towards them, and she moved towards the two before the others had even reacted. Vanessa stared up at the powerful woman looming over them, and could see a touch of fierceness behind Cynthia's beauty.

"I should be the one asking that question!" The Champion replied. "I want an explanation of exactly what happened here, staring with how you came to get to the ruins and let Giratina control you!" Sahara was affronted, and Vanessa's right hand reached towards her umbrella as it lay behind them, ready to give Cynthia a piece of her mind.

"Madam Champion, how lovely of you to finally join us!" All eye's turned as General Malcolm suddenly appeared before them. He was red in the face and his eyes were nearly falling out of his head. He was flanked by several of his officers, and behind him came Xavier, Bebe, Lucinda and Harrison and several of their Pokemon. Vanessa had had to de-thaw them with Monferno to ensure they were out in time, and after General Malcolm began barking orders to everyone, she wished she had kept him frozen.

"General, what a pleasure to see you," Cynthia said with a slight growl, her lips pressed together.

"Where exactly have you been?" The General bellowed, spraying her face with spit as he loomed towards her. "I have been down here for HOURS fighting to save this region, and its Champion doesn't even have the good grace to be down here! Now I demand that you four tell me exactly where you were!" Cynthia paused, merely blinking for a moment, though it was evident to all that her lips were getting thinner and a touch of fire appeared in her eyes. Suddenly, she raised her hand, and Sahara, Matthew, Fantina and Lucinda gasped as Cynthia slapped the General. He stumbled to the side, nearly falling onto Sahara, but quickly got back to his feet and stared at Cynthia with eyes as big as the moon.

"If you ever talk to me like that again, I will have my Garchomp eat you, slowly and publicly," the Champion replied with a cold sense of calmness. "Now, you run along and coordinate the safety and well being of the Solaceon residents, and you leave me to deal with the clean up, alright?" General Funkshin looked shocked, and he opened his wide mouth to say something, but Cynthia moved straight past him. "Palmer, send Cresselia out to go through the wreckage of the Pokemon Center, and I want everyone to send any Pokemon they have that could possibly help with clearing rubble out so we can tidy this place up!" General Funkshin turned after her, but with everyone's eyes upon him, he simply remained silent.

"Soldiers, you heard the lady, let's get moving!" He bellowed at his soldiers, and then marched towards the car, slamming the door as loudly as possible as he got in.

"Ah, that was hilarious," Vanessa laughed as she helped Sahara up. Matthew rushed forwards to help steady her, and they moved her away towards a large piece of roof that had fallen away from the rest of the building. By the time Sahara was settled down, Xavier had appeared before them, though was watching as Heracross and Lucinda's Aggron piled rock together in a crater.

"It is unfortunate what has happened here tonight," he said with a slightly tired yawn. "I would have liked to have done more, but if the battle has ended, then I believe I have done enough."

"Apparently Lapras was the one that did enough," Vanessa said. "When did you teach her Sheer Cold anyway?"

_He didn't, _a tired voice echoed inside their heads, and the four turned around: Lapras was sliding towards them slower than normal, and Cresselia was floating alongside. Vanessa and Sahara gasped as pink light lit up the surrounding area, making the fallen building look beautiful as it lay in ruins. Lapras looked positively radiant next to her, though if you looked into her eyes you could see just how tired she truly was, how much of her strength had been drained.

_I was taught Sheer Cold long ago by Carolina, though I have not used it for some time… _Lapras continued as she came to a stop, Xavier moving towards her with a pile of berries. _It is a very powerful move, as you have well noticed, and I thought it best not to use it after… after a certain incident. I turned it into my Blizzard, and it has been a long time since I used it. However, this situation called for it, and I put everything I had into the move. Maybe I overdid it, but you must admit, even for my age I still have style. _

"It is always good to have style," Vanessa said with a nod. "Though don't be like Matthew: he's all style and no skill." She flashed him a mocking smile, though Matthew only glared back: it seemed clear that she couldn't remember what she had said, but he would never forget her words, and would never forget the image of the gun pointed directly at his head.

_It was commendable work, Lapras, _Cresselia said, her voice sweet and gentle. _I wish we could have battled together more often, but in those times we did fight side by side, you were always the strongest Pokemon on the field. _A smile crossed Lapras' face, and Cresselia smiled back as she floated towards the Pokemon Center. _I hope none of your items have been crushed… that would be most unfortunate after how bravely you have all fought today. . _

"I think our Pokemon eggs might still be in there," Sahara said, glancing over at Matthew. The two looked nervously at the piles of rubble laying there, and Cresselia's eyes flashed pink: instantly the piles of orange roof and grey walls were moved asides, revealing a dusty, cracked ground beneath.

_Within a few minutes you should be able to find your items, _the Moonlight Pokemon said, sending a large chunk of broken concrete flying almost elegantly over their heads. The Dex Holders and Lapras watched as the pile got smaller and smaller, Cresselia bringing the building down to their height. It was shocking to think that they had slept their the night before, and had only been inside a few hours ago, yet here it lay, the first thing to fall under the attack, the first thing they had let get destroyed.

"That rock looks familiar," Xavier said suddenly, his eyes tracing something as it soared overhead. The others turned to watch it, and Vanessa growled as she lunged for her umbrella. However, a cackle emerged from the cracked rock before she could touch it, and suddenly Spiritomb emerged before them, the rock coming to a stop as her floating face appeared.

"Now Vanessa, I thought we were friends after what just happened!" Spiritomb said in mock shock. "So disappointed in you: I expected better from a murdering, clinically insane ginger with a bad attitude and a particularly pointy umbrella." She smiled down at them in all, her wide green smile mocking and jarring. "I think your wrong Cresselia: there was a lot more they could have done to stop this all from happening. You were really the only one that actually did something properly constructive tonight."

"Excuse me? Whose the one stained with snake monster blood?" Vanessa hissed, showing her black coloured skin for Spiritomb to see.

"And I was fighting to death up at the ruins!" Matthew shouted back, showing his wounds to the Ghost-Dark type before turning towards Cresselia. "And what did you do? When Giratina was right in front of you, you just sat back and waited for the Unown to deal with them! I thought you were a legendary!" Cresselia turned towards the group, her happy smile fading away. What replaced it was a grim, thin pursed expression, and the glow around her body seemed to dim down. The change in light and warmth around them was shocking, and Matthew cowered up next to Vanessa for protection.

_It has been a long night, so I shall forgive your rudeness, _Cresselia said, her tone a lot less kind than earlier. _Spiritomb, you are wrong, as usual: they all fought valiantly tonight, whether you noticed or not, and they each deserve praise. It was a difficult task to stop this battle, and anyone that fought for the right side did a lot more than many people. And Matthew, though I am a Legendary, I am still a normal Pokemon. I am Psychic, and Giratina is a Ghost_: t_here is nothing wrong with fighting an enemy stronger than yourself, but you must always know when to draw the line. _There was a glint in her eyes, and the Moonlight Pokemon turned back towards the Pokemon Center on those words, leaving them hanging in the air. The Dex Holders all exchanged looks, knowing what she meant but not quite sure what to say of it.

"Anywaaaaaay," Spiritomb said, stretching the word out and floating closer towards them. "I don't feel like going back to the ruins after what happened tonight, so I need somewhere to stay. Charlotte isn't around to force me back into my lovely little permanent trap, but I realised that no one has ever tried to capture me before." She stared at each of them in turn, blinking as silence fell across them.

"Are you asking one of us to catch you?" Vanessa scoffed. "We already get in enough trouble every other day as it is: do you really think we would bring some cursed demon into our midst?"

"I am only asking, but I guess I can rule you out then," Spiritomb snapped, "and I hardly doubt my good looks would be appreciated in contests, and this one seems a bit too vanilla for my liking," she added, staring from Matthew to Xavier, "so I guess this leaves the lucky dip of personalities." Everyone turned towards Sahara, who stared back at Spiritomb in complete shock. To the others, it seemed like an obvious decision to make, yet there was look in Sahara's eyes that didn't seem to be on the same wave length as the others, and she looked up at Spiritomb with a stronger expression than anything else she'd shown since transforming back.

"I will capture you, but there are conditions," she said, sending a silent yet stunned ripple throughout those around her.

"Sahara, are you sure this is smart?" Matthew asked with a shaky voice.

"You can't cause any trouble if you come with me," Sahara continued, ignoring the interruption, "and you will act as a normal Pokemon. You will obey me to the best of your abilities, especially in battle, and will hold your thoughts if they are going to cause any upset. And if I ever ask you a question, you are going to answer it honestly." She pulled an Ultra Ball out of her pocket and held it up before her, a serious, steely look in her eyes. "Are we agreed?" Spiritomb looked uncertain, her green eyes narrowing as she mulled the conditions over. The others all remained silence: they knew it would be bad for a Pokemon that was supposed to bring chaos to be captured by someone with unstable personalities, but no one was willing to say anything, simply waiting to see what happened.

"It's a deal," Spiritomb said at last. "It will at least be better than staying trapped inside that tower." A beam crossed Sahara's face, and she threw the Ultra Ball forwards. It bounced against Spiritomb's rock, releasing a yellow light that engulfed the Forbidden Pokemon. But before she could turn into energy, everyone saw a look on Spiritomb's face: she was wearing a crooked smile, and there was a mischievous glint in her eyes that didn't seem right. But before anyone knew what to make of it, she turned to yellow energy and was sucked inside the Ultra Ball. It landed with a thump on the ground, and everyone watched as it shook, the circle in the middle flashing on and off. Then, it froze, and stars flashed as it made a sealing sound.

"YES!" Sahara yelled, bending down to scoop the ball up, her legs wobbling slightly, but she straightened up perfectly clutching her latest Pokemon in her palms. "Hammer evolved and I caught Spiritomb: really not that bad of a night, is it?" She flashed a smile at the others, but it quickly faltered as they smiled back half heartedly. What had happened was hardly something to joke about, and Sahara realized she had crossed a line, though there was an odd tension between them all that stopped her from saying anything. The four Dex Holders simply stood there in silence, no one saying a word as no one quite knew what to say or why they had fallen silent, only knowing that there was something between them at the moment they couldn't quite put their fingers on. Was it Spiritomb, or the destruction of the town, or a lingering resentment that was starting to spread?

_Do you wish to start searching for the eggs? _Cresselia said suddenly, and the four turned to find that most of the rubble was clear, showing the battlefield covered with dust and smaller chunks of rubble and the entrance completely destroyed.

_Dear god yes, _Lapras said, and she began to slide forwards, casting an irritable glance back at the Dex Holders as she did so. Xavier quickly followed after her, and on instinct Sahara and Matthew followed, trying to retrace the way to their rooms. Vanessa paused for a moment, watching them all as they moved out. She wanted to say something, to point out the hypocrisy that Sahara had just displayed in capturing Spiritomb, to raise questions about what had happened tonight, to voice her own apologises and worries. But there was a nagging voice at the back of her head, one that Vanessa wasn't sure if it was her own or some Pokemon whispering into her mind, telling her not to do it.

"You better to be right," Vanessa told the voice with a sigh, and she moved after the others, her glance turning to the dark sky above, thinking about what Cresselia had said and wondering just when the time would come that they'd take on an enemy that was too strong for them.

* * *

_They will pay, _Giratina thought to himself as he stared out at the group.

The world around him was black, so dark that Giratina couldn't even see himself. His eye had stopped bleeding, but it would take a while for it to heal. Giratina was forced to watch the Dex Holders with only one eye, staring out through a flickering tear before him. He had watched as Spiritomb was caught, and now watched as they searched through the rubble.

_When I have recovered, I will destroy each and every one of you in every way possible, _the Ghost Dragon hissed, _and you do not realise just how easy it will be. _Giratina smiled to himself as he stared at the tear, watching as it rose up beyond where he could see and below to any depths he could travel. The world was beginning to fall apart, and it had all started with a simple mistake that never should have occurred. But now that the opportunity had presented itself, Giratina could finally get his revenge, revenge that had been waiting for thousands of years.

Within weeks, he would tear apart the barriers of the dimensions, and then he would watch as everything burnt around him.


	22. The Eye of the Storm

**Sorry for yet another loooong delay between parts! I became caught up with school work and exams that never seemed to end, but I am happy to say that I am getting back into the swing of things. I hope you enjoy the latest part, and there is the usual warning of violence and language to those that may be offended. **

**The Eye of the Storm**

_February 15th _

"Rise and shine cupcakes, it's time to battle!"

Xavier opened his eyes instantly. He had had little sleep over the past dew days, a mixture of troubling images from Solaceon Town and the terrible weather that had made the ground beneath them soggy, and felt tired already. Yet Xavier ignored the feeling as he sat up and stared towards the gap in the tent that had suddenly appeared. Vanessa stood in the entrance with her rustic coloured hair clinging to her face, water dripping from the tips. Xavier noted her dress was shaped like a water drop, with a tight collar and a flowing bottom, with matching boots that covered her knees. She wore a malicious smile on her face and laughed at disturbing them as she stepped inside.

Vanessa's outfit may have changed overnight, but the weather had stayed the same. A curtain of rain was visible behind the bright blue dress, and the heavy droplets pounded against the thin fabric of the tent. The wind roaring outside sounded enough to tear the tent apart, and Xavier wondered again how it had survived this long.

"What do you want?" Matthew grumbled sleepily to his left, and their portable lamp was switched on: yellow light cast obscure shadows across, and Vanessa's dress glittered as she moved further in. Xavier saw the look in her eyes and moved aside, giving her space before she flopped down onto his sleeping bag. Water began to pool across the surface, and Xavier flicked heavy strands of her hair away from him.

"Why Matthew, there's two handsome lads in here, and I am wearing a soaked dress that I really must take off! Put the pieces together, big boy," Vanessa said with a wink, and her laughter filled the tent. Xavier shifted uncomfortably aside, and saw that Matthew looked shocked. "Bet that'll woke you up!" Vanessa cackled, and prodded Xavier in the ribs as she laughed deliriously.

"Did Abra take Sahara to shelter yet?" Xavier asked, ignoring Vanessa and addressing a question that was more likely to gain an answer.

"Yeah, he took her to the café and away from the rain," Vanessa said, her laughter slowly down as her voice and breathing returned to normal. "The coffee there is awful though, and I don't have anything to do alone in our cramped little tent, so I thought I would come and annoy you in this 'imperfect' space of yours." She uttered her last words with a glare in Matthew's direction, and Xavier glanced around to see his reaction. Matthew was not pleased to be stuck on the muddy route … with the foul weather howling outside, even though their tent was obviously nicer than the smaller and tattered one Vanessa and Sahara shared. Neither of the girls had been happy when Matthew had complained during training two days ago, and they both brought it up mockingly whenever the duos met again.

"Well, don't expect us to be in any fit state to entertain you!" Matthew snapped, throwing his covers aside and grabbing his blue jumper. "We only just woke up, and the weather seems worse than it was last night! I am not training when it is this bad!" Matthew had been complaining a lot since the weather had turned, Xavier had noticed, and he wondered what exactly had brought it on. Was Matthew angry that his contest win had been overshadowed by Giratina and Jaki's destruction of Solaceon? Was he annoyed about being in the wet, the foul weather ruining his plans? Or was he irritated that he was stuck with Xavier for the majority of the day in such close quarters with nothing to do?

"Oh come on you rich snob," Vanessa sneered. "Prinplup will get a boost from a rain and Monferno will get weakened. I will still have the upper hand, naturally, but it may be fun… for me!" Matthew glared at her as he slipped into his shoes and moved towards the door.

"I am going to see if there are any berries for our Pokemon, their running out of food," he said, though Xavier could see it was only an excuse to escape them both. The wind tore at the flaps in the tent as he stepped through, rain falling like shards of glass onto their floor, but within a second it was zipped up again and Matthew had gone.

"Thank god!" Vanessa bellowed, and she leapt off Xavier's bed and fell down dramatically onto Matthew's. "I want to know what that boy has got shoved up his arse that makes him such a snobby little prick!"

"I highly doubt Matthew has anything 'shoved up' there. I imagine he would be unable to walk if he did so," Xavier replied, and caught Vanessa rolling her eyes out of the corner of his. He fell silent and began to search around the end of his bed for something to wear, listening intently to the rain and the wind as it battered against the sides of the tent.

"The weather sounds angry," Xavier said as he searched through his bag for clean socks, but remembered they had been unable to wash and dry their clothing properly since leaving Solaceon. "If you listen carefully, you can almost hear a roar behind the wind. My father told me a story once about how the weather is controlled through the Sky High Pokemon Rayquaza, and he sends good weather to the places that deserve it, and casts storms across land where the people have done wrong."

"I never expected you to be the sort to listen to myths, especially from your father," Vanessa said. "I saw our great Tower Tycoon at the café. It seems there is some event happening later today and he was hanging around as if it was all going to be for him." Xavier shut his eyes and nodded, slowly silencing himself and pushing away the negative thoughts that had arisen when Vanessa spoke. _Should I really be surprised? This is typical Palmer… no, focus… listen to the weather… focus on the rain and the wind…. _

"If the story is true, I wonder what we have done to have wronged Rayquaza," Xavier continued calmly. "This storm has lasted for several days now and it shows no signs of lessening."

"Maybe he is just bowling? That was something my fath – a friend always use to say…," Vanessa said, though her change in words had not covered up the stutter and stumble. Xavier made a mental note of this and stored the information away, adding to the information Vanessa was slowly and unwilling revealing about herself.

"That is a nice thought, but there is something that has enraged Rayquaza and he is taking it out on Route 215, unless whatever has upset him is located on this route," Xavier said. He slipped into his own green jacket and shoes and stood up, and turned to Vanessa to find the joy had slipped from her face as she stared to the side of the tent, watching as it strained against the wind in several places.

"You're pretty emotive for a person with no emotions," Vanessa mumbled as the rain and wind sounded louder amongst the silent tent.

"I may not have emotions, but I have spent such a long time around emotive people that I am slowly building up a basic understanding," Xavier replied. "It is easier to analyze the emotions of the rain and the wind: they are more adapt then humans with making their emotions and intentions clear." He caught Vanessa staring at him oddly from the corner of his eyes and decided to stop, not wishing to frighten her away like Matthew. He tried to think of a new conversation starter, but was thrown when something heavy thudded against the tent directly above him. Xavier leapt to his feet and watched as something circular rolled down the front of the tent and came through the gap in the zip, landing directly at the entrance.

"It's a Pokemon, clearly," Vanessa said, rushing to his side with her PokeDex in her hands, "though I am not sure which one…"

"It's a Hoothoot," Xavier replied, getting down to his feet to examine the brown ball of feathers. "I have seen them on nature documentaries before." Xavier rolled the small Pokemon onto its back, allowing him to examine its face. Black markings surrounded pink eyes that were only half open, and a tiny beak was the main point on a patch of lighter feathers. The Hoothoot groaned softly whenever Xavier near its right wing or talons, and he quickly pulled his bag over.

"In my studies of emotion, I have begun to properly understand Pokemon," Xavier explained as he rummaged through his many contents, "but it doesn't take any level of analysis to know that this Pokemon is in serious pain." Without waiting for Vanessa to respond, Xavier got to work gathering Potions and various berries together to make the Owl Pokemon feel better. Silence fell as Vanessa watched him work, and Xavier listened to the roar of the wind as it sent the rain through the gap the Hoothoot had left, and was glad to have a distraction to keep his mind off wondering why Rayquaza had chosen to punish this route.

* * *

Sahara had only been trying coffee for a few days now, but already knew that it wasn't for her.

She pushed the small white cup of caffeine across the miniscule table, recoiling from the bad taste that lingered on her tongue, and stared longingly out the window next to her. Sahara wanted nothing more than to move on and make it to Veilstone, but the weather was holding her back. Vanessa's Abra had never been to Veilstone before and did not know the way by teleportation, so their entire group was held up as they waited for the foul weather to stop.

_It is their fault I can't leave, _Sahara thought bitterly. _Eden, Crystal… Jaki… how am I going to be able to finish my journey when that trio of sluts plans to pop out whenever it suits them… _Sahara sighed and turned away from the rain, grabbing her cup and drowning the last of the coffee in a single gulp. She needed all the caffeine in the world to keep her going if she was expected to stay trapped in here for another day, watching enthusiastic ten year olds talking excitedly about their quests, or watching young love blossoming between the mouths of every couple that strutted in here. Sahara envied and pitied all of them for different reasons, and wished she could finally escape them.

"Pachi Pachi Risu Pach Pachi!" Sahara turned to the opposite seat and smiled, watching as Nutty attacked a small bowl of Pokemon food that the kind chef always gave them. Nutty was happy running around the café every day, playing with the other Pokemon that came in and occasionally with Sahara's, yet Sahara wished she could be outside, putting Hammer's new body and skills to the test, as well as learning what her latest capture could do.

_Spiritomb promised to answer any of my questions, _Sahara thought, instinctively reaching into her pocket to feel the PokeBalls between her fingers. _She better stick to that promise… I have plenty of questions for her, and only someone of her age and knowledge could answer them…_

"Pach Pachi Pachi!" Nutty suddenly squealed excitedly, and Sahara snapped out of her day dream and watched in shock as Nutty leapt onto the table, bound across the surface and jumped onto the window ledge.

"What is it, has it stopped raining?" Sahara asked in hope, even though the rain still echoed around them against the café's roof. She stared through the condensation, rain splattering against the glass, and saw figures rushing towards the café, a number of cars suddenly parked outside.

"Those weren't here when we arrived," Sahara mumbled, and she cast a suspicious glare towards the entrance. As the door swung open, her fingers clasped around one of her PokeBalls and she turned around, expecting someone to come bursting in looking for her.

"Professor Rowan, is today really the best day to initiate your rocket lunch?" A familiar voice said as the group entered, and there were several flashes of camera bulbs. Sahara let go of the PokeBall at the sound of her grandfather's name, and her jaw dropped as she spied him amongst a crowd of reporters. It felt like months since they'd last seen each other, but he still looked the same: hair and beard as white as snow, dressed in a long brown trench coat to fend off the rain, his permanent scowl still embedded into his face.

"This date has been set for months, and I am not the sort of scientist to simply change things because of a little weather," the Professor growled, pushing through the army of raincoat clad reporters and cameramen. "However, Miss Miller, if you feel the rain is not suited to _your_ career, then why don't you come back when its sunny and see if we've waited for you? No further comments until the launch has occurred." The reporters moved away, twittering to themselves, and Sahara caught sight of Clarisse Miller, the reporter Vanessa had made an enemy of, shooting daggers at her grandfather. However, unable to do anything, she simply turned and strutted off to a table with her cameraman following behind.

"That arrogant cow deserves every insult she gets," Rowan grunted. "She has made everything harder after she did that Dex Holder story. Mason, if the rocket starts to fall from the sky, make sure it lands on her."

"Yes sir," someone laughed, and Sahara was even more stunned to see Mason emerging out from behind her grandfather as if me had suddenly teleported there. Her grandfather's assistant looked shaggy, with his black hair creeping down towards his shoulders and his clothing displaying several tears and burn holes, but it was still amazing to him.

"Pach Pach Pachi!" Nutty cried excitedly and quickly rushed towards them. Sahara wanted to call out and stop her, not ready to face her grandfather just yet in case he had heard about Solaceon Town. However, the white haired man turned at the cry of a Pokemon, and his face lit up as Nutty jumped up into his arms.

"Sahara!" Mason gasped. Sahara instantly put a smile onto her face and got to her feet, not sure what else to do and mentally crossing her fingers that her grandfather didn't know everything.

"Hello Mason, Hi Granddad!" She said overenthusiastically and rushed forwards, squeezing Nutty as she gave her grandfather a hug.

"Oh Sahara, it has been too long! How have you been!" Professor Rowan boomed, hugging her tightly back and making Nutty squeak. "It has been too long! We must sit, you have to tell me everything that has happened! Mason, bring some drinks over would you."

"You don't have to make a fuss," Sahara said as she was led back to her table, Nutty leaping onto her shoulder with a grim look in her wide eyes. "I battled Fantina while she was staying with us and got my latest gym badge… um… my Meditite, Hammer, evolved into a Medicham, which is pretty exciting, and my egg is close to hatching! I thought it had been crushed when the Pokemon Center collapsed, but it turned out alright!" It wasn't until Sahara paused that she realised what she had revealed, but Rowan gave her shoulder a firm squeeze as they sat down.

"I know about Solaceon Town, dear, no need to hide it from me," he said in a rough voice, though there was sympathy in his eyes. "There is nothing to be ashamed of, none of it was your fault!" Sahara nodded, though a thought that had been plaguing her for days was stirred up once more: _if I hadn't run away from Vanessa, then would Giratina had been able to empower Jaki and make her come out? _Sahara had spent the last few nights awakening from nightmares of serpentine creatures screaming at her, and as the rain and wind tore at their tent she had watched Vanessa sleeping, wondering if things had gone differently earlier that night, than maybe the destruction may not have happened.

"The manager gave us some juices on the house," Mason said excitedly as he sat down, giving them each a glass of orange juice. "He says that this is the most customers he's had all week due to the storm, and its all because of us!"

"Oh yes, what are you two doing here?" Sahara asked quickly, taking the lead to change topics. "I heard talk of a rocket. Is your space program nearly done?"

"It is done!" Mason said with a childish grin across his face. "We have built and designed a rocket to launch Solrock and Lunatone up into space, and we will finally be able to monitor and see if these two Pokemon did originate from somewhere within the galaxy, depending on how well they react to the environment and what readings we can gather while they are up there."

"That sounds amazing! Can I see the rocket?" Sahara asked, though her own enthusiasm disappeared as Rowan frowned.

"Well… it is outside right now…," her grandfather said, an awkward silence settling between them. "We are waiting for the weather to clear up a bit before we carry on, so you will be able to see it soon!" Sahara nodded and smiled, though secretly felt useless: the rain was stopping her from doing anything she wanted, and she wished more than ever that her personalities would just leave her be so she could get on with life.

"So… caught any new Pokemon?" Mason asked, his eyes flickering between her and Rowan. Sahara shook off the negative thoughts and kept her smile on, deciding it best to discuss catching Spiritomb in order to clear away her bad thoughts. As she began explaining, Sahara's eyes glanced towards the window, longing for the rain to stop so she could step outside again and see what life had to offer.

As the trio continued to talk, with Nutty going back to her bowl of Pokemon food, none of them paid any attention to a lone figure at the back of the café, buried in the shadows of his booth with the foul tasting coffee going ignored before him. The whites of his eyes were the only thing visible, and if anyone had paid him any attention then they would have seen exactly who he was staring at.

"Sahara has captured Spiritomb," the man whispered, his voice going into a microphone attached to the collar of his trench coat. "Rowan and his assistant are here as well, their planning to go through with their launch." He paused, listening to the reply coming through an ear piece. "I know it is dangerous, but what can I do to stop him? There is a crowd of reporters in here that will leap at any sign of something bigger going on here. And if Sahara decides to stop them, then who knows what Spiritomb might try to do." He paused again, anger burning in his eyes as his orders were reported back to him.

"Fine, I will keep them away from the forest as best as I can, but if things backfire than know this isn't going to be my fault!" He angrily pressed a button on the earpiece, cutting off all communication. The man pulled the coffee into the shadows and took a sip, letting another bad taste fill his mouth. A door swung open to the side, and the man pushed himself further backwards, watching as Palmer strutted past as if he owned the place, the end of his green cloak floating behind him.

It was important that no one recognized Looker for the time being. If anyone knew he was here, than questions would be raised about what was going on. And the spy couldn't let anyone suspect something was up: his mission today relied on letting others fix the serious problem afflicting Route 215, and if anyone else tried to stop it, the results could be catastrophic.

But, as Looker thought to himself with a smile, there never was any stopping these Dex Holders…

* * *

"Shadow Ball!" Charles shouted, though the wind was loud that he could barely hear the words himself, and wondered if Elle would be able to hear them either. He looked down through the torrent of rain and saw a black ball form in the Eevee's mouth, and was relieved that she had heard. However, he couldn't hear the command Brody had given his Weezing, and stared in anticipation towards the floating purple heads, toxic smoke protecting the Pokemon from the rain.

"Eva Eve!" Elle cried, and the Shadow Ball was fired through the veil of water. Weezing coughed green smoke as the attack exploded against his joint, and Charles cheered as the Poison Gas Pokemon was sent spiralling off into a tree. Black smoke was emitted from his pores, and Charles cursed the SmokeScreen, the weather already playing havoc with their accuracy.

"Come on Elle, we can fight through this! Secret Power!" Elle looked back at him, giving him a reassuring smile, and Charles felt bad for making her battle in this horrible weather, her brown and cream fur heavy with wetness. Yet there was nothing to do otherwise, and the Pokemon seemed fine with it.

"ZING WEEZ WEEZ!" Weezing bellowed in its strangled tones, floating back towards the field, and a ball of purple sludge formed in the mouth of the larger head. Elle quickly responded by summoning a white ball of energy, which glowed blue and shimmered with ripples. Both attacks were fired, and the Secret Power met the Sludge Bomb in between, causing both to explode. Elle leapt backwards into Charles' shins to avoid the splattering of purple poison, while Weezing floated up into the tree tops, the black smoke moving with him.

"This one needs to hit, so use Swift!" Charles commanded. Elle nodded and leapt back forward, ready to fight, but both she and Charles were stunned as Weezing suddenly soared forwards, moving so quickly the SmokeScreen had to waft up hurriedly to catch up.

"Weezing Weez!" Weezing grumbled in his two toned voice, and a ball of fire formed inside the larger mouth, instantly a size big enough to engulf Elle. Charles was surprised by the move and wanted to change commands, or pull Elle out of the way before it was too late.

"Vee Eva Eve Eevee!" Elle chorused below him, and Charles gasped as she stood up on her hind legs, a rectangle of orange light forming on her paws. Weezing seemed stunned as well and paused, his mouth closing against the flames. "VEEEE!" Elle shouted as the rectangle blazed with energy, and she brought it down against Weezing's larger eyes. There was a flash and Weezing was sent flying backwards, tearing the branches off several trees before sliding through the mud and crashing into Brody.

"What move was that?" Charles asked, his mind reeling at the unexpected win. He had never seen a move like that used before, and desperately wanted to fix it. However, Elle looked up at him with innocent eyes and gave a little shrug, and Charles smiled and bent down to pick her up. "Well, whatever it was, it won us the match, and that's what counts!" He said with a smile, and Elle gave an enthusiastic nod that flicked him with water.

"OI, Cyrus wants you two to head back!" A sharp voice called, cutting above the roaring wind. Charles glanced through the grey rain and saw Samuel, a black haired and thick cut grunt, standing angrily a few metres away. There were several other grunts moving back the way he had come, clearly annoyed with having their own brief training interrupted. Charles gave his fellow grunt and a false smile and a wave before moving towards Brody, who had returned Weezing and was back to his feet, now with a large brown streak down his uniform.

"Great battle!" He said with a genuine grin. "What move was that? That came completely out of nowhere, but it was amazing all the same!"

"You have just as much of an idea as I have," Charles replied, and together the two headed back towards where they had teleported a few hours earlier. The path was completely muddy from the downpour over the past few days, and it was about as slippery as walking on ice. The thin and dying trees at least provided some support, and Charles used the bare branches to cling onto as they made their way back, following the grunts in front of them.

"You have been doing plenty of training with Roshonda and Addison lately," Brody said. "Elle must have picked up a new move through that."

"She must have, but whenever my Pokemon learn a new move I at least know what it is," Charles replied, giving the squirming Eevee in his right arm a curious glance. "But this time, I have absolutely no idea."

"Addison is a really good trainer," Brody said, ignoring everything Charles had just said. "Her Nidoqueen is really powerful, and so is her Victreebel. I tried battling her last week before Solaceon, and Weezing got defeated in one move. It was so wonderful…" Charles smirked to himself as he splashed through a puddle, the sound sending a trio of Staravia flying away. He could clearly see a glazed over look in Brody's eyes, one he had seen in plenty of male friends before, and knew what had been truly wonderful about that battle.

"You should talk to her outside of getting your butt kicked," Charles said, smiling knowingly at his comrade. "Addison may act like she hates you, but I have seen a certain look in her eyes every so often whenever your around, and I think there could be a similar connection." Brody was stunned and began stammering out a response, his cheeks going red and his hands nervously fidgeting with wet blonde locks that covered his eyes.

"Like you can talk!" He huffed as Charles began to laugh. "You and Roshonda have been best buddies since the moment you arrived from what I heard! How long before you two starting acting on your connection!" Brody looked proud about this, and he swaggered ahead, leaving Charles behind and alone in the rain.

_Is this the answer I've been looking for?_ Charles asked himself, slowing down to a stumbling pace. _Is Roshonda the reason I'm staying? _Ever since he had talked with the ghost of Winston Diamond, Charles had been questioning himself and his intentions to stay with Team Galactic. Despite what the ghost thought, Charles could not think of a reason why he was staying here, which was a bigger issue than he realised. If he had no reason to stay, then why not just leave? He knew it was not that simple, but the thought occurred to Charles all the same. And yet he was still here, once again getting caught up in one of Cyrus' schemes, only just able to walk and sit and stand properly after the last one. ! "

So could it be Roshonda, the only true friend he had inside this demented organization? They had not spoken in the past few days, not while they both recovered from their injuries, yet they were still friends all the same.

_A friend I have only known for just over a month, _Charles reminded himself, though it felt like he had spent years trapped inside Team Galactic. He shook his head and kept moving, leaving thoughts of Roshonda behind. They were friends, yes, but there was nothing special about this one month friendship, nothing that would keep Charles within this organisation. The thought made Charles feel sick and selfish, and he wondered if he could easily cast her aside when it came to a tipping point as easily as he had shoved thoughts of her aside now.

"There has to be something Elle," Charles whispered to the Eevee in his arms, casting a nervous eye around in case Samuel appeared suddenly before them. "I wouldn't be putting us through this if there wasn't some reason for it." Elle gave a nod, but if Charles had no idea why he was staying, then what would Elle have.

The thoughts lingered with him as they followed after the other grunts and made it back through the forest. Charles noticed that the rain was pelting down more the further they moved back in, the rain the size of golf balls and were painful when they landed against the multiple wounds Charlotte had left him with, and the wind was tugging at his clothing, threatening to tear it off.

"What the hell is going on?" Charles growled to himself, and wrapped a squirming Elle inside his coat. The temperature was dropping rapidly, his breath rising in a cloud before him, and Charles could see the other grunts were struggling to walk safely across the unstable ground.

_What the hell is keeping me here?_ Charles thought bitterly as a bolt of lightning blasted the branches from the tree next to him. _These people are insane and every one of their plans is more deluded than the last. Why am I risking my life for them when they have such little care for what happens to me? _Flecks of sand began to fall from the storm clouds above, and Charles sighed to himself as he made his way further into the forest towards a gathering crowd about twenty metres ahead, knowing he had no choice but to simply follow his orders until he finally found the answers he was looking for.

And once he had found his purpose, than Charles might just find a way to survive these freaks.

* * *

The sudden change in weather was so shocking that people instantly scrambled to their feet and rushed outside. It was still cold and bitter, and the ground thick with mud, barely any grass showing through the brown, but at least the rain had stopped. Professor Rowan and Mason quickly rushed to set their rocket up before the storm started again, and Sahara breathed a sigh of relief as she finally stepped outside again. It was wonderfully cold and relaxing, and she smelt the moistness in the air and felt the ground squish beneath her shoes.

"I never thought I would ever be so happy to step outside," Sahara said with an euphoric grin across her face as she and Nutty stepped gingerly away from Café 215 and moved towards the rocket. The reporters and camera people lingered under a sodden fabric shelter outside the café's entrance, and Sahara was happy to see a scowl across Clarisse Miller's face.

"My finger's are crossed that someone knocks her into the mud," Sahara whispered, and Nutty giggled as they moved towards the shelter of one of the few trees that still had leaves, just in case the rain started again. She could see Xavier, Matthew and Vanessa moving over from they had set up a miniature camp, and waved them over.

"Hello Sahara!" A voice boomed behind her, and Sahara turned in surprise to find Palmer suddenly standing next to her. "I would rather be with a familiar face than stuck under that shelter with those blasted reporters!" Palmer boomed with laughter, and Sahara forced a laugh, but felt uncomfortable to be alone with someone she barely knew. After they had left Cynthia, Bebe, Fantina and the army behind to clean up Solaceon Town, Palmer had come with them, still wanting to keep up his relationship with Xavier, but had not been making any efforts. Honoured to have the Tower Tycoon nearby, the café owners allowed him to stay at their house to escape the weather, and there Palmer had stayed, not communicating with them at all. Sahara had many bitter thoughts about absent fathers from the non existent relationship she had with hers, and this only added to her disliking of the muscular blonde.

"This weather has been a right bitch, hasn't it?" Palmer bellowed, glancing up at the skies. "It seems something has put old Rayquaza in quite a foul mood! Any wonders what might have pissed him off?" Sahara merely shrugged in response, but she glanced up to the slate coloured clouds that loomed over her in a giant, never ending pack. This weather was quite unnatural, especially as winter was meant to be drawing to an end, and after everything else that had happened, Sahara could only presume that there was something sinister behind it all.

"Is there a reason why your grandfather is going to set off a rocket in the middle of a route?" Xavier asked bluntly as soon as he, Vanessa and Matthew had arrived. "It seems quite unsafe and rather unnecessary in my opinion. Hello father," he added, almost as an afterthought.

"Mason said something about the position of the moon and the sun over this area that makes for optimum readings, or something like that," Sahara replied, taking the opportunity to shimmy away from Palmer. "Or maybe it was something about avoiding crashing into a satellite… I sort of drifted off when it became too science related." Vanessa and Matthew both smirked, and Xavier gave a nod as if it was a satisfying nod. Sahara noticed that he was holding a Hoothoot in his arms, the Owl Pokemon sleeping soundly with a thin bandage around a wing.

"Don't ask," Vanessa muttered. Sahara left the subject alone, but as she tried to think of something else to talk about, she realised that nothing came to mind. She had been separated from her friends a lot recently, with being trapped in the café and spending a week before that studying up on Spiritomb. The only that had happened recently had been what Jaki and Giratina had done to Solaceon Town, and that was a subject Sahara didn't want to touch upon. However, it felt strange being surrounded by a group of people with so little to talk about, and Sahara was compelled to go back inside the café for another two days and wait for something more interesting to happen to them.

"Wow, look at that!" Matthew said with a gasp, and they all turned: a large metal sphere that was about twice their heights was floating majestically across the storm ruined fields. It looked like a large silver ball, with four, far too thin support legs sticking out at the bottom on all sides of the four rocket boosters. The surface was sleek and shiny, with a number and name scrawled across the bottom. It would be a tight squeeze for any person, but Sahara knew only Solrock and Lunatone would be going inside. The two Pokemon were in fact psychically moving the rocket, a pink glow surrounding the machine as it was taken across from the truck it had been brought in.

"Shouldn't we be inside so we don't get toasted by this?" Matthew said nervously. "I saw a rocket launch from Mossdeep City when I was six, and it was all filmed from inside, and I think the entire city had to be shut down to make sure everyone was out of the way."

"Does that thing look like it would have the power to fry you?" Vanessa snapped as the rocket landed delicately on the mud, a hatch opening from the top. "I will be surprised if that thing even makes it into space!" Sahara stared at the rocket as Rowan moved towards the reporters and Mason led his Pokemon to the capsule, and doubt began to settle in. Mason had explained how they had worked with the Mossdeep Space Research Centre to build the rocket, and he had roughly tested the mechanics and seen how things worked, but this would be the first proper flight. The excitement was evident through his entire body, and Sahara hoped that he had a clear enough mind to make sure everything went smoothly.

"… years of research into space, its connections to the origins of Pokemon and its effects on them will all come to a head today." Words of Professor Rowan's speech to the reporters drifted back to Sahara, and she turned in interest, hoping to put her mind as rest. "It has been a strenuous but exciting project, and Mason and I are looking forward to see what results will come from this: if the project proves a success, which I am certain it will be, then we hope to divulge into the origins of countless other Pokemon. At this point, are there any questions?"

"Mr Rowan, what are your views on the recent incident in Solaceon Town?" The voice of Clarisse Miller chirped from within the crowd of reporters, and Sahara froze, staring towards the rocket but her mind drifting away towards the conversation, and she felt the others tense around her. "That event was very unnatural and many people are questioning the cause. Is there anything you wish to say on the matter?" Sahara looked over and saw her grandfather pause, his face grimmer than usual and a look in his eyes that resembled her mother's whenever she struggled to answer a question. Sahara wanted to run over and punch the reporter in the face, but she knew better than to get involved and expose herself to the world as a freak harbouring murderers in her body.

"That little bitch!" Vanessa hissed, and she pushed past Sahara with her umbrella in hand, beginning to twist the handle. However, Palmer moved in front of her and held out a hand.

"I don't think that will be wise," the Tower Tycoon growled in his deep, low voice. "Those reporters are looking for Rowan to crack, but if you try attacking them then you'll just be handing them a front page article." Vanessa looked up at him with a smile on her face, and her hand twisted anyway, the sword sliding out from the tip and making Palmer leap backwards.

"Vanessa, he's right, don't bother with it!" Sahara said, her eyes flickering towards the reporters. "She will get what's coming to her, but it won't be today, and especially not while she is surrounded by cameras." Vanessa glanced back over at her, and Sahara saw longing and pity deep within the red head's eyes: the two had never properly discussed what had happened after they had fled Emerson and the burning club, and though Sahara was contempt to forget about it, she still knew there was some feeling in Vanessa that would always be between them.

"Fine," Vanessa sighed, and with a swift twist the sword was gone once more. "Let's just watch the rocket launch and see how badly it stuffs up!" A rumble sounded all around them, and Nutty squealed and clung to Sahara's leg in fright at the thunder. Sahara wanted to comfort her, but she was afraid as well. The clouds were nearly black above them, and more thunder roared within them, hinting at a further storm to come.

"I think Matthew's right," Sahara mumbled. "Maybe we would be safer inside and away from any –" but she froze as something loud snapped behind them. Sahara and the others all turned around towards the trees, and she half expected some Galactic grunt to leap out and try to kill them. But for a second she thought nothing was there, with no one standing obviously behind the thin and dead looking trees.

"Is that… Ninetales?" Palmer whispered, and Sahara stared down. Though it was dark and cloudy, the Fox Pokemon's pale yellow fur still glittered and shone, her long tails brushing against the fallen leaves but not seeming to gather any dirt. Sahara knew within a second that this had to belong to Carolina, and could see Ninetales fierce eyes focussing on her former trainer's son. Xavier was staring back at Ninetales with his version of a surprised expression, and Sahara could only imagine what was going through his mind.

"Nine," Ninetales whispered, and turned swiftly around, her tails twisting in a beckoning motion before the Fire type sprinted off.

"She wants us to follow her," Matthew said, his voice quiet and stunned.

"Obviously," Xavier replied in his drawl, and he quickly moved forwards without another word, the Hoothoot still in his arms, and quickly disappeared into the forest.

"SON, WAIT!" Palmer bellowed, and he quickly ran after. Matthew glanced at Sahara and Vanessa in confusion, but shrugged and ran forwards as well. Sahara watched them all running off, Ninetales shining fur still glittering even as she disappeared. Sahara turned to Vanessa, confused by the sudden appearances and disappearances, but before either of them could talk there was a bang that echoed around the silence. Thoughts of guns and bullets rushed through Sahara's mind, but than she spotted another figure running out from behind the café, sprinting after the others with a brown trench coat flying up behind him.

"Isn't that Looker's coat?" Sahara said, her heart and mind filling with dread: if he was here, that could only mean bad news. There was a click and suddenly Vanessa's sword was back out, the silver blade shining as brightly as Ninetales coat.

"I am going after," Vanessa said, moving towards the trees. "Ninetales would have wanted something from us, and if Looker is here my thoughts are that something bad is happening in there. Do you want to come with?"

"No, I should stay here and support Mason and my grandfather," Sahara said quickly, the excuse forming in seconds, "but good luck, and try not to get killed!" Vanessa smiled and quickly ran off, her water themed dressed bouncing and shining as she moved. Sahara watched her go for a few seconds before turning back to the rocket, scooping Nutty up and pulling her into a hug. She wished she could go help her friends, but after what had happened with Jaki, Sahara didn't trust herself in battle. With the storm surrounding her, any unexpected drop of rain would bring Eden out, and Sahara would not risk the consequences of that.

"Now, I believe Mason has nearly finished setting things up, if any of you would like to move across," Rowan boomed, and Sahara followed him with her eyes as he moved across to the metal sphere, only a few of the reporters bothering to go across. She could see Clarisse had stayed behind, and hatred burned through her body. Yet after finally having company for the first time all week, Sahara and Nutty were alone once again, standing solemnly by a dead tree as the threat of bad weather hung overhead.

"Don't you just wish we had a normal life Nutty?" Sahara whispered mournfully. "Imagine if I didn't have these personalities and if we had never met Team Galactic or Char…, well, that wasn't so bad… but imagine it! We could be having a nice proper journey, just you and me: we would still have Virus, and none of those dark things that have happened would have even occurred." A tear streaked down Sahara's cheek as she imagined the life she could have had, and Nutty gave her a gentle pat. Sahara wanted to run over to the rocket and go up into the space instead of Solrock or Lunatone, leave all of this behind and live a life of peace.

All of sudden, the peace was shattered.

The sky seemed to explode above them: the clouds flashed a blinding white that forced Sahara to cover her eyes, and deep echoing booms sounded simultaneously. Reporters screamed as the sky continued to flicker, and Sahara felt a surge of heat against the back of her neck. She stumbled blindly forwards and glanced back, a tree barely ten metres away suddenly erupt with flames. The flashing continued, and Nutty squirmed and squealed in fear. Sahara had to hold onto her tightly as she blinked furiously, trying to rid her eyes of the white that seemed branded to her sight. She stumbled in the direction of the café, but the screams and thunder were disorientating, and Sahara had no idea where she was going.

A wind blew throughout the entire route, and small particles began to pelt Sahara. They were painful, like miniscule knives digging into her skin, and Sahara cried out and paused. _It feels like sand, but we're no where near a beach or desert, _Sahara thought, feeling it creep through every gap in her clothing. She tried to ignore the feeling and soldier on, but Sahara felt her foot slip, and before she could stop or prepare herself she was flat on her back. Her head banged painfully against a solid bit of ground, and Sahara shut her eyes as her world began to spin, thunder continuing to sound.

_I knew something was going to go wrong… I should have stayed inside… _Sahara thought as she held onto a frightened Nutty, feeling sand piling up around her as she lay in the mud. She thought it could not get any worse, and then an explosion louder and closer than the thunder tore through the route, and Sahara tensed as heat and flying metal crashed against her skin.

_Matthew was right… I'm toasted… _Sahara thought again, something throbbing above her eye, and that was the last thing she felt before everything went black.

* * *

Charles could feel Elle squirming against his chest, both in fear and discomfort, but he had to protect her whether she appreciated it or not. A frozen wind was tearing through the forest, sending leaves, branches and their supplies soaring. Something had hit his right leg and Charles could feel it bleeding, but it was more bearable than what Charlotte had done to him and he managed to focus.

"TURN IT FOF CYRUS, TURN IT OFF NOW!" Charon roared above the wind, but even though he was only a few metres from Charles, it sounded as if they were world's apart. If Cyrus responded, Charles didn't hear it, and focussed on holding onto Elle and making sure she wasn't harmed any further.

The sudden blast of weather had been so sudden and unexpected that Charles had nearly let himself be blown away. He had been patrolling the area, wondering what Elle's new move was and wondering what Charon and Cyrus were doing behind him with their large machine, when a sudden burst of sand attacked him. Charles was instantly blinded but shielded Elle with his arms and leapt behind the nearest tree, finally a sharp and nearly hot wind tugging at his clothing. The thin tree had begun to creak and Charles had been certain it would snap in two and expose him to the weather. He dived to the ground inside and hid Elle inside his uniform just as the sandstorm turned to the freezing wind that was afflicting them now. If it didn't stop soon, the entire dying forest would be torn to pieces, and Team Galactic's latest plot would be exposed to the world.

Finally, the bitter touch of the wind began to soften, and the cold howl slowly decreased until only the faint groan of Cyrus' machine could be heard. Charles quickly got back to his feet, blinking the last of the sand out and pulling a disgruntled Elle out from his jacket.

"I had to protect you, so don't give me that look!" He said, his eyes still stinging.

"Eva Eve!" Elle huffed, and Charles rolled his eyes as he adjusted her in his arms and turned back towards the clearing. Grunts were scattered across the leaf strewn ground, which was now covered in sand, and many were struggling to get back up. One Grunt had been knocked out by a flying crate, and Charles could see Samuel had sustained a cut across his back. The entire scene was chaos and Charles felt like he should help, but he was more interested to see how Cyrus was reacting.

"I told you that this project wasn't fully ready yet!" Charon yelled, his voice echoing in the otherwise quiet forest. "We should never have tested it in public yet!" The scientist was red in the face and looked like he had just been caught in a storm, his white coat only on one arm and his grey hair giving him an electrocuted look. Cyrus stood next to him, looking just as storm struck with several cuts from the flying branches and boxes, but his face was blank of any emotion or reaction. The Galactic Boss stared off into the distance, his face as bare as if it had been from stone, and Charles wondered what was making him have this un-reaction.

Behind the two stood the reason why they were here and the reason why they were struggling. A machine slightly taller than Cyrus stood in the centre of the clearing. It was a perfect square, with a metal bottom for the computers and controls and the rest was made of glass. The glass was filled with water and a series of insulated pipes and wires that converged in the middle, where they feed into a glass tube. The tube ran up to the top of the machine, where a large gun that looked like a cross between a children's toy and a mad scientist's laser rested, pointing at the sky.

"Charles, get over here and help me fix this!" Charon barked. Charles jumped at the sound of his name, and quickly moved over, seeing that the scientist was in too much of a bad mood to mess with. As he moved closer, Charles could see something white in the middle of the glass tube, in the spot where all the wires meant. It looked almost like a ghost of a small Pokemon, pale and unmoving, with the outlines of closed eyes and mouth. Yet it was no Pokemon Charles knew, and he had not caught any name.

"Grab me a box to sit on," Charon snapped once Charles was near, and Elle leapt out of his arms so they were free. "I am going to have to shut this down properly before we head back to headquarters."

"Are we not testing it any more?" Charles asked, placing a dented crate next to Charon.

"It should never have been tested in the first place," the scientist growled with a glaring look at Cyrus. "Our lovely boss here is trying to find a way to control the weather as part of our plans, but unfortunately he would rather go in guns blazing rather than actually wait to see if it works first. All we have done today is harmed Castform and added some more damage to the local area. I want us out of here within the hour, so tell the others to pack up anything that needs it." Charles nodded, and he and Elle moved to find Brody, Samuel and the others. He glanced at the machine again as they passed and wondered if Castform was the small Pokemon trapped inside. If the Pokemon was responsible for the sudden burst of weather, it seemed like a lot of power for such a small thing to have, and Charles was not surprised that it had become uncontrollable.

Suddenly, the glass cracked. Charles froze in surprise and watched as a second shot crack appeared, but this time he heard the faint sound of a silenced gun. He spun around as the other grunts erupted in panic, fleeing out of the line of fire as a third bullet was fired, this one barely passing Cyrus as it struck the glass.

"Don't just run around you headless morons, FIGHT!" Charon yelled, and Charles scooped Elle up and moved as the scientist grabbed his own hand gun and fired it wildly and repeatedly into the trees. More bullets were fired back, but these ones struck several of the grunts in the arms and legs, sending them sprawling to the ground. Flashes of Pokemon being released lit up the grey forest, and Charles ducked behind a pile of boxes as a series of Zubat took to the skies.

"Whose firing at us?" Brody hissed in Charles' ear, appearing suddenly out of nowhere. Charles shrugged, resisting the urge to snap back an insult. "Why isn't Cyrus doing anything? Shouldn't he be commanding us?" Charles hadn't noticed this, but could see that the green haired man was standing in the same spot, staring just as blankly off into space as he was a moment ago. Charles wondered if he could run out and snap some sense into him, but as his legs bent, something suddenly moved out from behind a tree and landed in the centre of the clearing.

"Is this supposed to be Team Galactic's idea of subtlety?" The figure said, laughing, as he got up to his feet. "Hiding in a forest is a good idea, but unleashing a sandstorm? You might as well have a neon Groudon towering above you." The man laughed at his own jokes, and he cast an eye across all the Grunts as he examined the area. Charles recognised the man's red and black coat as the uniform of an Environmental Ranger, but the man himself stirred up no memories. He was taller and well muscled, with bronze skin that made his electric blue eyes stand out. A pale scar was the only thing that disrupted an otherwise arguably chiselled face, curving from above his right eye down to his lips. A gun was clasped tightly in a gloved hand, and a green Net Ball in the other, and Charles knew it was best not to get involved yet.

"It's Niles, isn't it?" Charon said coldly, walking out to meet him. "I don't believe there are many other rangers with such a hideous scar like that, are there?" Niles smiled, making the crescent shaped wound twitch, and he raised his gun up. Charon did the same, and both men stood there with their weapons aimed at each other's heads.

"Why don't we just agree to make this easy, shall we?" Niles purred. "You, Cyrus and this machine will come with me and no one else needs to get hurt. I see several of your goons have been harmed, and I will have them tended to as well, as a gesture of good will. But if you try to resist, I can't promise that any of you will make it out of here alive."

"I would be more worried about your own life," Charon growled back, and he raised his own weapon higher. Charles tensed up, not sure what was going to happen next, waiting for one of them to shoot, though secretly wishing it would Niles and he would have his chance to flee.

A bang sounded, and several grunts gasped, expecting to see blood. However, both Charon and Niles turned to face the machine, and Charles glanced over as well. Sparks were flying from the bottom, and chips of glass were falling from the bullet holes. Cyrus was standing over the controls furiously tapping buttons, and the entire machine was lighting up.

"CYRUS, NO!" Charon yelled.

"I have to do this, I must!" Cyrus yelled back, and Charles could see a maniacal look in his eyes. "No one is taking Castform from me, NO ONE!" And he slammed his fist against one button. The gun on top was flashing and whirling, and Charles abandoned all sense of hiding and began to run. Elle and Brody followed after, and many of the grunts were beginning to flee as well, leaving the wounded sprawled across the leaves and sand. Charles glanced back, watching as the entire machine began to glow white, and a scream sounded deep within. He grabbed Elle and sprinted, watching out for roots and fallen branches but trying to put as much distance between himself and the clearing before the machine exploded.

Yet the further away they got, the scream only got louder and more painful until it reached a point of silence, and that was when Charles felt the heat across his neck…

* * *

No matter how hard Vanessa blinked, all she could see was white and orange. Her eyes were in pain, and it seemed as though the strongest torch had just been shone directly into her face, except a thousand times worse.

She had no idea what was wrong with the weather lately, but knew that the cause was both unnatural and unnerving. Only a few minutes ago, right before Vanessa had caught up with Looker and the others, a sand storm had torn through the forest when there was no desert or beach for miles. Vanessa had been buffeted right into a tree, scraping her skin against the bark, and her eyes and clothing were filled with sand. Even though it had only been brief, Vanessa could still feel sand all over her body, clinging to the moisture left by the earlier downpour of rain, an extra layer of skin she couldn't get rid of.

Once the sandstorm had cleared, Vanessa found herself amongst Xavier, Matthew, Ninetales, Looker and Palmer, a strange little group amidst the repetitive pattern of winter-dead trees, matching the same confused looks covering everyone but Xavier's faces.

"None of you are supposed to be in here, we must go back!" Looker had protested, looking furiously at them as he glanced nervously around the empty forest. "There is a mission on at the moment to put a stop to all of this weather mayhem, and any appearances from you lot could seriously affect this!"

"Why aren't you there then?" Vanessa replied with a smile, and Looker had shot her back a look of pure loathing before continuing to look around. There was no one around, and no where for them to hide anyway, so it was unlikely anyone was around. However, there were faint screams and bangs echoing in the distance, but Vanessa could not say if there were from the forest and back the way they came. Talks of missions and putting a stop to the weather only made her think of there being people behind it, and there was no doubt in Vanessa's mind who those people might be.

"I am not going back!" Palmer boomed, looming over the spy with a few inches of his messy blonde hair. "Ninetales belonged to my late wife, and she has called us into this forest, and I want to know what that reason is!" Looker went to talk again, but Ninetales let out a furious growl, sparks and smoke coming from her mouth, and she turned and began to run east, kicking sand and leaves into the air. Everyone turned to follow her, and watching as her golden fur somehow managed to shine within the darkness, and that was when Vanessa realized the fears Looker had.

"Something is glowing over there!" She gasped, and watched as the light began to glow brighter and brighter, figures stirring around it, turned to silhouettes the white beam.

And before anyone else could register it, the glow exploded. Vanessa tried to turn in time to avoid the shockwave that they felt before it hit, but it had such an intense brightness to it that it nearly lifted her off her feet. Skin irritation was nothing compared to being blinded, and the heat that engulfed them seemed to suck all the water from Vanessa's body, leaving her a hollow, dried up shell.

The feeling of heat soon passed, and Vanessa felt cold by comparison. She had collapsed to the ground, covering her boots in mud and sand, but for once fashion was not her main priority: her eyes were open, but she could see nothing in front of her except for the strange bleak colours.

"What the hell was that?" Matthew yelled, and Vanessa could not tell where it came from. "It felt like the sun just exploded in front of us!"

"That is highly illogical Matthew. If the sun had just explo –"

"Shut up Xavier, you know that's not what I meant!" Matthew roared back. If Vanessa could see, she would have gladly punched the rich snob in the face, but at the moment she had no idea where anything was. Shakily, she got back to her feet and continued blinking, starting to make out rough shapes looming over her, but still everything was blurred together.

"Looker, what the hell is going on!" Vanessa yelled. "Is this Team Galactic again? Do you know what they are planning? Answer me!" She cried, and spun around, trying to make out where the spy had gone, but though her eyesight was starting to improve again, everything just looked like ghostly trees blurring around her. Vanessa saw something move and turned back towards it, her hands reaching towards her umbrella. Shouts were beginning to fill the air, and the sound of dozens of stampeding footsteps helped determine how many people were coming their way. Vanessa drew her umbrella and continued blinking, dull colours slowly slipping in, and readied herself for whoever approached them.

"NINE!" Ninetales suddenly shrieked, and Vanessa was taken aback as several trees suddenly erupted into flames. The shouts turned to screams, and the stampede suddenly increased. Vanessa could now make out Matthew and Xavier only a few feet away, the two moving backwards as the figures raced towards them.

"Getting your Pokemon out and fight back!" Vanessa hissed to the pair, and turned the handle of her umbrella. The fire made the blade shining and shimmer with reds and oranges, but Vanessa only admired the reflection for a moment before swinging it around. The first person she came across had been looking back at the fire and didn't notice the sword until it had cut across his side, sending him yelling and flailing to the ground. Vanessa looked down and growled as she saw the familiar white uniform she had come to despise so much, and angrily slid her sword further into the Galactic Grunts stomach, his blood spilling across the sand and mud. Her sight was nearly back now, and Vanessa looked up to see about a dozen Grunts had appeared before them, many of them still running from the fire or something else, a few stopping to engage in battle. Ninetales leapt out from the fire, which was rapidly spreading, and sunk her teeth into the leg of a fleeing Grunt, while Palmer yelled and threw a PokeBall into the air as a flock of Zubat and Golbat began to surround him.

"Eva Eve Eva!"

"No Elle, we need to keep moving!" Vanessa turned towards the voice, and saw a figure fleeing past her, something small clutched in their arms. Anger flowed through her body, and Vanessa took after them even though she was still half blind and covered in sand. The figure glanced back at the sound of her boots squelching through the mud, and Vanessa smiled at the look of pure fear on Charles' face.

"Shit," he hissed, and he raised his wrist up and began tapping and fidgeting at something that looked like a watch, but when it began to glow blue Vanessa knew what it was.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" She roared and leapt forwards, knocking Charles to the ground as the blue glow cast sapphire shadows against the trees. Vanessa smashed her fist into the watch and dug her fingers into his other hand, clinging on as tightly as possible as the glow engulfed her body.

Vanessa had teleported with Abra on multiple occasions, but this felt stranger. She shut her eyes but blue still burnt through them, and her entire body felt like it was shaking and twisting, falling apart and coming back together again. Vanessa held onto her breathe, not daring to let it go, and felt Charles and her bag banging against her body.

The blue disappeared and Vanessa smashed into the ground, rolling for a few metres before coming to a halt. She was breathless and felt tired, but her vision returned normally, showing her the granite coloured clouds above her and the same skeletal looking trees that surrounded them. It was evident they were still in the same forest, but when Vanessa looked up none of the others were around them, and neither were there any grunts, only a few flecks of sand that crunched under her feet.

"Eva Eevee!" Vanessa groaned as she turned to face the voice, but felt a lot more agile as a beam of energy shot towards her. She quickly dived and spun away, and the attack exploded against a tree stump, turning it into pieces of bark.

"Oh, we're battling, are we?" Vanessa said, a smirk crossing her face as she turned back towards Charles' Eevee. "I'm sorry, fluff ball, but you aren't going to win this one." She grasped her umbrella tightly in her hands and swung it around, letting the blade slice through the nearest tree. It cut cleanly through, and the skinny tree tumbled backwards, falling with a soft thud to the ground. The Eevee still glared at Vanessa though, and she began to move forwards.

"Elle, here!" Charles called with a groan, and Vanessa turned her blade towards him, the smirk being replaced with rage. Elle didn't run away, but she had no care for what the Normal type would do, her own Pokemon only a few seconds away from defeating her.

"It never ceases to amaze me how stupid Team Galactic is," Vanessa hissed. "You try and destroy Sinnoh in the most obvious ways possible, but the majority of the time you fail, getting your asses kicked by either some teenagers or their elderly companions with less than a fifth of the numbers you have. But you are the stupidest of the lot: you decided to disobey my commands when you know what I can do to you, and I think that makes you stupider than any of your commanders."

"What is this about, exactly?" Charles growled, staring back at Vanessa with equal anger that only annoyed her more. "You cannot blame me for everything Team Galactic has done to Sahara since we had our little talk! Her turning into Jaki the two times and that club explosion had nothing to do we me!"

"You still could have done something!" Vanessa hissed back, stepping forwards, ignoring Elle as she growled at her. "You cannot deny your involvement at the … Park, and you were probably mingling around in the crowd when Jaki first rose up from that cave!"

"You wanted me to stay away from her, not protect her, make up your damn mind!" Charles yelled, and Elle gave a tiny but anger-filled roar as well. Vanessa realized he had a point, but she was not likely to walk away from this. She hated Charles for what he had done to Sahara and for what he was doing for Galactic, and it would not be right for her to let him walk away.

"I don't care what you say, I'm the one with a sword," Vanessa replied, and she charged forwards. Charles ducked as she swung the blade, a silver blur skimming over his head. She jabbed it down towards his stomach, but Charles rolled away faster than she expected and flung a handful of mud towards her. It splattered against her dress, obscuring the blue with the sodden brown.

"You little bastard," Vanessa yelled, and she swung it around again.

"EVA EVE!" Elle cried, and Vanessa leapt backwards angrily as a Shadow Ball shot past her. She reached into the side pocket of her bag and flung two PokeBalls to the ground. Dustox and Murkrow burst out, and she pointed towards the Eevee with her sword before moving towards Charles. However, a kick came out of nowhere, sending her sprawling to the ground with a bone shuddering thud, and a second knocked her umbrella away.

"You should know that I have been fighting people like me for a lot longer than you have, and I've picked up a few moves," Charles replied as he loomed over her, his own anger dancing in his eyes. Vanessa smiled as she sent her own kick up, feeling his balls move beneath her foot and smiling as he fell down.

"It'll be nice defeating an experienced person for a change," she replied with an angry smile, and she leapt towards him, jamming a fist into his stomach as his own caught her in the shoulder, thunder rumbling overhead and the cries of their fighting Pokemon echoing above their kicks and jabs.

* * *

As another battle erupted around him, Matthew couldn't help but wonder how many more of these he was going to have to suffer through.

His vision was slowly returning, but at the moment all he could see was red and oranges as fire spread between the trees, leaping from one branch to the next and consuming the lot. The roar of Palmer's Rhyperior was loud enough to make the whole world shake, and Matthew turned around to try and see where it was coming from, but ducked down as a hoard of Zubat dived towards him.

_Why does this always happen to us? _Matthew thought angrily as he covered his face with one hand and fumbled for a PokeBall with the next. _Solaceon Town was full of enough despair, can't we just have a week off to relax? _Something hot burnt the back of his neck, but there was a screech and the Zubat dispersed. Matthew watched Ninetales run past as she chased down two Grunts running side by side, but he turned away before watching them get dragged down and destroyed. Everything was starting to look normal again, but the air was thick with smoke, a new layer of grey obscuring the clouds above.

"Prinplup, I am going to need you!" Matthew said, stifling a cough, and threw a PokeBall onto the ground. With a burst of light outshone by the fire, Prinplup quickly materialized before him. "Clear a path, we need to get out of here!"

"Plup!" Prinplup yelled, and a spinning torrent of water came from her beak. Matthew got back to his feet as the tornado of water washed across the trees around him, stifling the fire and leaving scorched black trees in its path. By the time the attack had worn out, there was a clear path away from the battle. Matthew turned back and watched as Palmer engaged in a fist fight with several grunts as Rhyperior tore through their Pokemon, but there was no sign of Looker and Ninetales, and only Xavier's voice was drifting through the haze of smoke. Matthew wanted to wait for them, but the smoke was getting thicker and the fire was starting to spread again.

_They have been in enough of these themselves to know what to do, _Matthew thought solemnly, and grabbed onto Prinplup and began to run, heading between the charcoal-coloured trees and moving towards what he hoped was the way back to the café. The forest was still a dull, blank grey, matching the clouds above, and it was hard to tell with the identical rows of trees what direction was which, but Matthew thought it was best to keep moving away from the flames and risk getting lost.

"Come on Prinplup, we need to get out of here!" Matthew cried, and pulled the Penguin Pokemon forwards. He glanced back to see a Galactic Grunt rushing out as well, but they sprinted off in another direction. Matthew hoped Looker would be able to arrest a few of them: if he did, then maybe they could put a stop to Galactic once and for all. He was sick of being constantly chased and getting into these battles that risked his life every other day. He kept running, kicking leaves and sand up into the air, practically pulling Prinplup along the ground in his desperation to put as much distance between himself and the battle…

"HOOT!"

"GAH!" Matthew jumped and came to a halt, clutching at his chest. A giant brown ball had suddenly appeared before him, nearly bowling him over, and it took him a moment to realize the ball had a tiny beak, tiny, impractical looking wings and wide red eyes with black markings.

"Hello Matthew, nice of you to join us," Xavier said in his usual bored tone as the Hoothoot flew away from Matthew and landed on his shoulder. "I thought it was best to check out what is happening with the weather and Team Galactic, and Hoothoot woke up and was happy to help me search in return for fixing his injured wing." Matthew nodded, still taken aback by the fright and only half registering what he was being told. Xavier began walking the way Matthew was going, and the coordinator found himself being pulled as Prinplup followed after.

"Hoothoot's ability is Keen Eye, and he has been able to spot something suspicious up ahead," Xavier explained as they crunched through the forest.

"HOOT HOOT!" Hoothoot cried, his voice echoing. Matthew glanced around, the amount of noise they were making enough to alert any 'suspicious' people still hanging around. The horrified faces of the Galactic Grunts as they ran towards them were not reassuring either, but Matthew was not in a mood to argue, and there was no point either. No matter how much he protested, the coordinator would only get dragged into yet another battle against the same old people, and most likely lose once more.

"Hoothoot Hooot!" Hoothoot suddenly cried, quieter than before, and the quarter stopped. The Owl Pokemon fluttered forwards towards a tree branch that had lost its end, and he peered around a corner. "Hoot," he said, and gestured them forwards with a wing. Matthew was surprised Xavier was willing taking commands from a Pokemon, but watched as his friend walked blankly forwards and moved between the trees.

"Plup!" Prinplup cried and dragged Matthew forwards, who found his legs seemed just as unwilling to move as the rest of his body. Hoothoot took off above their heads, and Matthew's eyes went to follow them. That was when he saw the bark on the trees was all black and burnt on one side, and more branches had been torn from their bases. The leaves crunched beneath his feet, and Matthew looked down as they crumbled into ash.

"Have Whirlpool at the ready," he whispered to Prinplup, and quickened his pace. More leaves disintegrated as he stood on them, and the further in he went Matthew found it had all turned to ash. He started around at the trees, wondering where the fire was that had caused this, but instead all he saw was a figure lying face down on the forest floor.

"Oh my god, Xavier, look!" Matthew cried as Prinplup came rushing up behind him, and he got down on his knees and pushed the person onto their back. There was a crescent scar across his face that was oddly familiar, and Matthew looked down at their red and black uniform. "Xavier, this is Niles, that Ranger guy Vanessa and I –"

"Oh, is it? I met him in Jubilee," Xavier said, his tone bored. "Pity that he got involved, but there are far more interesting things over here." Matthew rolled his eyes, not surprised by Xavier's casual ignorance of an energy person. However, Prinplup grabbed him by the arm again and twisted him around, and Matthew gasped at what he saw.

Cyrus and Charon lay sprawled across the ground, face down in the mud and sand , their bodies unmoving. The pair were around a large metal device planted firmly in the ground, and Matthew only had to look at the pattern of ash and clumps of sand around the machine to know what was causing the weather. The glass surface that made up the majority of the device was cracked, and a dark liquid was oozing out from the bottom. Matthew couldn't make out what was inside, only strands of colour moving towards the middle, but he suddenly felt a chill crawl down his spine.

"We need to go back and find Looker, this must have been what he was talking about," Matthew said as Xavier and Hoothoot approached the machine. "Team Galactic has been doing something with the weather, and Looker and Niles were working –,"

"There's something inside, I think it might be a Pokemon," Xavier said, cutting off Matthew's thoughts, and he pulled his PokeDex out. Matthew was annoyed, but he and Prinplup moved to where he was standing near Cyrus' unconscious body. Matthew looked down at the turquoise haired man, the outrageous burst of colour unnatural amongst the grey of the rest of the world. _We could stop him, _Matthew thought. _If we could tie him up and get him back to Looker, this might all be over, we would never have to fight again. Or we could just live him abandoned here in the cold, and make him suffer, just like he treated us…_

"It is a Castform, the Weather Pokemon originating from Hoenn," Xavier read aloud, his voice so robotic and bland it could have been the device talking. Matthew snapped out of his thoughts, and felt another chill spread through his body, though this had nothing to do with the weather. "I wonder if the Pokemon is the cause of all of this. Do you think we should free it?"

"What? Oh, yeah… sure," Matthew muttered, his eyes drifting back towards Cyrus as he recoiled at the dark thoughts that had just passed through his mind. He didn't notice as Hoothoot flew past him, his mind slowly disappearing from the situation, but he came back in as soon as he heard the shattering of glass. Matthew looked up and jumped backwards as the large shards crashed against the ash covered ground. There was a flash of lights and a burst of sparks from the machine, and Matthew saw cracks creeping up along the other panes of glass. A strange antennae-like object on top looked in danger of falling down on the now unstable surface, but Matthew saw Xavier was oblivious to this as he peered in amongst the giant tangle of wires and pipes.

"Fooooorrrrmmm…" One of the weakest moans Matthew had ever heard in his entire life came croaking out from the machine, and he moved in next to Xavier in shock. A small bundle of grey was wrapped up amongst the wires, looking like a dirty piece of cotton that had been put in the wrong place. There were flickers of white as dull eyelids slowly opened and closed, and Matthew was stunned. Cherubi was probably taller and heavier than the wispy Castform in front of him, and a gust of wind could stand a chance of destroying the Pokemon, let alone the giant pane of glass above them.

"We have to get it out before this machine collapses on it!" Matthew shrieked. Xavier glanced up at the roof and gave a brief nod, and then glanced at Hoothoot and nodded again.

"HOOT HOOT!" Hoothoot cried, and his eyes flashed pink. Castform moved forwards for a moment, but than it suddenly let out a cry and Hoothoot paused. More sparks flew, and several wires came crashing down with bright yellow flashes.

"CAST!" Castform cried, and Matthew saw it was crushing its eyelids together and squirming around. "CAS CAS CAST!" It yelled, and it began to twist and turn violently, more wirings collapsing and crashing to the bottom of the creature's cage.

"It's in pain, we have to do something!" Matthew cried in shock. "Prinplup, use Metal Claw and cut through the wires!" The Weather Pokemon nodded and her fins flashed silver, but before she could move there was a groan at their feet. Matthew leapt back as if he'd been shocked, and his eyes widened as they watched Charon begin to stir, his wide frame slowly rising up.

"CAS CAS CASTFOOOOORM!" Castform screamed, the temperature dropping with each cry. Matthew began to shiver violently as the antennae flashed brightly in the gloom, the wires leading up to it shaking more than most. There was an intense glow from within the machine itself, and Matthew moved backwards as fast as possible, Castform's screams getting louder and longer as the Pokemon shone brighter and brighter.

"What is going on?" Charon groaned, getting to his feet as Xavier, Prinplup and Hoothoot wisely moved away. The scientist turned to face them, his face and front covered in sand and wet from the mud, his glasses cracked and sitting askew on his nose, but the look of pain and curiosity was replaced with shock as he turned to the machine. "You fools, what did you do!" Matthew wanted to say it had been Xavier, pass the blame to someone else and leave them to deal with it, but he was so shocked that he had no idea what to say. He forgot that Charon was his enemy and that he should have stopped him from rising up, and forgot that this was a Team Galactic machine that he and Xavier had foolishly tampered with. All Matthew could hear was the high pitched scream of "FOOOOOOORM" from within the machine, a cry so pitiful and pained that it tore at his heart.

"We have to move, NOW!" Charon yelled, the scientist already turning to flee. But Matthew was too cold to move, yet he hadn't noticed the frost creeping up on him. His legs felt frozen, and when he looked at his hands, the coordinator saw they were blue. He tried to tell Xavier, Prinplup, Charon, someone this, but over a shivered stutter came tumbling out from his lips, lips that felt like ice when he pressed them together.

"CAAAAAAAS!" The scream was short but louder and more pained, and Matthew winced at the pain of the noise. He watched as a beam of pure blue and white energy rose gleaming out from the glow, and Matthew followed it as it shot off into the sky and spread across the grey clouds, coating them in light. It was such a beautiful sight that Matthew forgot for a moment all about the situation they were in, and his mind drifted off to the clouds after the beam, for a brief moment wondering what the energy was and where it was going.

Than a shockwave colder than anything Matthew had ever felt before washed over him, and he shut his eyes against the cold, blinding light, his mind coming back to him and telling Matthew that he should have seen this coming… it was how it always ended.

* * *

Thunder continued to boom overheard, the giant, shaking sound becoming more frequent and more aggressive. It sounded like some great beast coming slowly towards them, and Sahara glanced at the sky and wondered what was to come. There was a chill in the air that the hair on her body on end, and the threat of rain clung to her skim. She wanted to find shelter and flee the coming storm, but she could not go inside just yet.

Route 217 was deserted once again. Only Sahara and Nutty stood where the mass of reporters had been barely half an hour ago. A layer of sand buried the grass and mud with flecks of brown and yellow, and Sahara had no idea what had caused it. Everyone had fled indoors to escape the sandstorm, and Sahara had briefly gone inside after awakening from her fall to tend to a graze on the right side of her face. However, one person had remained outside, and Rowan was leaving it to her to tend to Mason's feelings while he dealt with reporters.

A piece of twisted metal had made its way over to the café, and Sahara traced its path back to the crater in the middle of the route. Mason sat amongst the ruins of his rocket, parts still smouldering from the lightning that had destroyed it. Chunks of earth had been torn from the ground and lay in heaps all around. Solrock and Lunatone floated in a daze, their hard bodies saving their lives but they had been left confused and shaken. Mason looked more hurt than them though. He stared blankly at the remains of his pet project, ignoring the small cuts and bruises that covered his body, let disappointment and devastation engulf him.

"Look at him," Sahara mumbled to Nutty, who thankfully was uninjured. "I have seen him this way before. I remember he broke a miniature helicopter he had invented one of the first years he worked for my grandfather, and no one was able to make him feel better." She looked across at her old friend with a sad sigh escaping her lips. Words would not fix his rocket, but they had to at least try. She took a tentative step onto the route, watching nervously for any signs of broken glass, but the ground beneath her squelched rather than crunched, and Sahara moved out.

"Pachi Pach Pachi," Nutty said, and bounded forwards over tiny shards and tumbled pieces of wires, not as fearful as her trainer and went straight for Lunatone and Solrock. Mason looked up briefly as Nutty passed, and Sahara smiled encouragingly at him and moved quicker.

"Everyone has moved inside. Rowan thinks there is going to be another storm soon, and it would all be best if we were out of the way," she called out as she approached, finding a lot of the grass had been burnt away the closer she got to the crater. "It is nice and warm inside, even if it is a bit loud from all those reporters. Do you want to come in?" Sahara finally reached him, and stood on a piece of cracked and uneven ground that wobbled as she stood on it. For a moment, she thought Mason hadn't heard, as he continued to stare into the crater with a blank expression on his face.

"If I go inside, they will all ask me what caused the explosion," he whispered back in a hoarse voice, "and they will all blame me for endangering their lives."

"That is nonsense!" Sahara gasped. "The explosion was not your fault! It was the lightning striking the machine, Rowan saw it with his own eyes. You cannot be blamed for the weather!"

"It shows what a bad scientist I am," Mason replied. "I helped design the machine, and if it couldn't stand up to even a single bolt of lightning, than how could it withstand going into space? I have wasted millions of dollars on designing a rocket that wouldn't survive, and I could have killed my Pokemon in the process." He glanced briefly at the Meteorite Pokemon, but looked away as if they would attack him in the look lingered too long. Sahara was stunned by how defeated Mason sounded, and she sat down next to him, moving close and pulling him into an one armed hug.

"I have known you for years, and I have never thought of you to be a bad scientist. Making mistakes is all part of the job, is it not? The rocket looked pretty impressive to me, and I am sure it would have survived in space." Sahara looked up at the sky, a grim look on her face as the granite clouds flashed white in the distance. "This storm is to blame. There is something very unnatural about it, and if you ask me, it wanted the rocket to fail for whatever reason. You have to blame the clouds, not yourself." Her eyes met with Mason's as they turned towards each other, and she was proud to see he was smiling. Mason suddenly began to laugh, tipping his head back and letting his joy echo around them. Sahara began to laugh as well, unable to control herself, and the two were reduced to hysterical giggling messes in seconds, letting a few snorts creep in that made Nutty, Lunatone and Solrock exchange looks.

"Oh yes, blame the clouds, that's the best way to fix this," Mason said when he finally calmed down, though he had gone red in the face. "If only I could go to the reporters and tell them that, than it would be as if none of this ever happened." The laughter quickly died from his face as Mason stared back at the ruined rocket, sighing softly at the burnt and twisted metal that lay scattered around them. "I really should go and face them, shouldn't I?" Sahara nodded, silently pleased that she had won him around. She leapt to her feet and extended a hand.

"I will be there for you if you need my support," she said with a smile, and Mason managed to smile back at her as he grabbed onto her hand. Sahara hoisted him up, satisfied with the turn of events. However, she didn't notice that the ground she stood on was uneven. As she pulled Mason up, the ground moved, and Sahara wobbled backwards. She cried out, and heard the shocked cries of those around her, but nothing stopped her as she fell backwards. Sahara feared landing on jagged metal or broken glass, but than her eyes fell upon what looked like part of the engine sparking directly below her, and all she could do was curse as her back landed directly upon it.

"SAHARA!" Mason shouted, and he collapsed to his knees as Sahara's head snapped backwards, the sound of something exploding beneath her back reaching his ears, her body twitching and flailing, before her eyes shut. "No, Sahara… wake up, come on Sahara, wake up!" Mason cried, and quickly dragged her away, being careful to hold her neck steady after the unpleasant snapping it had made. Nutty, Solrock and Lunatone surrounded him in shock as the assistant pulled Sahara onto a clear and flat section of land, where he softly lay her down, though she still did not stir.

_No, this can't be happening_ Mason thought, and he tried shaking Sahara to see if she would wake. _I can not lose my rocket and Sahara in one day, that is too cruel! _"WAKE!" Mason yelled, his eyes starting to water as a pain formed in his chest. He pressed down on her chest, wondering if it was resuscitation she needed. As soon as her body jerked though at the force of his hands, Sahara's eyes burst open, and her left hand clasped both of his.

"My my, if you wanted to touch me there, you only need ask," she whispered in a purr.

"Oh Sahara, I thought we'd lost you!" Mason cried in relief, and he pulled her into a hug. He felt reassured and began to calm down, wiping his tears away before they could fall. Mason went to stand up, but Sahara was holding him tightly, and he could hear her breathing deeply near his ear as she nuzzled her shoulder. "Um… Sahara, what are you doing?"

"Sahara's checked out for now darling," she replied in a voice thick with seduction. "It's time you and I spent some quality time together." Mason gasped and pushed backwards, and stared directly into Sahara's eyes, his heart sinking as he saw laughter and joy dancing in the pink that now filled her stare. "Y-y-y-your n-not Sa-Sahara…," Mason stammered, his heart racing once more, and Crystal laughed as she moved a hand up his chest.

"Clever boy, you're a true scientist," she said sarcastically and laughed again. Mason wanted to say something, but was left breathless and wordless as he suddenly moved back to his feet, his body pressed against Crystal's as they both rose simultaneously. Her lips suddenly seemed darker and fuller, and they twisted in a smile once they had stopped moving.

"Pach Pach Pachi!" Nutty suddenly cried from their feet, and the Pachirisu made to move forwards, sparks flying from her body and an angry look on her face. Crystal merely laughed and rolled her eyes, and then flicked her wrist casually. Nutty stopped moving as the air around her shimmered, and Mason gasped as the Electric type pounded against thin air, causing pink vibrations that surrounded her and his Pokemon.

"What have you done?" He cried, trying to pull away but finding himself trapped in Crystal's grasp. "Let me go!" Mason tried to push her away, but Crystal only laughed and pulled herself closer, wrapping one leg around his and pushing her chest close to his, and Mason slowly began to freeze.

"There's a good boy," Crystal whispered, moving her lips close to his ear once more. "Now surely you can put the pieces together, science boy, so it's time we made some chemistry," she continued in a purr, and let out a laugh that echoed all around, a sound so loud that it nearly outdid the thunder that followed, a great boom that sounded like an explosion. Mason wanted to pull away, knowing it was right, but there was something about the pinkness that filled Sahara's eyes that drew him in, and slowly a smile began to cross his face to match Crystal's. Neither of them noticed the clouds changing colour above them, nor did they register the flecks of snow that landed in their hair as they moved towards the trees.

* * *

Rowan scowled at his computer. He faced the screen and would have looked invested to the outside world, but his attention was the reporters the filled the café behind him as many filmed their pieces. Terms like 'dangerous', 'unprepared' and 'deadly' drifted back to him, and the professor wanted nothing more than to put them in their places, but knew that was exactly what they would want from him.

_Gossiping, pathetic cretins, _Rowan thought bitterly. _There was nothing dangerous or unprepared about that rocket, and the only deadly thing out there was the lightning. _Rowan turned his attention back towards his laptop and the weather maps that lay before him. The only thing that the mix of colours and lines could tell him was that there was rain along Route 217 and along the surrounding routes and parts of Veilstone City, but that was nothing he didn't know. The Weather Institute's website had no mentions of the sudden electric storm though, nor the strange sandstorm that had forced them inside.

_Surely we didn't imagine it, _Rowan thought angrily, and he opened his own weather programme, which was a small device on the roof of the van he had put up this morning to examine the route's storm. The device had picked up the lightning, and Rowan was stunned to see that over one hundred strikes had occurred during the sandstorm. What was stranger though was that it had reported a sudden increase of heat, showing temperatures that he would only expect during the hottest days of summer, but now it was coming close to freezing.

_This is too unnatural, something else is afoot here, _Rowan thought, and he quickly closed his screen and got to his feet. He would have to find a quiet spot and contact the right people to consult about this. Rowan had a dreadful feeling that they may need to evacuate the area while they sorted the matter out, and he wondered where Mason, Sahara and her friends had all gone.

"Ronald, what are you doing hiding in the corner?" A voice said with a hint of a smirk behind him, and Rowan stifled a grunt as he turned to face Clarisse Miller and her perfectly made up face. The reporter was smirking at her own private joke, and Rowan wanted to be the one to wipe it off. She had endangered Sahara and the Dex Holders with her report on them, and Rowan knew that she had to be put in her place before she did something like it again.

"What do you want? There is no story here of the gossipy crap you specialize in, so why don't you go and stalk some celebrity about their latest partner or nose or whatever you want to make headlines." Rowan made to push past, but Clarisse held a microphone out in his way that thumped into his chest, and he angrily looked towards the smiling reporter.

"Look, we all know there is some story in what is going on here, and I am willing to cut you a deal," she purred. "Give me an exclusive interview, and I can provide you with enough money to get your rocket project going again." Rowan angrily knocked her microphone out of the way, and Clarisse's face twisted up in rage.

"Listen here Miss Miller," Rowan growled. "I do not want your dirty money, and I would never give you an interview even if you were the last reporter in the world. Why don't you try being a real journalist for once and contact the people that will know more on the situation, rather than jumping towards the first person you see. I'm a Pokemon Professor, not a meteorologist." Clarisse looked shocked, and Rowan smiled beneath his snowy moustache as he moved away. The look on her face was priceless, and Rowan could see the others were moving asides to avoid him as he headed for the public phone. Rowan had never liked reporters, and frightening a few of them was enough to make his day.

"Look everyone, it's snowing!" Rowan paused and turned around, and the reporters all turned as well. The female owner was standing next to the window, right near where Sahara had sat earlier, and was pointing through the glass. The reporters all murmured in excitement as the white flecks danced past the windows, falling softly and slowly.

_How can we go from having a sandstorm to heat to snow all in an hour? _Rowan thought suspiciously, and he placed his laptop down on the table as he followed everyone outside. There was a definite chill in the air that made him do up his coat, and Rowan saw that the muddy ground was becoming blanketed in white, hiding all signs of the previous weather. He glanced around and saw Sahara and Mason were nowhere in sight, and the ruins of the rocket were becoming buried as well.

"This is most unusual," the scientist murmured aloud, and scowled at the reporters that were starting to record their pieces against a backdrop of winter. "These fools should be hiding inside, not frolicking in the snow. This is not natural weather!"

"I believe I have to agree you with," Clarisse said by his shoulder, and Rowan turned to glare at her. "I may be a trashy journalist, but even we can figure out when something's wrong. Off the record, do you think that this is man made?" The reporter looked up at him curiously, and Rowan had to nod. He knew that there would be some exterior cause to this, and he had several suspicions as to who it might be.

That was the world shook.

Rowan glanced up at the sky as it seemed to exploded, a noise so loud and bitter shaking throughout the world. The reporters all froze and looked to the sky, and it appeared as though the clouds were shaking. Rowan went to shout for everyone to move indoors, but there was no need: bolts of lightning burst through the clouds, smashing into the ground and trees, sending snow scattering and setting trees alight. Journalists screamed and headed for the doors as the sky continued to explode, but Rowan could not take his eyes off the clouds. They were stirring, moving in circular motions, and appeared to be glowing blue. The clouds flashed with each burst of lightning that was released, and Rowan was becoming blinded.

"We have to get inside!" Clarisse yelled, and she turned to follow the other reporters inside. However, before Rowan could follow her, the roar came again, this time sounding as if it had come from next to them. Rowan looked back at the clouds and watched as they began to move aside, three long green fingers forcing themselves through the grey.

"Miss Miller, would you mind sending your Pokemon out and asking everyone else to release theirs?" Rowan boomed, trying to keep the fear and shock out from his voice. "I feel we are going to need them." Without waiting for a response, he reached into his pockets for his own, but froze as the hand moved the clouds aside, and Rowan looked up as the long, lizard-like face the colour of emeralds pushed through, and the scientist knew there was hope.

You only had to look at Sootopolis City to know nothing would stop Rayquaza enraged.

* * *

Thunder crashed and boomed around them, and the lightning smashed into the ground and set the trees alight around them, but Vanessa and Charles did not seem to notice the storm and snow raging around them.

"SIGNAL BEAM, AERIAL ACE!" Vanessa bellowed as she drove a fist into Charles' stomach.

"FIRE FANG, THUNDERBOLT!" Charles yelled back breathlessly, and brought a knee up to meet Vanessa's chin. As her head snapped backwards and her mouth filled with blood, the Pokemon continued their battle around them. Elle lay injured and whimpering beside a smouldering bush, leaving Ampharos and Mightyena to fend off Dustox and Murkrow. Dustox unleashed his rainbow coloured beam, blasting Mightyena backwards before fire could form in his mouth. Murkrow dived down from a scream, her wings glowing as she aimed for Ampharos' long neck.

"Pharooooooo!" Ampharos screamed, glowing yellow. She let Murkrow fly into her before letting loose her own blast of lightning. Murkrow screamed more painfully, and Vanessa turned to watch her Pokemon soar steaming towards a tree. She looked away before watching the Darkness Pokemon suffer anymore, just in time to catch Charles' punch before it caught her in the face.

"Fighting while your foe is distracted, how very noble," Vanessa hissed as she twisted the hand and kicked Charles in the right knee, sending him crashing into the mud. She kicked a wad of sodden leaves and dripping mud into his face before grabbing a PokeBall and throwing it into the field. It had been a random grab, but Vanessa was satisfied when Luxio landed fully formed before her.

"Swift and Signal Beam," she said, and quickly rushed back to where her umbrella had fallen. The black fabric was covered with mud and parts of the handle where chipped, but Vanessa was pleased to see no lightning had been attracted by it. She picked it up firmly in her hands and turned back grinning, twisting the handle as she did so. The silver blade shot out, reflecting an explosion of gold and yellow as Swift and Thunderbolt combined. Vanessa was dismayed to see Mightyena leaping up at Dustox, teeth bared and flames dancing from his mouth as the Signal Beams simply shot past, and she was tempted to leave Charles groaning on the ground and deal with his vicious Pokemon. However, there was a rustle from the bushes, and Vanessa turned to see Murkrow slowly rise up from the charred remains, her black feathers lit up by the red fire burning in the tree behind her.

"Are you injured?" Vanessa said fearfully, moving towards the Dark type. Murkrow shook her head, looking tired and battered but still able to fly. "Good, then give them hell for me."

"MUUUUUR!" Murkrow yelled in triumph, and she shot forwards with her wings glowing silver, flying directly into Mightyena as he tried to catch Dustox. Vanessa smiled widely as she followed after, casually ignoring the lightning that continued to strike the forest and barely registering the snow that was slowly falling from the skies, gathering in small heaps on the ground that she scattered aside with her blue boots. Little of the blue still showed though, now stained with mud and blood, and Vanessa noticed that her dress had been torn in several places and was smeared with blood from a cut near her right breast, an attempt by Charles to stop her with a broken branch.

_All he did was annoy me and ruin my dress, _Vanessa thought angrily as she stopped in front of the groaning boy. _I will add that to the list of what he has to pay for. _She forced the blade up against his throat, and Charles turned to look up at her, his lips curled in a snarl and his eyes wide and burning. The defiance made him look rugged and attractive, and Vanessa smiled to herself as she nicked his throat, sending tiny beads dripping down his neck.

"If your going to kill me, than get it over with!" Charles yelled, his voice rising above the thunder, the exploding moves and the roaring wind that swept through their small section of the forest. "You've defeated me, you've finally won, congratulations. If you are expecting me to beg for mercy or forgiveness, than your dreaming! Just hurry up and be down with it!" Vanessa smiled, wanting nothing more than to slide the sword into his throat and end his life. However, there were questions that she wanted answering first, things she wanted to get out of him, answers she knew that Sahara deserved.

"Why did you never leave Team Galactic?" Vanessa yelled over the explosion of thunder that was closer than ever. She glared down at Charles as her words echoed, though he fell silent, letting the cries and explosions from their warring Pokemon fill the air. Vanessa stared into his eyes and saw the anger fading, and the rage disappeared from his face. The question did not seem difficult, and Vanessa was surprised to seem he was struggling with it.

"I… I don't know," Charles admitted at last, and he pulled an expression that made him look weak and pathetic, just a young man caught in a storm he didn't expect. "I never wanted to get involved, but when they caught me and forced me into their organisation, for some reason it never crossed my mind to leave. I guess… I guess there is some reason why I am staying, but I haven't figured it out yet." He looked up at Vanessa with wide sad eyes, and for a moment she sympathized with him, but than she caught her senses and kicked him in the stomach.

"That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard," Vanessa hissed as Charles twisted in pain, the sword catching his throat again. "You seriously expect me to accept that? That only makes me want to kill you in slower and more painful ways than I had planned. How can you not know why you are staying there? I imagine even your fellow mindless fucking grunts know what they want: fame, glory, power, all the typical Tauros crap. Come on Golden boy, look inside what shrivelled heart you have and find me answer." Vanessa sprayed him with spit as she hissed over him, and Charles squirmed but still did not give her a response. She thought a tear crossed his cheek for a moment, but Vanessa simply rolled her eyes.

"Alright then, a simpler question!" She yelled, leaning backwards to avoid ricocheting Electric attacks. "You claim to love Sahara, yet you have helped Galactic try and kill her multiple times. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't slit your throat right now and drag your corpse back to her so we can be done with you?" Charles stared back at her angrily, and Vanessa smiled to herself, glad to bring the rage back.

"I only did what I had to do on orders, I would never intentionally harm Sahara!" He shouted. "I don't want to hurt or kill anyone, but I am given my jobs and do what I have to do. Frankly, I wouldn't even hurt Xavier or Matthew if I had the option to avoid doing so, though you're a complete different matter."

"Glad to know I am an exception," Vanessa giggled, and stamped down on his right hand. Charles groaned and clutched his hand, but the fury continued regardless.

"I have feelings for Sahara, as you know. The only trouble is that I don't know what to make of them. How can I love someone I am supposed to be hunting down? How can I have feelings for someone that can turn into a murderous, supernatural demon so easily? Cyrus, Charon, Mars, they all convinced me she was a monster that had to be stopped, and frankly I wanted to stop her, as then she would not be on my mind anymore, and I wouldn't have to deal with the pain of falling for her and then lose her. I was never meant to stay in Sinnoh, I want to go back to Johto! There are… friends waiting for me, and some of my Pokemon. The incident that brought me here…" Charles drifted off, his eyes widening again as if he had seen something shocking, and Vanessa was tempted to look behind, though did not want to show him her back. They fell silent again as Vanessa dwelled over his words, tossing them around in her mind. Charles made since to a degree, and Vanessa could understand fears of committing to people you were afraid to lose, and for a moment she lost herself, seeing fires dancing before her eyes, seeing a shadowed figure looming over Staraptor's body, seeing gravestones planted in the snow…

"You owe her an explanation," Vanessa croaked, shaking her head to clear the thoughts away before she lost herself. "You should find her and make her listen to what you have to say and put the poor girl out of her misery! She has enough problems without worrying over you, and if she knew you weren't committed, it would do her a great deal of good." Vanessa put acid into every single word, but was stunned to see Charles smiling up at her, a completely different look to the vicious glares she'd received only a minute before.

"I am sure Sahara would rather know about your own feelings for her," he replied in a whisper that was nearly lost amongst the noise next to them. "We both know what this is about. You love her but know Sahara will never go for me, and you know she either loves me or has some strong feelings for me. Don't stand there and try and tell me what to do when you are lying to her about your feelings and building a false friendship between the two of you, and we both know you are going to kill me before I will ever get a chance to talk to her. Just hurry up and kill me, you hypocritical bitch." Vanessa wanted to, her hand tightening its grip on the umbrella, pressing the blade against the bump of his throat and wanted to draw it across before Charles could say anything else. Yet his words had lingered in the air, and Vanessa's mind was drifting elsewhere as she debated what he had just thrown back at her. What he had said was true, and Vanessa found the words had frozen her, leaving her incapable of carrying out the act.

"Duuusss… tooooox…" Vanessa turned at the sound of the hoarse cry, and she suddenly realised that there had been no sounds of battle for the last few minutes. All six Pokemon from either side were collapsed in the middle of the clearing, none of them looking capable of carrying on the fight. Dustox and Murkrow both appeared to be scorched, and Luxio was limping as he moved towards his trainer. Ampharos was completely covered in mud and looked cut, but was tending to Mightyena who was whimpering in pain.

"We shouldn't have forced them to fight for us," Vanessa said, and she lowered her sword so the blade touched the mud. Charles made to move and she turned to shoot him a look that froze him as he tried to sit up. "I am not going to kill you today, but I will if you do not tell Sahara what you told me the next time you meet. She deserves the truth, and she wouldn't believe me if I was the one to tell her. You are going to teleport me back to Route 217 so I can find care for my Pokemon, and then you are going to go back to your so you can work out exactly why you are being a horrible human being and never speak a word of this conversation again, agreed?"

"Agreed," Charles said with a slow nod as he got back to his feet. "We wouldn't want people thinking you have a heart now, would we?" He flashed her a smile, but Vanessa only wanted to tear his lips off and stop him from ever doing that again. She scooped Luxio up and stroked his head and moved towards Dustox and Murkrow, keeping a weary eye on the back of Charles' head as the pains of their battle started to sink in. Part of her wished she had finished him while she had the chance, but the other part of her was too distracted by her own thoughts and feelings. His words were not fading away, and they seem to be imprinted at the front of her mind. Vanessa hated him even more for that, but she knew what he had said was true. She needed to fix her relationship with Sahara before it got any worse, and killing Charles would not bring her any pleasure until that was sorted.

Yet in a brief moment when the two trainers looked at each other, Vanessa saw something new in Charles' long, sad face, and knew that she wasn't the only one with issues to dwell over.

* * *

Despite everything that had happened to them, from the first battle on their first day of travelling to the destruction of the Valley Windworks, the Oreburgh Mine and almost every other building they had touched, when Xavier awoke to find they were flying, even he had to admit this was the strangest thing to occur.

He eyes opened suddenly, and he looked up to see the clouds were still grey, but they had been tinted with blue and were flashing in odd spots. The giant mass of blank colours were unmoving, but from his position, the skeletal, unhealthy trees were all moving past, their branches battering against Xavier's arms and tearing through his clothes. Something was howling , and frightened murmurs stirred nearby. Xavier was puzzled, and his head was ringing, and a chill spread through his body… everything seemed quite unnatural, and Xavier went to stand up to see what was happening.

He managed to stand, yet his feet did not touch the ground.

Xavier turned around and found he was flying. The ground was nearly a metre below him and flying by, a mixture of mud, snow, sand and hints of grass all blurring into one. Matthew, Prinplup and Hoothoot were floating as well, their bodies moving and twisting by force of whatever carried them.

"Unusual…," Xavier pondered to himself, and he glanced behind, trying to see where they were going. His body moved as his head turned, and Xavier felt his stomach tip as his whole body rocked and shivered from the cold. A breeze tugged at his jacket, and it was then that Xavier realised they were not truly floating: they had become caught in the wind, though it was a strange mix of strength and calm that was keeping them airborne but not pushing them into a tornado.

Xavier spun around to try and see a source, and was not surprised to see the machine floating close to the ground, the gun device on top glowing the colour of lavenders. The device was coated in frost and fog, making it resemble a large floating ice cube, and Xavier remembered the machine flashing blue before he had passed out. He looked back to the clouds and their strange blue tint, and could only wonder what sort of machine Team Galactic had created.

A roar tore through the eerie silence that surrounded them, a noise so loud and terrible that Xavier jumped. Around him, Matthew, Prinplup and Hoothoot all awoke at the sound, and suddenly the three were squirming and gasping as they realised they were flying.

"Hello there," Xavier said. "In case your wondering, Castform and the machine are causing us to fly, I believe. I can always check with Charon or Cyrus if they are moving as well," and Xavier peered through branches and trunks towards the other side of the machine and its spiralling wind, and saw three figures floating limply across from them. "Yes, they are there. I presume at once one of them is alive as I can hear groaning. Anyway, I believe we should find a way to get back on solid ground."

"Well actually Xavier, I am starting to get the hang of this, I wouldn't mind flying for the rest of my life!" Matthew hissed back sarcastically, and Xavier rolled his eyes, knowing he would resort to this level of immaturity. "We should attack the machine and see if we can knock Castform out of this! Prinplup, use –"

"That is a stupid idea," Xavier said, stopping Matthew in his tracks. "Any attacks could either badly harm Castform or set it off into doing some more bizarre form of weather. I believe I should send either Lapras or Drifblim out, they would be able to settle this properly."

"Just do whatever!" Matthew yelled hysterically, and he pulled Prinplup close for comfort. Xavier rolled his eyes at Hoothoot, who agreed with a nod, and then reached into his pockets. As he debated using Lapras or Drifblim though, the roar sounded again. This time it sounded like it was coming from right behind him, and Xavier covered his ears to try and silence the painful and booming noise. Matthew, Prinplup and Hoothoot squirmed in discomfort as well, and Xavier saw something flash behind the frosted glass. He turned around to try and see what Pokemon it was, and he saw the trees thinning up ahead, and a wide expanse coming close towards them.

"We're nearing Route 217!" Xavier cried out over the roar, though it appeared his words had been lost in the wind. He tried to focus on the route appearing up ahead, and paused on releasing any Pokemon until he had a better idea of what to expect. Xavier stared to the route, wondering if the roaring creature would be found there, and thought back to his father, Looker and Vanessa and where they had ended up during all of this.

Than he noticed the trees were flying.

Xavier quickly grabbed one of his PokeBalls without properly considering it and threw it behind him into their own wind current, watching as the trees on the very edge of the forest were ripped from the ground and pulled away onto the route, dirt flying and their roots waving like flailing arms. Xavier turned back to the flash and was satisfied to see Grotle had formed, though the Grove Pokemon seemed quite stunned by what he had come into.

"Grab onto him!" Xavier shouted to Matthew, and noticed his friend and Prinplup were staring blankly in shock at the flying trees before him. Xavier pushed forwards and grabbed onto Grotle's shell, and Hoothoot soared over, nestling in ones of his bushes.

"Grot?" The Grass type asked, visibly confused.

"Dive towards the ground and dig your claws in," Xavier commanded, "as if you are using Earth Power." Grotle was heavy and was barely floating, and Xavier hoped his weight would save them. He turned towards Matthew and was briefly irritated to see he had not moved. "Prinplup, get over here!" The Penguin Pokemon was quicker to respond than her trainer, and she kicked out with feet to move them through the wind. Matthew shouted as they spun around, but Xavier grabbed them and forced them down onto Grotle as more trees before them were sent flying as easily as plastic bags.

"GROOOOT!" Grotle yelled, and he dived down, his claws glowing a muddy brown. Their combined weight was enough to push the Pokemon down, and Grotle forced his front feet into the ground to anchor them. The wind tried to tug at them, and for a moment Xavier thought they were going to flip over until the ground around them glowed brown as well. There was an earth shaking explosion that sent chunks of ground and mud flying through the air, and suddenly the rest of Grotle smashed down, sending the rest of them spilling onto the cracked and mud filled earth.

"Good job Grotle," Xavier called, brushing the mud off and getting back to his feet. Grotle gave a weary nod, and Matthew looked grumpy as he climbed back to his feet, a large brown streak down the right side of his face. Prinplup and Hoothoot both stifled sniggers, and Xavier would have been mildly amused himself, but the roar sounded once again, sounding like a deadly creature combined with a jet engine right next to his ear. Xavier flinched and turned around, wondering what he would find behind him.

Even though his name had been on his mind all day, Xavier did not expect to find Rayquaza staring directly at him.

The legendary giant was floating only a few metres away, the end of his long jade body hovering over the ground that was now a mix of the remnants of different weathers. Xavier had to crane his neck up in order to properly see the Sky High Pokemon. Rayquaza's skin was a dazzling green, so full of the colour that the trees and grass should have been showing. Yellow and black patterns covered his body, along with thicker sections of skin with red tipped fins growing out. Rayquaza's only limbs were two arms that looked big enough to crush anyone or anything easily, with sharp claws for added murder.

But the most frightening feature was his face. It was wide like a endless meadow, but had small, beady eyes by comparison that were focussed entirely on Xavier, seeming to stare directly into his body. Xavier could not tell if Rayquaza was smiling or not, but his mouth was twisted in some expression, with two lone jagged teeth like stalactites prodding through.

_This is going to be interesting,_ Xavier thought, just as Rayquaza let out another roar. He stumbled backwards from the force of it, and found Grotle, Prinplup and Hoothoot rushing to his side. The three Pokemon stared back up at the Dragon type, and Rayquaza stared widely back at them for a moment, but than the beast turned aside, waving his giant hands as he did so. Wind whipped up once again, scattering dirt across them, hard brown rain that blinded them. Voices sounded nearby though, and the group moved away from the torrent of dirt towards the sounds.

"Xavier, Matthew!" Palmer boomed as he raced towards them, followed closely by Professor Rowan, Looker, Clarisse Miller and several other reporters and camera people, with Ninetales and assorted Pokemon already out, the café sitting behind them. "Oh boys, where did you get to? When we stopped the fire, we thought you had perished!"

"We thought we'd try and see what Team Galactic was doing," Matthew said, though his nervous expressions and a slight twitch revealed the lie if anyone else had paid attention. "Team Galactic has a Castform inside a giant box and they seem to be controlling the weather through it." Xavier saw Looker's eyes widen in shock and wondered if the spy already knew this or suspected it.

"This is starting to make sense," Professor Rowan said, his moustache shaking as he spoke. "Their unnatural weather control would be why it is not showing up anywhere, and it explains Rayquaza's anger as well. It is likely he is trying to fix the problems with the weather that are disturbing with his area of control." There were murmurs of agreement from the others as if they had expected this all along, but Xavier was more interested by the fact Ninetales was moving away from the group unnoticed, crossing the cracked ground as she neared Rayquaza and the machine.

"What is Rayquaza going to do to fix this issue?" Clarisse asked, a notepad in hand.

"I am not sure, but I do not imagine it will be beneficial to us," Rowan replied glumly. "I think it would be best if we all move inside before anything worse happens, and we should leave Rayquaza along. If he wanted to truly harm us than he would have done a lot worse than roar and spray us with dirt. You can all return your Pokemon now." A look crossed Palmer's face for a brief moment that resembled anger and disappointment, a look Xavier knew all too well from his childhood, and he followed the tycoon's annoyed gaze up towards the serpentine legendary above them. Xavier looked down at Grotle and knew it would be wise to return him, but than saw Hoothoot sitting on one of his bushes, smiling up at Xavier with wide red eyes. It did not seem right to leave Hoothoot out in the bad weather to get harmed again, especially with the wind playing up. But before Xavier could get any sort of PokeBall out, Looker pushed past him, a gun in one hand and a PokeBall in the other.

"What is Rayquaza moving towards?" He asked nervously, and everyone turned to face him. A deep growl filled the route as Rayquaza put his back to them and leaned down to the ground. Xavier could see Ninetales fur gleaming golden beneath him, and other figures rising up. Rayquaza let out another angry growl, and that was when Xavier spotted an unmistakable head of turquoise head barely a metre from the Dragon's mouth.

"NO!" Cyrus yelled, waving something like a gun into the air, his voice carrying across the silent group watching. "YOU WILL NOT HARM CASTFORM! THIS PLAN… THIS PLAN HAS BEEN IN PLAY FOR TOO LONG TO BE RUINED! LEAVE US, YOU WILL NOT CAUSE US ANY HARM!" Three loud bangs than sounded, and Rayquaza let out a roar that made Xavier think he had been shot. But the beast merely reared up, mouth open in a furious scream, and raised his claws. As he did this, Xavier heard and watched as Ninetales yelled as well, shooting flames at something hidden by the wreckage of Castform's machine. The machine itself was flashing multiple colours at once, and Xavier had a feeling it was shaking.

"What the hell is going on?" Clarisse yelled. "Someone needs to do something! Rayquaza is going to attack!" Xavier looked up, and his heart sank a bit to see the reporter was right. A ball of white energy the size of a house was forming in Rayquaza's mouth, and if the attack was unleashed than it could have enough power to defeat them all at once.

"I can stop this!" Palmer boomed. "Dragonite, use your –," he began, but he froze as bolts of blue electricity crackled between them and Rayquaza. Everyone fell silent and watched as the air shimmered and distorted, and then there was a blue flash bright enough to distract Rayquaza. A moment later, the light was replaced with Vanessa and Charles, both of whom had appeared out of nowhere. The two had the looks of someone being caught out, and they exchanged confused looks with each other before noticing something much larger behind them, and looked up to find Rayquaza staring down at them.

"Well, it looks like we've just walked into the middle of something, so maybe we'll leave you to it and come back later," Vanessa said with a weary smile, and she groped at Charles' wrist for a watch-like device. Xavier looked at the others, wondering why no one was doing anything, and glanced down at Grotle to give him orders. Suddenly, though Xavier had expected more to happen, there were the simultaneously sounds of PokeBalls opening and the Pokemon energy pouring out. Everyone looked back towards Cyrus and the Team Galactic base as Houndoom, Gyarados, Weavile, Crobat, Honchkrow, Magnezone and Bronzong formed around the machine, Ninetales being blasted aside by an unseen Psychic attack.

"IF YOU WANT TO HURT US RAYQUAZA, THAN GET THROUGH THEM!" Cyrus yelled. "POKEMON, DESTROY ALL OF THEM!" And before anyone could do anything, the seven Pokemon unleashed a barrage of attacks. Rayquaza roared as Ice, Fire and Water attacks exploded against him, while chunks of earth and rubble were sent soaring through the air towards them. The reporters screamed as they were attacked, but nothing could be heard above Rayquaza's own roar. Xavier looked up the sky as the legendary Pokemon screamed up at the clouds, which seemed to darken and thicken at the sound. In an instant thunder was sounding again, and lightning flashed across the sky like bright cracks in the clouds. Castform's snow continued to fall, but rain was hammering down upon them, coming down so hard that the water almost felt solid, and a furious wind tore through the route once more.

"Razor Leaf at anything that comes close!" Xavier shouted over the roar of the wind and its master, and Hoothoot flew aside as glowing green leaves were unleashed towards Gyarados. The Atrocious Pokemon barely noticed them though as he flew towards Palmer's Dragonite, and within seconds they were engaged in a fight, their attacks exploding in the sky and blasting into Rayquaza. All around Xavier there were people screaming, fleeing from the scene as the wind threatened to blow them away and the rain dared to drown them. Palmer, Rowan and Looker were being attacked as well, despite their own Pokemon rushing forwards to engage Galactic's: Rowan's Arcanine exchanged fire with Houndoom, and Looker's Jolteon leapt up and fired Thunder at Gyarados before crashing into Weavile. And all the while, Rayquaza roared and thrashed about, flinging his long and thick tail around as a weapon, and he tried to fire a Hyper Beam down at the Pokemon that were attacking him, but he was being attacked so much that he could not focus. Xavier watched as the beam was fired into the already dead forest, and there was an explosion that swallowed near half of what remained, trees being blasted into the sky.

"We have to find a way to stop this before he does that to us," someone hissed behind him, and Xavier turned to face Vanessa. He noticed that she was wounded, bleeding and bruised with her dress torn but made no point of it. "The wise men around us are intent on battling Cyrus' Pokemon, but that isn't going to stop Rayquaza. You're the logical genius: got any ideas?"

"Only inklings unfortunately" Xavier replied, watching as Dragonite and Gyarados encircled Rayquaza as part of their fight, nearly getting knocked aside by the beast's claws. "Rowan believes Galactic's machine is to blame, so I believe if we can destroy that, than Rayquaza may be inclined to leave us be. We need to get close to the machine and destroy it safely without harming the Castform they have trapped inside." Vanessa nodded and looked towards where they were, but the guards of Pokemon were protecting it from sight.

"Someone will need to get close while the other two try to hold off Galactic and Rayquaza at once," she said. Vanessa turned to Matthew, but he and Prinplup seemed too distracted by Rayquaza roaring and flailing above to notice. Xavier went to offer his services, but paused before he could talk, eyeing someone approaching them from behind. Vanessa must have seen the look in his eyes as she turned around, umbrella in hand, and paused as the sword touched Charles' chest.

"If you stop pointing that thing at me for one minute, I may be able to help you," he said with a slight growl, eyeing the weapon. Xavier did not know the Grunt very well, though he had gathered that there were some lost feelings between him and Sahara that had made him more of an enemy than the others. Vanessa was indeed staring at him like a piece of filth, though Xavier wondered where the two had teleported from.

"If you are going to destroy the machine, make sure you leave Castform alone," he said, a serious look in his eyes. "Cyrus will leave as soon as he finds Castform exposed and weakened in this weather, but if you kill him, than Cyrus will not stop until everyone hear is dead in revenge. You'll have to psychically pull it apart and get out of there before Cyrus sees you."

"That sounds like it could work, I can use Lapras for that," Xavier said with a nod of agreement. Vanessa looked over at Matthew for help, but the coordinator was only half paying attention and looked away before answering. With an irritable sigh, Vanessa gave a curt nod, though poked Charles with her sword.

"_We'll_ stay here and hold off Rayquaza and the Pokemon," she said, and Xavier gave a brief nod before turning to move. Grotle and Hoothoot had heard, and they followed after him into the storm around them. There was no time to waste as there were Pokemon raging on all sides, attacks being exchanged that exploded upon contact, causing smoke to rise up in the rain. His father's Rhyperior stomped past them, his giant feet of rock destroying the ground he passed on as he charged towards Bronzong, and their bodies met with a metallic clang.

_This will turn into a bloodbath soon, _Xavier thought as he saw the reporters trying to flee from the destruction, one cameraman collapsed on the ground with his hands to his face, crimson blood dripping through his fingers. The roof of the café was being torn off in the wind, and the heavy rain was turning the route into a thick brown soup. It would not take long before the fighting and the storm would destroy everything, and Xavier knew that the right thing was to end this now. He looked up at the roaring Rayquaza, briefly wondering if there was a way to stop him first, but was taken aback to see blue flames forming in his mouth.

"Look out!" He cried to Grotle and Hoothoot and unleashed an Ultra Ball onto the field. Lapras formed before them, but before she could register the scene around them, the Transport Pokemon saw the Outrage being unleashed above them, and instantly her eyes turned pink. The blue flames exploded against the earth, unleashing a shockwave that seemed to engulf everything, sending the Pokemon of both allies and foes flying. Lapras' Psychic barrier managed to protect them from the worst, but Xavier could see the flames skirting across the edges of their shield and scorching everything it touched.

_You always bring me out whenever everything is turning to shit, _Lapras said with an angry sigh. Xavier had a feeling she was right, and a thought

"We need to keep moving. Outrage is continuous and Rayquaza will be unleashing it again soon," he said, eyeing the thrashing tail of the legendary warily. They took off as soon as the flames had cleared, Lapras skidding forwards through the mud. Xavier and Grotle splashed through besides her and Hoothoot soared alongside as the freezing roan soaked them all. It seemed like less than a minute had passed since leaving Vanessa and Matthew behind, but Xavier was already covered in mud and drenched through his torn clothing, the wet fabrics weighing him down. It was a struggle to keep moving, but it would be over soon, and Xavier willed himself to keep moving.

"Lapras, can you sense if Ninetales is near?" He called out after nearly stumbling over a large crack in the earth. Lapras paused for a moment, giving Grotle time to breathe, the Grove Pokemon up to his shell in mud and his bushes sagging from the water.

_Yes, she is just up ahead, _Lapras said. _She knows we are coming… she is in trouble. _Xavier nodded and ran forwards, his limbs flailing as he hurried towards his mother's last Pokemon. He still had no idea why Ninetales had come to them, but Xavier would not let her get harmed when he had come so close.

The rain had created a grey veil between them and anything more than a few metres away, and all they could only hear small explosions, gunfire and shouts and saw nothing but rain. Xavier moved quickly, ignoring the fact he was nearly sinking through the mud, and looked for any sign of Ninetales.

_She's over there! _Lapras cried, and Xavier turned. Through the haze, he could see flames dancing across the sky and fading quickly, and there was golden light that seemed to sparkle despite the weather. Xavier was satisfied that they had found Ninetales, but as he moved closer, he saw that she was locked in battle with Crobat, leaping asides to avoid Confuse Rays and Cross Poisons while still trying to struck him down with her own moves.

"HOOOT!" Hoothoot cried, his eyes glowing pink, and Crobat made a gagging noise above them. Ninetales stopped moving as the Bat Pokemon fell to the ground with a splash, and she huffed and sprayed him with embers before turning to face them.

"Hello Ninetales," Xavier said as his team approached her. "This is Hoothoot, he defeated Crobat for you." Hoothoot beamed brightly despite looking like he had just been swimming, and Ninetales briefly registered him before turning back to the battle. "We have to find the machine that Team Galactic is using and destroy it, though it must be done safely. Do you know where it is?"

"Nine," Ninetales said huffily, and Xavier imagined she wanted to blow the device up. She turned and lead them across more mud as roars sounded overhead. Xavier watched as a Tropius flew past, firing an Air Slash at Honchkrow, and could tell Niles was now involved in the fight. Rayquaza let out a furious yell, and blue flames lit up the sky once more , but the Outrage seemed to have been fired in another direction and they were left unharmed.

Suddenly, out through the rain, Galactic's weather machine appeared. Xavier came to a halt in front of it, and was amazed that it was still intact. The glass was still cracked and damaged, yet it had not fallen out, and the baser was dent but still looked usable. The rain had caused condensation to cover the glass, and Castform blended in, though there was no doubt he was still inside.

"Lapras, use Psychic and tear this thing apart," Xavier ordered. Lapras nodded, and her eyes glowed a brilliant shade of pink. The machine began to groan, and small pieces of glass began to jump from their spots. "Thank you for leading us here," Xavier said to Ninetales, doing his best to smile. "You may go now if you wish." Ninetales nodded and within a second had disappeared into the rain, flames instantly appearing through the haze. "Grotle, Hoothoot, be guard for anyone approaching us," Xavier added, and the two Pokemon nodded, stepping backwards as larger shards of glass crashed against the forest floor.

"On guard, eh?" A voice sneered. "Looking out for people like me?" Xavier turned, and Grotle and Hoothoot appeared on either side as a figure emerged through the rain. Charon appeared with a leer on his face and a gun in his hands, as well as streaks of mud across his soaked and torn lab coat. Xavier glanced to the machine and saw that Lapras was only just starting on the base, tearing buttons and screws out to weaken it, and mentally urged her to hurry along.  
"What do you think your doing?" Charon growled, staring at the machine. "If you destroy this and harm the Pokemon inside, Cyrus will have your head."

_You have the chance to take my life now, why aren't you taking it?_ Xavier thought, staring at the gun in hand and at a loss as to why Charon was hesitating. "Don't worry, Lapras will not harm Castform. But we cannot say the same for you. Grotle, use –"

"HOOOOOOT!" Hoothoot screamed before Xavier could finish, and his eyes flashed pink. Charon yelled out and clutched his head, the gun crashing to the ground. Grotle looked stunned but recovered, and his claws glowed brown as he raised up on his back legs. Xavier cried out, eyeing the machine nervously, but as Grotle slammed his front claws into the ground, there was a fireless explosion as the metal panes of the machine were blasted aside and the remaining glass shattered into particles. Xavier dived down, dragging Hoothoot with him, and felt the ground rumbling as the Earth Power moved through it. Mud and dirt were blasted into his face, and Xavier spat out brown gunk as shouts sounded all around him.

_Nice one Grotle, _Xavier heard Lapras snarl. He got back to his feet, clutching a dazed Hoothoot in his hands, and turned back to see what remained of the machine. Earth Power had blasted all the remnants away, leaving only Castform floating in front of them, a few wires and pipes still attached to his body. Xavier glanced at Lapras to see she was still using Psychic to keep the Pokemon afloat and nodded at her with another twisted smile. He then stared at the ground around Grotle, though the heavy rain turning everything to mud had led to less damage. Only Charon appeared injured, lying half buried in mud, his gun possibly lost forever.

Already they were feeling the effects. There was no snow falling from the sky, the strange antennae lying broken on the ground. Xavier was feeling the chill from his drenched clothing, but the temperature was not as bitter as it had been.

_What do we do now? _Lapras asked. _I am not holding this thing up forever. _Xavier tried to look through the rain, but the watery barrier still hid everything except for flames and the glow of certain attacks. Charon's name was being called out though, and Xavier thought he could see turquoise hair moving towards them.

"Lower Castform to the ground and move, quickly," Xavier said, and turned to leave. Grotle and Hoothoot followed, and Lapras came behind a few seconds later. Rayquaza was still roaring in pain, and Xavier knew he would not stop until the attacks had halted, but half of their plan had succeeded. Xavier looked at the three Pokemon around him and gave them all nods, which each one returned: they had all done a great job, and Xavier was satisfied with their performances. He eyed Hoothoot, who was flying without showing any signs of pain for her damaged wing, and reflected on him helping to stop Charon. As a painful, loud and angry scream shook the air behind them, Xavier wondered if there was a place for the brave Pokemon upon his team.

* * *

"He's done it!" Charles shouted to Vanessa. "Look!" He pointed towards the sky around Rayquaza, where Palmer's Dragonite and Cyrus' Gyarados were locked in battle. However, just as Dragonite gave up with a Dragon Claw, Gyarados disintegrated into energy. Dragonite paused, looking around in confusion, but Vanessa and Matthew cheered to themselves.

"Excellent, I knew that emotionless genius would pull it off," Vanessa boomed. All around them, Cyrus and Charon's Pokemon were disappearing, leaving Palmer's, Looker's and Rowan's all standing around looking stunned. Up ahead, Vanessa's Monferno and Staraptor stopped trying to battle Magnezone, and Matthew's Prinplup and Misdreavus let Bronzong fade away. Charles stared over at Gliscor, who he had sent out for Vanessa's benefit but was wisely not sending him in to battle their own side.

"The weather should be stopping soon, and then we can escape before they notice," Charles whispered to Gliscor. The Fang Scorp Pokemon smiled at this, though he always seemed to be smiling. Charles stared up at the skies above that seemed to be sucking any colour out of the world, and he thought lovingly of having a nice hot bath back at the headquarters, tend to his latest wounds and escape the freezing rain that made his cuts burn.

Rayquaza roared once again, and Charles covered his ears, sick of the furious screaming that made his head shake. He looked up at the legendary Pokemon, watching as the Dragon continued to squirm, thrashing his tail against the already battered ground. No one was attacking him any longer though, and Charles was confused as too why he was still angry.

"Go and ask Professor Rowan what's wrong!" He shouted to Vanessa, knowing Sahara's grandfather would be one of the last people he should talk to. Vanessa gave him an angry glare at being given orders, but turned towards the old man all the same. She had barely moved two metres though before Rayquaza roared, and Charles was stunned to see flames the colour of sapphires dancing in his mouth. The last Outrage had blown apart a previously undamaged group of oaks, and the one before had destroyed a walking bridge further down the route. Rayquaza stared down at all the people around him and spat the ball out, the flames spreading out as they fell.

"DRAGON!" Palmer's Dragonite flew in front and briefly glowed yellow before firing a thin bolt of electricity at Rayquaza. The beast screamed again as electricity flowed through him, and the Outrage exploded against Dragonite. The blue flames lit up the sky for a moment, but the brilliant light faded quickly, and they all watched as Dragonite fell to the ground, landing with a thud and rolling through the mud. Thunder boomed and lightning crackled, but all Charles could focus on was how easily one of the more powerful Pokemon around had been so easily knocked out.

"He sacrificed himself to paralyze Rayquaza," Matthew shouted. "That was Thunder Wave, I've seen Dragonite use it before. But I think Rayquaza is just going to be angrier now!" The Sky High Pokemon indeed roared and performed, his scream loud enough to frighten his friends back in Johto.

"What is his problem, why isn't he stopping? I thought Xavier defeated Cyrus?"

"He probably did, but Rayquaza is be too enraged now to stop," Vanessa explained. "Dragonite attacking him hasn't helped. He probably thinks he is still under attack." They all watched Rayquaza yelling, and saw a hint of blue flames trickling over his lips. "We need to defeat Rayquaza, that's the only way to stop him. Once he is unconscious, maybe Rowan and his assistant can use some technology to send him back to space."

"It's a legendary!" Matthew shrieked. "How are we going to defeat a legendary?"

"Easily. I did stab one in the eye the other day," Vanessa said with a smirk.

"Oh yes, brilliant idea, stab the Pokemon that can control the weather in the eye!" Matthew snapped. "Maybe he'll thank you by HITTING YOU WITH LIGHTNING!" Vanessa slapped him, causing Matthew to stop and stumble backwards, and she turned towards Charles, who flinched, expecting his own beating.

"I let you live earlier, so you can be the one to defeat him," she said with a sweet smile. "You've been a trainer for longer than us, so you are _far_ more experienced to deal with this." She laughed, and Charles wanted to hit her again in his anger. He looked up at Rayquaza as the Pokemon released blue embers with his shouting, and his heart sank down to his stomach. Suddenly, he was back at the Pokemon League against Lance, his Pokemon falling one by one before him, nothing he had able to stop the onslaught of Dragons. Charles had never defeated a Dragon properly, and felt another painful stab as he thought of his battle with Clair, and he certainly had never defeated one quite like Rayquaza.

But maybe to defeat him, he would need a move not quite like others…

"Fine, I'll do it, but we have to draw Rayquaza down to ground level first, can you do that?" Charles said. Vanessa shrugged and grabbed her umbrella tightly, turning the handle so the sword was replaced with the energy gun she had stolen from Ursilla.

"I think I can manage," she replied with a devious smirk, and she fired the gun into the air. Rayquaza stopped yelling and looked down as the beam flew through the jagged points off his head, and Vanessa signalled to the others. Monferno, Staraptor, Prinplup and Misdreavus fired attacks, and Gliscor even sent a Stone Edge flying, smiling in delight. Charles let that slide now that Cyrus was gone, and focussed on the PokeBall in his hands.

"Eva Eve!" Elle huffed once she was formed, looking down at the mud that she was instantly sprayed with, and her fur was wet within seconds. She looked grumpily up at Charles, but he knew that she would be grumpier once he gave is orders./

"Elle… I know this may sound insane, but I need you to use that new move of yours on Rayquaza." Elle stopped looking grumpy and looked at him in confusion, and that only made him feel worse. But he had seen the Eevee use the move against Dustox before she had become too weak, and it had nearly tripled in size since she'd used it against Brody's Weezing. It was a long shot, but it was the only plan Charles had.

"You only have to do it when Rayquaza gets close, and Gliscor is going to help you," he explained, and Gliscor turned at the sound of his name. "I know the move is strong and that you are stronger, and you are the only one that can stop him from destroying us. Do you think you can do it?" Elle looked at Rayquaza, and Charles saw that the creature was falling for the taunt, beginning to twist his body around to dive down and destroy those annoying him. Charles looked back at Elle, and she looked back at him, and a smile crossed her small, cute face.

"Vee," she said simply, and moved towards Gliscor. Charles felt emotional, and ignoring the pain throughout his body, he bent down into the mud and gave her a hug. She squirmed at first, but settled into the embrace, and Charles felt reassured. He passed her over to Gliscor, who cradled her within his claws before springing up. The wind was strong, and for a moment it appeared they may blow off course, but Gliscor controlled his wings and floated. Charles beamed, but than he saw Rayquaza coming for them. The legendary looked even more intimidating as he got closer, his head growing in size the closer he got. There was nowhere to hide if this went wrong, and Charles hoped that his plan would work. He moved out of the way, along with Matthew and most of the Pokemon, but Vanessa and her team stayed, keeping Rayquaza coming towards them. Gliscor rose up as Rayquaza came down, so focussed on Vanessa that he flew straight past them.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAY!" Rayquaza screamed, now so loud that Charles was certain his ears would bleed. He watched as Rayquaza began to straighten up, mouth open wide as blue flames roared up his throat. Vanessa, Monferno and Staraptor jumped before he got closer, and the opportunity was there.

"NOW!" Charles roared. Above, Gliscor dropped Elle, who fell down to meet the Dragon as he skidded past. A rectangle of orange light formed on her paws, and Charles gasped as he saw it was the double the size of an average house door, and it seemed to consume all of Elle's body as it shone brightly on her paws. Rayquaza looked up at the source of the light, but it was too late for him to stop.

"VEEEEEEE!" Elle screamed, and she landed on top of Rayquaza. The Dragon roared as the energy from the attack sent him crashing to the ground, his long body falling and nearly causing an earthquake. Mud was sprayed metres into the air as the Dragon ploughed through the earth, and a small jets of blue flames rose up to the clouds. Charles was covered in mud that made his open wounds scream, but as suddenly as it had started, the rumbling stopped, and he turned to face the destruction he had caused.

Rayquaza lay struggling in the mud, pushing weakly up with his arms, but he seemed unable to lift his own weight out of the mud, the paralysis keeping him weak. Charles could not contain himself and let out a shout of delight, a cry that was carried on by Gliscor, Matthew and his Pokemon.

_I did it… I defeated a Dragon… sort of… _Charles thought in delight. He watched as Rayquaza pushed the upper half of his body up, growling within his closed jaw. The rain was starting to stop now, and Charles felt relief as the wind died down, though the cold of his clothes still clung to his skin. He smiled to himself, pleased that Rayquaza had given up, and wondered if there was a way to heal the beast. However, as the thought crossed his mind, Rayquaza let out a yell. Charles thought for a moment that the Sky High Pokemon would burn them all, but suddenly, Rayquaza turned into energy. Everyone watched as the giant Pokemon were turned into a few particles, and the energy was sucked inside some type of PokeBall that fell back to the mud with a squelch.

_What's going on? _Charles thought, and looked around at Vanessa, Palmer, Rowan and Looker, wondering who had thrown the ball. But before an outcome was revealed, there was an excited squeak, and Charles turned to find Elle rushing towards him.

"YOU WERE AMAZING!" Charles yelled, and he scooped her up into his arms, a beam lighting his face. "I have to learn what that move is, that was incredible!"

"Eva Eve Eevee," Elle replied with false stubbornness, and Charles laughed as he hugged her, and laughed louder with joy as Gliscor joined in, beaming brightly at them both. It felt good to have done something good, and for the first time in weeks, Charles knew that he had done the right thing.

"What is a Galactic Grunt doing here?" A voice angrily shouted out, and Charles made the mistake of turning towards the speaker. Rowan's eyes bulged from across the deep trench Rayquaza had left, and he pointed an accusatory finger. "YOU!" He roared. "ARCANINE, GET HIM!"

"Oh shit," Charles hissed, and he slammed his palm down onto his teleportation watch. He watched as the flaming beast roared and sped towards them, mud flying in his path, and Charles desperately pressed the BASE button on his device. His body shook and blue filled his eyes, and as Arcanine neared them, flames shooting from his mouth, Charles realised he should have known better. It would take a while for him to get back on the right path and have people believe them, and as the world turned blue, Charles wished that could happen sooner.

Yet fleeing back to Galactic would hardly change their minds…

* * *

Outside, a storm was raging. The dark grey clouds were rumbling with thunder, and occasionally would flash with lightning that made the whole world glow. Rain was lashing the windows, hitting the glass so hard you'd think it was trying to break it. Roshonda eyed the weather nervously as she walked briskly through the corridors of Galactic Headquarters. She walked all the way over from the Grunt Training Division, travelling through the underground tunnels beneath their facilities, and had managed to avoid the storm. Looking out at it as it raged above Veilstone City, Roshonda could only wonder what had happened on the mission to end so badly and leave Rayquaza so furious.

It had been two hours since they had arrived back, but it took time for word to reach the training facilities. Roshonda had left as soon as she heard Charles had been injured, knowing that he would need a friend during this time. It was a long journey to the proper headquarters, but Roshonda was willing to make the journey for Charles…

The corridors beneath headquarters were empty when she arrived, ringing with eerie silence. Roshonda nervously made her way up in the lift, her stomach lurching as he moved, entrapped in a cube of silence. The lift stopped with a shudder on her floor, and opened to yet another quiet pathway. The floor was taken up mostly by the medical ward at one end and the secret boardroom where the admins usually discussed their issues. Roshonda stepped out onto the plain tiled floor, the sound of her breathing echoing off the walls. Everything was so white and unnatural that it made her skin crawl, but Roshonda kept moving, knowing that Charles needed her.

"This was NOT how it was suppose to happen!" A voice yelled out from a door to the side, so sudden that Roshonda jumped. "You TOLD me that Castform would handle it, that the machine was ready, that no one would notice! Now the machine is destroyed, Castform is close to death, our plans have been revealed and it is ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT!" There was the sound of glass shattering, and Roshonda edged her way past the door to avoid being noticed. She had heard rumours of Cyrus and Charon planning a machine that would control the weather, and it was clear that the device hadn't worked for them yet.

"You rushed me into this project!" Charon shouted back as Roshonda moved past the doors and picked up her pace. "The machine would have worked well if I had the chance to fix those faults, how was I suppose to know Looker would be right around the corner waiting for us?" Their shouts continued as Roshonda turned a bend, but they grew fainter as she neared the double doors of the medical ward. There were rows of seats against one wall and a large office space behind a glass window, but no one was there monitoring the desk, and Roshonda could not wait any longer. She pushed through the doors into another corridor, and she began to peer through the doors on either side.

The first few rooms were large wards, designed to hold up to fifty Grunts. Only one was in use at the moment, and Roshonda was taken aback by the people inside. Grunts she had trained and fought alongside lay groaning on the beds, their faces and bodies covered in hideous burns. Their clothes had been torn away, leaving many half naked upon the beds, their blackened skin and raw pink flesh showing instead. Many of them were squirming and yelling in their pain and discomfort, while others, the ones that were more severely injured, lay passed out on their beds. Nurses and doctors were rushing between the patients, and there was a mix of shouting and screaming as orders were thrown across the rooms. Roshonda had to stand aside to let a nurse rush past with a large trolley, and once she had stopped, doctors rushed forwards to grab pots of creams and ointments from the silver surface.

"What the hell happened?" Roshonda mumbled to herself, and she walked into the bustling room, fear starting to settle in. She had heard Charles and others had been injured, but there were always injuries with nearly every mission that they went on. She had no idea that it would be like this. Roshonda looked at all the scarred and burnt faces, waiting to find Charles lying on one of these beds, but all she got were sad and pained faces staring back at her for mercy, faces she recognized and would have comforted at any other point, but she needed to find Charles…

"Roshonda, over here!" A voice cried out, and she turned around in happiness, not registering the voice was feminine. Addison was standing in a corner, out of the way of all the chaos, waving for her to join. Roshonda wanted to turn away and keep looking for Charles, but another figure was waving to her from behind, and Roshonda's heart skipped for joy.

"Charles!" She cried, and ran as fast as possible, nearly colliding with several nurses and knocked at least one jar to the floor, but nothing else mattered to her now, all the injured people fading from her mind. Roshonda rushed to the end of the ward, past Addison, and stopped at the foot of Charles' bed. She gasped as she saw him lying before her, but calmed down when she saw there were no burns. However, the nurses had stripped him, exposing a series of colourful bruises scattered across his body, along with fresh red cuts caked with blood and dirt around them. The injuries were a harrowing sight, but they began to fade away as Roshonda's attention diverted to the toned muscles beneath the wounds…

"Hey," Charles mumbled, his voice hoarse but high pitched at the same time. "I had… I had a fight with… with a… with a… uhhh… Vanessa! That's who… Vanessa... I don't think she likes me very much, does she?" Charles began laughing, but even though he was smiling, it was a tragic image that tugged at Roshonda's heart.

"They gave him some medicine to help with the pain," Addison explained. "All the grunts fled when the machine began to malfunction, but they ran right into those Dex Holder fuckers, the Tower Tycoon and some spy guy that set the forest on fire. Most of the Grunts were able to teleport back, but Charles didn't come in the initial lot. Cyrus and Charon arrived later, and Charles followed behind about ten minutes later. A doctor came to look at his injuries, but I was focussed on Brody so I cannot tell you anything."

"Brody?" Roshonda whispered, tearing her eyes away from Charles' smile. She had not noticed anyone in the bed next to him, but there was Brody, lying unconscious on a blood smeared bed, bandages stained crimson wrapped around his left shoulder and upper arm. Roshonda was stunned that she hadn't seen him, nor noticed the sadness in Addison's face.

"Is it severe?" Roshonda asked quietly, her eyes now turning towards the other burn victims around her, many having come out a lot worse than either Charles or Brody.

"He will live, and his arm should work again, but the burns will stay," Addison replied back in a sad whisper, her fingers carelessly caressing Brody's right arm. "One of the other grunts that got away unhurt said that Brody tore his jacket away before the burn could spread, but some of the others freaked out and just let themselves get burnt." Roshonda saw one she recognised as Samuel two beds across, groaning as a nurse tended to the burns that covered his chest and lower jaw. The one directly next to Brody had a face as pink as a flower, but was raw and smeared with blood. Roshonda wondered if the person was actually still alive, and she began to feel sick as well as guilty.

"They are all going to get better," she said aloud, trying to comfort herself. "The doctors will heal them all, and no one else will die." Yet Roshonda had thought this countless times before when they had returned from a failed mission, the corpses of her fellow Grunts being taken away. Many had been slain from by Vanessa and her sword, while others had been caught up in gunfire, explosions, and the psychotic and supernatural actions of Sahara. Even thinking about them made Roshonda's skin crawl, and she angrily punched Brody's bed. Addison turned around in shock, and Roshonda faced her, angry coursing through her body.

"They are not going to do this to us again!" She hissed to her friend, and clutched Addison by the shoulders. "If Sahara or Vanessa or any of them come near either one of us again, promise me that you will kill them! I want every last one of them to suffer! They may have hurt the ones we love, but they never will again!" Roshonda had not noticed that her voice had risen as she spoke, nor that she had begun shaking Addison, but suddenly the brunette beauty pulled back and slapped Roshonda, and the sound echoed across a suddenly quieter room. The doctors and nurses had paused and were staring towards them, some angry, some curious, while only a few of the injured grunts seemed to register the commotion.

"_Never_ do that to me again!" Addison hissed into Roshonda's ear as the black girl straightened up. "I will not be embarrassed like that! And you may be so obviously in love with Charles, but do not start accusing other people of feelings they don't have!" Addison pushed past her and stormed from the ward, but Roshonda caught her staring back at Brody, a look of longing in her eyes.

"Ha ha… you got slapped!" Charles laughed, and Roshonda turned back to face him, her cheek stinging. He continued to laugh for another minute, and Roshonda began to smile herself as she stared into his smiling face, watching the joy overcome his injuries. _Addison didn't know what she was talking about. I am not t in love with Charles… at least, not obviously. Besides, she was the one that had started to fawn over Brody over the past few days, despite hating him when he first arrived. Next time I see her, I should give _her _a slap!_

"Ah… Lyla…," Charles mumbled as the laughter died down, and he shut his eyes, shifting in a sleepy manner on his bed. "I finally worked it out… it is all for you… I will come and find you soon…" Roshonda collapsed into a chair between the two beds, listening to his mumblings and watching as he fell asleep, his chest slowly rising up and down. _Maybe there was some truth in what Addison had said_, Roshonda thought as she began to stroke his left hand, a shiver running through her body. _Maybe I do love him… _Roshonda smiled at the thought, and she shut her eyes, for a moment imaging what had happened between the two in Solaceon Ruins. She had dreamt of it every night since then, the way he had touched her, the way it had felt, his lips against hers, their hearts beating as one…

And she remembered him saying her name.

Roshonda opened her eyes, the joy fading away, her anger making her dig her fingernails into his arm. Sahara always got in the way, right since the very beginning. There was no way the two of them could be together when she was still in the way. Roshonda stared at the wounds across his body, and she thought of Vanessa and her sword swinging through the air, and knew that the Dex Holders would always be there as well, that neither one of them would be able to live forever.

_If Sahara or Vanessa or any of them come near either one of us again, promise me that you will kill them…_

"I promise," Roshonda whispered to Charles, and she let her anger turn to happiness, and leaned back in the chair and imagined her and Charles kissing once again, Sahara, Vanessa, Xavier and Matthew piled beneath their feet.

* * *

Sahara's eyes opened with a start, and she knew right away that things were not right.

She was lying on a muddy field, surrounded by trees that had more life in them than the ones her friends had disappeared into. Sahara sat up, seeing Starly, Staravia, Combee and Burmy wondering around the branches and through bushes, and realised that she had not seen a wild Pokemon in days, not since the weather had started up.

_But this isn't right, _Sahara thought, looking around the forest clearing in confusion. _I was just with Mason by the rocket, wasn't I? _Suddenly, Sahara remembered falling backwards, a surge going through her body, her mind going blank.

"Crap," she hissed, and leapt to her feet. She looked at the PokeGear on her wrist, wiping mud away, and saw that at least two hours had passed. "Crap crap crap crap crap!" Sahara swore, and she wheeled around, trying to find the exit. She should have realised sooner, having woken up in wet mud that would have turned her to Eden if she hadn't been Crystal. Sahara continued to swear and mutter under her breath and she stumbled through the mud and the undergrowth, trying to find her way back out. An Aipom swung past and nearly hit her in the face, and Sahara angrily shrieked and kicked a clump of dead leaves.

"Pachi!" A voice shouted, and Sahara turned as something small and white leapt out from a bush and tackled her back into a tree. Her head was spinning so much that she didn't realise it was Nutty at first, and allowed herself to laugh as she pulled the Pachirisu into a hug.

"At least I know I haven't been taken somewhere else!" Sahara chortled. "But where are we? Did you find out what caused the weather to act so weirdly?" Nutty nodded, and she leapt from Sahara's arms and raced back the way she came. Sahara quickly followed after, beginning to calm down now that she knew she was still nearby and that Nutty was still with her. The trees and bushes quickly began to thin out, and Sahara could see a head of ginger hair in the distance, as well as Solrock and Lunatone bobbing around in the sky. Sahara smiled, and she emerged from the forest, ready to find out what everyone was doing.

But than she saw the trench. Sahara paused as her eyes came upon the deep scar in the ground, a long and wide semi circle that had destroyed the landscape. It stretched out for nearly a fifth of the entire route, and torn up earth was piled high on either side of the groove. Sahara looked around in shock, and she saw the entire area had turned into a thick brown soup of mud, with large craters everywhere, trees lying upside down across fields, the roof of the café across from her torn off and lying in pieces along the route.

"What the hell happened here?" Sahara gasped. _And how did I not notice this? _For a moment, she feared this had been her work, the destruction at levels Crystal had achieved. Heads turned towards her, and Sahara found Vanessa, Xavier, Matthew, Mason and her grandfather all standing before her. They rushed towards her, crying out welcomes and worried questions, and Sahara smiled as she let Rowan embrace her, knowing then that this was not her fault.

"We had no idea where you were! We were about to send out a search party until Nutty found us!" He boomed, his white beard scratching her face, but Sahara appreciated the hug all the same. She saw Mason was looking away though, and wondered why he didn't know where she was, considering she had been near him when Crystal had come out.

"I am fine!" Sahara insisted, laughing it all off for the benefit of the others. "Nutty and I wandered off to look around while there was no weather, but I slipped over and knocked my head." The lie came so quickly to her that Sahara was stunned with herself, but she smiled it off, knowing that it was better than making them worry about Crystal. "Now, what exactly happened here?" She asked, turning their attention towards the ruined route.

"You really must have been out to it," Vanessa laughed, though it was a nervous, nearly grim laugh. They all quickly explained about how Team Galactic had built a machine to control the weather, and how they presumed this angered Rayquaza and caused him to come down. Galactic attacked Rayquaza, leading to a battle, with Xavier destroying the machine, but Rayquaza remained enraged. Palmer paralyzed Rayquaza with Dragonite's Thunder Wave, and their combined forces caused the Dragon to crash.

"My father has caught Rayquaza, and has left to the Battle Frontier to use their medical facilities to heal him," Xavier explained. "We believe he should release Rayquaza afterwards, but I highly doubt that my father will do such a thing. He already has one legendary, but I doubt that he is satisfied with that." Rowan grunted at this, and Sahara could understand his annoyance. It was not right to capture a legendary that had such an important role as Rayquaza, and she could imagine Palmer being forced to release him if he did not do so willingly.

"Sounds like I missed a lot then," Sahara said, smiling awkwardly to try and break the tension. "Looks like we have a major clean up job ahead of us though. Anything you need me or my Pokemon to help with?"

"Oh, not at all dear," Rowan said, shaking his head of white hair. "The route has been closed to all travellers trying to come in, and teams are coming in the morning to deal with the mess. We were just having a quick look around at everything, but we were about to head inside and plan a rescue party."

"Can we still go inside anyway?" Sahara said, and the others laughed, more from relief and exhaustion than from any sense of humour. The group began to move across, the trainers all bringing back their respective Pokemon, though Sahara left Nutty out, smiling as she watched the squirrel run around so excitedly. She was pleased to see someone in their group happy, and her eyes flickered back to the silent and solemn figures she walked with. Rowan seemed lost in his thoughts, an angry scowl across his face. Xavier's face was blank, but Sahara wondered if he was thinking about his father, the two never getting the chance to catch up like they were meant to. Matthew seemed paler than normal, his eyes wide with fear. Vanessa kept her head held high and showed no signs of worry, but Sahara caught the red head staring at her and then quickly looking away. Sahara wondered if she was hiding something, as Vanessa had interrupted Matthew to say that they all had defeated Rayquaza, and the way they had all looked when it was said drew suspicions.

Sahara put thoughts of Vanessa aside, the topic still hard to think about with their relationship not quite confirmed, and she turned to Mason instead. Her oldest friend in the group smiled slightly back at her, and Sahara was relieved to know she always had him to rely upon. They may not have seen each other as often as they use to, but as today had proved beside his rocket, they were still good friends.

"Do you mind if I talk to you for a moment?" Mason said. "In private?" Sahara nodded, glad for any excuse to get away from the agonizing silence, and the duo moved off towards the dead trees as the others headed into the café. Nutty raced after them and skidded ahead, splashing through the mud. Sahara laughed as her white fur became soaked brown, but was put off when Mason didn't even crack a smile.

"What happened to me after Crystal came out?" Sahara asked, trying to make it sound like no big deal as they passed the café. "I do remember the last few seconds before I blacked out, and I know I must have turned into her, or at least Eden. When I saw all that destruction, I thought that I might have been to blame, but it seems I just passed out. But what was I doing in the forest?" Sahara studied Mason's face as she spoke, and she watched as sweat crept down his face, and his eyes flickered from side to side, his fingers flexing. None of these signs were reassuring, and Sahara stopped, glancing back to the café that stood about five metres behind them, no one there to watch them.

"Mason, what happened?" Sahara said, sternness slipping in, and Mason began to breathe rapidly, the way he always did whenever he was in trouble. "Mason, tell me!" Sahara growled, and she saw Nutty pause in her playing, the Electric type looking curiously over at them. Mason tried to look away, but Sahara followed him whatever he turned, and when he tried to leave, she grabbed his shoulders and held him still. "Tell me! What did Crystal do!"

"I didn't mean for it to happen!" Mason blurted out, a tear streaming down his face. "She came on to me first. I…I…I tried to resist, but she has… she has this way about her that takes control of you. She put our Pokemon under some sort of trap, and then we went into the forest… it was only quick, I swear, and I promise that I tried to get away, but she was the one in control…" Mason drifted off, silently crying as he stared back at Sahara. Sahara was lost though, trying to piece together his words, not sure what he meant by any of it. But than his ramblings began to slot into place, and Sahara felt as if a Snorlax had just sat on her stomach, squeezing all the air and life out of her.

"Mason… are you telling me that… that you… slept with her?" She whispered, struggling to control the hurt and the anger. She looked up at Mason, even though the very sight of him disgusted her, and watched as he gave the tiniest, saddest nod she had ever experienced. Sahara clutched her chest, struggling to breathe. She felt as she had been stabbed. She thought she could rely on Mason… how could he have done this… he was one of the last people he trusted…

"I am sorry Sahara, I couldn't stop her!" Mason cried, his voice a whimper as the tears poured down his face. "I tried to stop, but –"

"Are you saying she raped you, is that what your saying?" Sahara hissed, glaring back at him. "Are you telling me that you had no part to play, that this was all Crystal's doing, that there was no part of you that _wanted_ to sleep with me?" Mason froze at this, looking as if he had been slapped, but he gave her no answer. Sahara screamed, making it sound as painful as possible to ensure Mason felt her wound.

"I TRUSTED YOU!" She screamed, and slapped him across his wet face. "YOU PATHETIC, WEAK BASTARD, I TRUSTED YOU! How could you do this me! I thought we were friends!"

"We are friends!" Mason cried, his voice shaking, but Sahara screamed and leered towards him.

"You are no friend of mine!" She yelled. "Crystal may not have raped you, but you certainly defiled my body! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!" Sahara spun her leg around and kicked him in the stomach, hoping he would get the same feeling as her. Mason's eyes bulged and his mouth dropped, and Sahara froze as her grandfather's assistant flew backwards. She watched as he soared above the mud for metres, looking almost graceful for a moment despite the stunned look on his face. And then there was a sickening crack as his head hit the back of the café, the sound echoing throughout the forest. Mason slumped to the floor, leaving a smear of blood behind him amongst a crack at least a metre wide.

"No," Sahara whispered, and she found herself struggling to breathe, her chest tightening as she collapsed to the ground. There was no way she could have done something like that, not under normal circumstances… but Sahara was well aware how abnormal she was. She looked down at the ground beneath her and saw brown water had seeped into one of Mason's footsteps.

_Do I dare? _Sahara thought, staring into the water and wondering if she could bring herself to test it. If she didn't, the thought would haunt her forever, and Sahara would only try it again later. Slowly, she moved a shaky hand over the small puddle of water, and, fearing what would happen, she tightened her grip over it.

Laughter sounded within her head, not just one voice, but three of them, cackling away at the back of her mind. Sahara could barely hear them, but they were there, mocking her, teasing her, celebrating against her. Sahara wanted to make them stop, but she knew that there was no way she could stop them now.

As she made the small ball of brown water float before her, Sahara felt a tear streak across her cheek, and stared at the tiny reflection of a girl who had finally lost control.


	23. Stones on Fire

**It has been long, too long, I am aware of this. I hope there are still some fans out there that have lingered through my many writer's blocks, Christmas specials that took far too long and my university related dramas - and for you, loyal readers, this story is dedicated to you :) **

**Stones on Fire **

_February 19__th__ 2010 _

As dawn broke over Veilstone City, Cyrus remained in darkness.

He had not moved from his current spot over the past few days. The Galactic Admin sat in a small dark room, never turning the lights on, only moving to eat, drink and excrete. He had not slept, sometimes dozing off for only a few minutes at a time, but otherwise Cyrus' attention was on a bank of television screens attached to the wall before him.

As part of his master plan, Cyrus had chosen to hide Team Galactic in plain sight, purchasing an old office block and several nearby warehouses and creating a fake shipping company to act as a front for all the weaponry and transportation they purchased. Every document was legitimate though, with some of the grunts being sent to drive trucks and take part in collecting and sending off supplies, and Cyrus had even paid an actor to pretend to be a CEO, paying him with enough money so that he never asked any questions. For the past few years that Galactic had been planning everything, no questions had ever been asked about the company, but Cyrus could never take that risk.

Charon had therefore set up security cameras around their property, including the training headquarters to the north of the city, which pretended to be an elite health retreat for the rich and famous, and had hacked into all the cameras within the city. Very few corners went unmonitored around Veilstone, with Charon even getting into key buildings such as the Department Store, the Veilstone Casino and the Pokemon Center and Mart. If someone that seemed suspicious entered the city, if the police ever came anywhere near their warehouses, Galactic knew about it, and fake receptionists, security guards or workers could be sent out to deter any attention, or grunts to deal with any threats.

Technicians usually monitored the dozens of screens in twelve hour shifts, staring at the glass squares, watching the multi coloured scenes, their eyes quickly becoming sore and damaged by the lack of light, either natural or fake, in the room, and by the end every screen had blurred into one another.

But Cyrus needed the break.

Watching the screens distracted him from the disaster of Route 217. Cyrus had come to know the room well, with the fan that kept things cool becoming calming background noise. The keyboards before him were sticky and covered in crumbs and filth, the seat was uncomfortable, jarring his back, neck and arse, and one particular floorboard always creaked if stood on in the wrong place. Cyrus had begun to recognize the waiting area of the Pokemon Center, could see everything that happened at the neighbouring warehouses that belonged to a real shipping company, was able to monitor the two major entrances and exits within Veilstone by road and foot. He had never seen Veilstone in this way, and at first, it had amused him how easily one man could watch an entire city at once without anybody knowing. Very few times did Castform, Rayquaza or storms enter his headspace, and Cyrus was able to become lost within the nearly one hundred different worlds displayed before him, plotting out his next move as if all the residents of Veilstone were pawns in his grand scheme.

But then he had spotted the Dex Holders.

Cyrus had never noticed any individual people, focussing more on the areas around his little empire and the buildings themselves. Yet two days ago, he had first spotted a head of flaming orange hair moving through the Pokemon Center, with an outrageous red leather outfit underneath. Cyrus had been taken aback by it, more for the familiarity than the strangest of it, and looked out for it across the other screens, and spotted it a few hours later outside a café: the camera was too far away to catch any faces, but there had been another person with long black hair wearing a white coat, and someone else had been training a Prinplup and Beautifly on a section of grass nearby.

_They're here… in my home territory… finally, _Cyrus thought, malicious ideas quickly entering his mind. These were the four that had destroyed every one of their plans, the people that had caused him embarrassment, had cost him money, had lost him grunts, and, most significantly, had held back his plans that had been years in the making. _Not to mention Castform, they must take some of the blame for what happened the other day… they need to pay for everything they have done…_

"You called for me?" A bored voice said from behind only a few minutes after seven a.m., and Cyrus raised a hand and beckoned forwards, his attention purely on the Contest Hall in the middle of the city that was being prepared for a contest being held within the hour. Charon walked towards him, holding his laptop as always, frowning down at the crumpled clothing, unshaven face and sweaty odour of his boss. "Have you called me for work or do you require me to give you a sponge bath?"

"Work," Cyrus replied, too sleep deprived to comment on the jibe. "We have been planning to steal the meteorites, haven't we?" Four meteorites stood in the very east of the city, surrounded by trees that cut them off from the main residential areas and the city, but it was a popular park and tourist attraction with over a hundred people visiting the area each day.

"Yes, but as I keep telling you, it is too difficult to do so, not in a city that is this busy, and –"

"That is why we are going to be making a distraction," Cyrus said, and he pointed to the screen that displayed the Pokemon Center. "Several, in fact. Follow our Dex Holders, track their moments, see where they are going and attack them where they are. Target the Pokemon Center, the gym, the Contest Hall, the roads, every major attraction that will distract the city services, shut this city down and prevent anyone else from getting to the meteorites. By the end of the day, I want all four meteors in my possession, at whatever the cost, as well as all four of those bastards that have somehow defeated us, do I make myself clear?"

"You always do," Charon replied dryly, and he left the room again, leaving Cyrus to wallow in his own filth and madness, staring at the screens with sick pleasure as he saw Matthew arriving early for his contest.

_Those four will not leave Veilstone City alive, even if I must destroy every inch of this city to ensure that happens. They will pay for everything they have done to us, and when they are out of the picture, Galactic will be able to rise again, and my path to glory will be secured._

* * *

"Staraptor, use Brave Bird!"

"Come on Machoke, use ThunderPunch, finish this!"

Vanessa tensed up, watching as Staraptor soared down across the field. Machoke's purple fists were already glowing yellow, crackling with electricity that flowed through his veins, his legs bent, poised to strike. Both Pokemon looked weary, but Staraptor was Vanessa's best shot in winning this gym battle. Murkrow had already been defeated by Machoke, and though Medicham was down, Maylene's third Pokemon still remained, healthy and ready to battle.

The red head had thought a Fighting-type gym would have been easy, and had even dressed mockingly for the occasion in a bedazzled purple robe similar to the ones worn by the gym attendants sitting in the stands. Xavier and Sahara were her only supporters, Matthew busy with his contest on the other side of the city. Vanessa had seen herself as being superior after Medicham had fallen to Murkrow, but Machoke was working her way through her Flying types and leaving little options for the rest of the match.

"STAAAAAAAR!" Staraptor cried as she burst into lilac flame and soared down like a dazzling torpedo towards Machoke. The Superpower Pokemon smiled and jumped up, swinging both fists around. The two Pokemon collided together, but the outcome became shrouded in purple flames, a powerful shock wave rippling through the gym. The lights all swayed, several flickering for a moment, but the mostly wooden gym remained unharmed. Vanessa watched with a mask of indifference as both Pokemon landed on the field, a light dusting of sand rising up to hide them once more.

"Both Pokemon are unable to battle!" The gym referee, a towering man with a chest like the front of a sixteen wheeler, boomed in one of the deepest voices Vanessa had ever heard. There were mixed emotions in the stands, and Vanessa was left unsure herself how to feel: Machoke was down, leaving only one more Pokemon for her to face, but Staraptor, one of her oldest friends had fallen, not only leaving Vanessa disadvantaged, but always paining her. Staraptor was getting weaker and weaker as the days went by, and Vanessa was no closer to curing her than she had been on New Year's Day…

"You have a powerful Staraptor, that is pleasing to see," a soft voice called out, and as the sand settled, Vanessa was able to lay eyes upon Maylene again. The gym leader looked as though she should be a coordinator rather than a Fighting expert, with bright pink hair and a slim body that made her stick out amongst the burly, muscled men that worked for her. Vanessa and her company had been surprised by her as well when they had first met her, even though they had all seen her battling on screens, but Maylene had proved them wrong by using a powerful roundhouse kick to floor the current referee and then crack several bricks in half. The teenager had inherited the gym from her grandfather as her own father had a gambling addiction and was incapable of managing a gym. Vanessa had heard Maylene was well respected by the entire city, and had only realised why now.

"You must get dozens of Staraptors or Staravia's in her every other week," Vanessa called out, looking sadly down at Staraptor's limp body.

"I do, but few actually have the strength to take my Pokemon down," Maylene replied, bringing back Machoke. "That was a strong Brave Bird, one of the most impressive I have seen, though it is a pity it was too strong that it knocked her out as well." Vanessa smiled, knowing that was something Staraptor was likely to do, and felt a bit better as she brought her back. However, she still had to decide upon her next Pokemon, having only rough idea of who Maylene may use, and wish she had done more training for this match.

"She should really send Monferno out," Xavier said up on the seats, muttering to Sahara as if the black belts that surrounded them could hear or cared. "Maylene will likely use her Breloom that she tried to use on Lapras or Lucario, which is well known to be her partner, giving Monferno an advantage against both."

"Of course," Sahara mumbled back, but she was not truly focussing on the battle, even though Xavier had told her it would be important when it came to her own match. However, her mind had been elsewhere these past few days, and she barely registered it as Monferno and Lucario were indeed sent out to face each other.

The moment behind the café had haunted her every waking moment, and even when she managed to sleep, it stayed with her through her nightmares. Sahara used to imagine this day would come, a time when she would lose the control over her body, that the three personalities would truly take control. Lately, she had managed it, the three only coming out under the strange circumstances that seemed to serve as a catalyst for their coming. Her fears had left her, and Sahara had not thought it would happen.

But then everything had changed with a simple bit of betrayal.

Sahara could still imagine it floating before her, feel the strange sensation in her hands and mind as she made the droplet hover before her. It came only seconds after she had sent Mason flying, and now her old friend and her grandfather's assistant lay in hospital, remaining in a coma as a result of the severe head trauma that came when he crashed into the café wall. Sahara felt guilty for having caused it, but she knew that Mason had abused her and defiled her, letting Crystal take control. That seemed to have caused some sort of barrier to fall, as if Mason had flipped some switch, giving Crystal access to the rest of Sahara. It was a rather sickening image, but Sahara could not imagine it in any other way, and it truly seemed to be what had happened.

Nothing more had happened since then, but Sahara had been jumpy and nervous every moment since then, expecting everything she touched to fly away or shatter. Sometimes, when things went quiet, Sahara would hear laughter in the background, and knew it was Crystal or Eden or Jaki mocking her as they slowly took over her body, and Sahara knew that any moment something else could happen: she could injure one of her friends or Pokemon, or destroy this gym with a simple flexing of her fingers. Fear was consuming her, and Sahara was helpless to stop it.

"Oh excellent, a burn, that should prove very useful," Xavier said, snapping Sahara out of her daydream. She looked down at the field and saw Monferno driving a fist into Lucario's stomach, sending a blue Aura Sphere flying towards the roof. It broke apart before reaching there, and Lucario collapsed to the ground, flames engulfing his body. Sahara realised she should be supporting her friend, knowing that her relationship with Vanessa had been tense and awkward since the night club incident and now would be a good opportunity to fix things.

"Go Monferno, you can win this!" She shouted and let out a 'whoop'. Vanessa looked up and flashed a smile at her, and then faced down the battle with new found determination.

"Alright Monferno, end this with Fire Punch!"

"Bone Club!" Maylene cried, her voice shaking as she realised the battle was nearly done. Lucario tried to stand, his legs wobbling fiercely as he slowly lost his health. By the time the Aura Pokemon had straightened up, Monferno was suddenly upon him, right fist burning with flames.

"FERNO!" He shouted, and drove the fist into Lucario's face. The Fighting type silently keeled over backwards, sending more sand floating up into the air, but not enough to shroud the outcome of the battle.

"Lucario is unable to battle, and that the gym leader Maylene no longer has any Pokemon. This means that the challenger Vanessa is the winner!" The referee boomed. The gym attendants all applauded half heartedly, but Sahara leapt to her feet and clapped her heart out, cheering once more as she made for the stairs, Xavier following behind without any reaction. The Veilstone Gym also served as a real gym, a mix of old and new with a traditional dojo style building with wooden walls and floors but with modern equipment such as boxing rings, punching bags and weight lifting equipment all around. Sahara and Xavier negotiated this as they made their way towards Vanessa, who stood proudly in the middle of the field, Monferno by her side.

"Congratulations Vanessa, that was an excellent battle!" Maylene said, shaking her hand before collecting items from the referee. "Here is your Cobble Badge and the TM Drain Punch as your reward. I look forward to seeing how well you do in the future."

"Thank you," Vanessa said, accepting the prizes and grinning madly. She had been quite cocky following her past badge wins, but at the moment, she was too overwhelmed with her surprise comeback to really think of anything nasty to say, and Maylene was far too nice that crushing her would leave a bad taste in her mouth.

"Ah, I see your cheering squad has come down," Maylene said, and Vanessa turned as Xavier and Sahara approached. "How did you find that battle Xavier? It is good to see tough trainers travelling together like this."

"It was an adequate battle, though I feel Vanessa's use of an unevolved Pokemon provided a setback that affected the match," Xavier replied.

"Cheers," Vanessa said with a sarcastic smile, and Sahara laughed. The red head turned towards her and smiled more honestly, taken aback to see her friend happy for once. "You've been quiet and moody all week, why are you suddenly so chirpy?" She whispered.

"What do you mean? Can a friend not be happy for her friend's success?" Sahara asked with a smile, but she was shaken to realize how obvious she had been with her reclusion into her thoughts. If anyone asked her about it, Sahara had decided she would blame it on seeing Mason have his accident, as she had claimed he had run into the wall by mistake while chasing after a shiny Starly, but Sahara hoped she would not be pressured into lying as Vanessa would surely see through it.

"Well, I think Monferno is the one that deserves all the praise," Vanessa said, and she put her left arm out straight. Monferno beamed and grabbed on, swinging from it like a tree branch, a wide smile across his face. "He is the one that did all the work!"

"Don't sell yourself short, your training of him will be what got him to this level," Maylene said with a nod and a smile. "Trainers and their Pokemon deserve equal praise, and you both deserve an equal chance to relax!" Vanessa had never viewed it this way, but Monferno nodded along with the gym leader and she decided it had to be right.

"Well, I feel like relaxing! We have barely scratched the surface of this city," Vanessa said, and turned to Sahara, an idea quickly forming. "Why don't we go have lunch at the Department Store? Some food and a bit of retail therapy sounds just the way to relax!" Sahara liked the idea, but it didn't take long for her to realize that this did not sound at all like Vanessa, who only liked to spend her money on things for her Pokemon, otherwise stating that Xavier and Matthew, the 'rich little princes', could pay for them all.

"I'd love to, but are you sure you want to do that?" Sahara said.

"Of course, they have tons of stuff there for Pokemon, and I am running low on fabric, plastic and glitter that I need for my clothing," Vanessa replied with a perfect, unfaltering smile, even though she had only suggested it as she thought Sahara would like it. Whether she admitted it or not, something had been distracting her since the Rayquaza storm, and while Vanessa was intrigued about what this could be, fixing her friend was more important. Sahara had to agree that this sounded plausible, and instantly warmed to the idea.

"Are you going to come Xavier?" Sahara asked.

"Oh no, I despise shopping, my mother did far too much of it when she was sober and, obviously, still alive," Xavier replied blankly. "I was going to go and see the end of Matthew's contest, but I thought I might go to the Veilstone Casino instead. I have been looking at the mathematics of it all since my father use to host poker nights and I thought I would try it out considering this casino has such a relaxed take on let minors gamble. I swear they even let ten year olds go in there."

"Oh please Xavier, gambling ten year olds makes no sense, even for you," Vanessa said, rolling her eyes. "Well, you enjoy that, we're going to lunch!" The three departed, manoeuvring their way through the boxing rings and karate classes, waving goodbye to Maylene as they did so. The gym leader waved and smiled back, but she watched them leave with great doubt and worry building up inside.

"Those are the Dex Holders?" Her referee, Bruce, grunted.

"I believe so," Maylene replied doubtfully. "They have strength, I am sure they will be able to fight when the time is right. But those girls were hiding something from the other, that was plain to see. No army can win if there isn't any trust, and if they fail with that, then I must say that we are probably doomed." And on that note, Maylene turned and made for her office, thinking of all the people she was going to have to call…

* * *

"YEEEEEESSS!"

Matthew burst through the double doors that led to the coordinator's area of the Veilstone Contest Hall, and he danced and jumped for the first few feet out into the entrance hall, cheering and celebrating all the way. He paused though when he saw a number of audience members were still there, most of them from a posh local women's group, and they way they stared down at him made him feel undignified, even if he had just won.

"Oh, ignore this wrinkled old bags, celebrate as much as you want," a kindly voice said, and Matthew turned as Lucinda Large walked past, smiling widely at him. "I can't stay and chat, Harrison is a bit upset about losing so we are going out for ice cream before we film a story. We'll see you later! Congratulations again!"

"Thanks, see you!" Matthew called out, and watched Lucinda leave, knowing she was likely one of the only friendly faces in the hall. He turned away from the glaring old women and saw Prinplup and Beautifly had finally caught up, and he beamed once more. "Thank you so much you two, you were both amazing!" Matthew shouted, and pulled his Pokemon into a hug.

The Contest had been one of the toughest yet. Matthew had used Prinplup for the appeals, making a number of objects float with BubbleBeam and then sent everything flying with Whirlpool, allowing him to make it through to the battles with Beautifly. The Bug-Flying type had little battle experience but Matthew thought she could do it, but the competitors proved greedy. As Lucinda had explained between rounds, the coordinators were becoming more desperate to win ribbons, which meant they had trained their Pokemon to win in the battle rounds as well as look great. Harrison lost in the first round when a Magmortar took out his Venomoth, and Matthew had come close to facing Mira in the finals, but his eventual competitor had used an Umbreon to defeat her Porygon.

Beautifly struggled through each round, but her dazzling display of moves, using Hidden Power and Aerial Ace repeatedly to make a brilliant combination, as well as being able to fly away from many wingless competitors allowed her to win through use of beauty rather than brawn. Umbreon had then been taken out with several Bug Bites and a well timed Mega Drain to secure Matthew's third ribbon.

As the coordinators left the changing area, many glared at Matthew, unable or unwilling to hide their immense jealousy. Matthew knew that only a handful more contests were left in the winter season before the Grand Festival occurred later in the year, and everyone was desperate to get in. He could remember his father dealing with many different incidents over the years with fights breaking out and accusations being thrown around as the end date neared, and it seemed likely that was going to happen again this year. Matthew looked around, wondering if Xavier, Sahara or Vanessa had shown up, hoping to see a friendly face to congratulate him. He knew Vanessa had been doing her gym battle, but Matthew had hoped he would see one of them to either celebrate with him or give him a pick me up.

"I am sure they are waiting for me at the Pokemon Center," Matthew said, and Prinplup and Beautifly nodded. "Come on, let's go before one of these people melts us with their glares." Matthew stepped forwards, followed closely by his winning Pokemon, and imagined the celebrations he would have back at the center. However, he had barely moved five steps when someone jumped out before him.

"Leaving alone are we? Such a pity. Tell me, is a winner with no friends really a winner at all?" Mira said, feigning confusion before flashing a wicked smile. Matthew had expected this from her after seeing her bitterness at being defeated in the semi finals, so close to having a shot at winning, and the fact Matthew had gotten in instead of her seemed to have really irritated her. He had tried to get changed and leave before being confronted, but apparently was not fast enough.

"Hello Mira, it is lovely to see you, your Pokemon were very good today, I especially loved your Sandslash's appeal, but if you excuse me, I have to leave," Matthew replied, and moved forwards more quickly, but Mira moved in step with him, following him like a very annoying shadow.

"Don't try and escape me, I want some answers!" The little girl huffed. "I kicked your skinny white arse at the Eterna City Contest, so how did you manage to get above me this time?"

"I did defeat you at Hearthome, remember?" Matthew pointed out, but that only made Mira scowl.

"I have six Pokemon, most of them nearly fully evolved, yet you only four and I know for a fact two of them haven't evolved at all!" She hissed. "It is pretty clear today that you won based on the pure luck of facing a Dark type with a Bug. You may think you are better, but I warn you, you will never be as good as the rest of these coordinators unless you actually train!"

"Excuse me? I do train, thank you very much!" Matthew snapped, wheeling around. "Evolution is not the only key for having successful Pokemon! I have faced Team Galactic on multiple occasions and that has given us _experience_, something a little girl like you will never know!"

"Oh, so your telling me you defeated terrorists by making your moves sparkle for them?" Mira said with a droll laugh, and she turned and moved ahead towards the doors. "Tell me, with all these experience, have you even gotten to second base yet with someone other than yourself?" Matthew froze up, seeing the remaining spectators turn around in a cross between shock and amusement, and Mira laughed and walked out of the hall, having succeeding in embarrassing Matthew and getting the upper hand.

"That little pink haired minx," Matthew mumbled, trying not to blush as the elderly women stalked past him. He looked down at Prinplup and Beautifly and saw they were struggling not to smirk. "Oh, I am _so_ glad my Pokemon are on my side!" He huffed, and turned back towards the doors, beginning to feel as if he had not won at all.

Then he saw his father.

For a second, Matthew thought Adrian Pearl was coming through the doors and that the two were going to come face to face for the first time since the Solaceon Contest. However, he quickly realised it was a reflection, and Adrian was standing on the stairs up to the audience entrance, chatting animatedly with one of the judges, Dr Orson.

Matthew had tried not to think of his father, yet always the ultimatum he had been given, even though Adrian had labelled it a wish, always came back; S_trive to be the best person you can possibly be… most intelligent person … experience love … look good_. These words had remained with him, and though Matthew knew that they were signs of vanity that only his father could have possibly conjured up, they had sunk inside of him, always appearing in moments of doubt or stress. He had tried everything to shake them, but for some reason, Matthew was feeling as though these were things he had to live by, no matter how much it sickened him,

"Plup." He remained still for several moments, but Matthew didn't move until Prinplup gave him a slight push. He blinked and shook his head, trying to clear his mind of the thoughts, and saw Dr Orson was walking away, and his father was turning around, his eyes moving towards the entrance…

"Come on, we need to go," Matthew said quickly, feeling angry all of a sudden, and they marched out of the hall. They entered a day of glorious sunshine completely unlike the storms of a few days ago, though some snow and sleet remained from a fall yesterday morning. Veilstone City was made of towering skyscrapers built atop rough, eroded hills from an area that had once been mined heavily for stone, making it feeling more imposing than Jubilife even though the skyscrapers were not nearly as tall, and more two and three storey buildings were scattered around. Matthew had admired its beauty when they had first arrived, but now, as this anger took over him, he found it a waste of nature, destroying the land, skyline and air by filling everything with roads, cars and unnecessarily tall mounds of brick, metal and glass.

"Can you see where Mira went?" Matthew asked, looking around for a sign of pink amongst the grey and brown. He needed to vent at someone, and she was well deserving of it, her own views of success echoing those of his father's. He saw Prinplup and Beautifly exchange a look but they said nothing, Beautifly fluttering up further into the air in order to get a good look.

But then they heard her scream.

Matthew turned around, his anger fading in a second as the horrible sound cut through the silence surrounding the hall. Others were turning around in confusion, wondering who it was and where it was coming from, but Matthew knew that it was Mira and could only wonder what had caused such a painful scream.

"Beauti!" Beautifly cried, and she quickly flew forwards, clearly seeing her from above. Matthew and Prinplup rushed after, running across the driveway leading to a service door and through a set of trees that enclosed the hall. Branches whacked into his face and legs, but Matthew kept moving as Mira screamed again, this time from much closer.

"Beautifly, use Hidden Power on whatever is making her yell!" Matthew shouted out. Green light shone up ahead, and he and Prinplup quickly followed after as they was a soft explosion and a much deeper yell. They burst through a bush, nearly tripping over a root, and stumbled towards Mira. She was pale and shaking, one of her odd pigtails hanging limply and her dress had been torn.

"Oh my god, what happened?" Matthew asked, fearing the worst, and Mira pointed a shaking finger towards a tree. A figure was rising groaning from the forest floor, and it took Matthew less than a second to recognize the distinctive, borderline futuristic white and turquoise uniform of Team Galactic, and he was taken aback to find a lone grunt in the middle of a crowded city, so close to midday, with no one else in sight.

"Who are you, and why did you steal my Pokemon?" Mira shouted, and the grunt laughed, throwing the PokeBall up into the air and caught it, holding his prize firmly in his hands out of Mira's reach.

"The name's Josh, and I work for Team Galactic," he responded. "My job is simply to go around stealing other people's Pokemon. It is a bit repetitive, but I do love watching people squirm, cry and beg for their precious partner to be returned." Josh laughed before turning to Matthew, flashing him a wicked smile. "I know who you are: your one of those Dex Holders that the bosses want to kill. I would gladly take you in myself, but I only came prepared to fight a little girl and take some wimpy little Pokemon."

"That is my Porygon and it is very powerful, and you will see how powerful I am if you do not give it back right now!" Mira screamed, her face a mixture of shock and anger. Josh merely laughed, but his smile faded as Prinplup stepped forwards to join Beautifly, the tips of her flippers glowing silver. Matthew stepped forwards as well, knowing perfectly well he could not fight him off, but hoped Josh did not know this and was threatened by the fact he was outnumbered.

"You really think you can threaten me?" The Grunt said with a slight smirk. "If you want to fight me, than you are going to have to catch me first." And with that, he leapt backwards and spun around, quickly sprinting off. Matthew was taken aback by the bluntness of this, and instantly suspected something was up. However, Mira had not seen anything other than a stranger stealing one of her Pokemon, and she let out an angry, high pitched wail that was bound to frighten anyone still lingering at the contest hall.

"GET BACK HERE WITH MY PORYGON!" She yelled in a surprisingly deep voice, and sprinted off after the Grunt.

"Mira, wait!" Matthew cried, but the pink haired girl had already sprinted away through the forest, a slight pink blur in a mass of green and brown. He sighed and looked down at Prinplup and Beautifly, who were already giving him judging looks. "I know what I have to do, don't worry," he said irritably, and quickly began to move after Mira. He knew perfectly well that she would not survive against a Grunt on her own, and even though he had a feeling that they were walking into a trap, Matthew would not live with himself if something happened to her.

As Matthew, Prinplup and Beautifly departed the area, they had no idea that was someone was watching them through the trees, having followed them from the contest hall, and had already decided to continue following them wherever they ended up…

* * *

All around the world, there are plenty of shopping malls that have become famous for their size and stock, making them international destinations for any keen traveller who wants to truly experience shopping. Celadon City, Goldenrod City and Lilycove City were said to be based upon their shopping malls, and Veilstone was no exception.

The Veilstone City Department Store was ten floors tall, and each one was jammed with a different speciality, ranging from Pokemon supplies to clothing, electronics to books and movies, even a special showroom that had cars, boats and very rare and expensive items. The top floor was a giant café that was well known for having very few tables for the amount of visitors, forcing people to carry their meals around the mall. Each floor felt like you were stepping into a completely different store, and the five elevators were constantly moving and were always overflowing with people. There was barely room to breathe, but people still came here, desperate to splurge unnecessarily in never ending sales so they could simply return home and show off their dozen new purchases.

And Vanessa and Sahara were right in the middle of it.

"See Sahara, I told you we would have fun!" Vanessa shouted above the constant roar of all the other customers pushing past each other. The two had unfortunately arrived during the lunch time rush, and it appeared that the shopping mall was reaching breaking point as they entered the first floor and found themselves trapped. Men and women in sharp suits and dresses surrounded them, as well as mothers carrying, dragging or pushing screaming children. The decibel levels were through the roof, and security guards and shop workers were trying to organise the crowds as people surged towards the elevators and stairwell.

"It is definitely something," Sahara shouted back, instantly regretting agreeing to come here, and could tell from the sarcastic tone in Vanessa's voice that she did as well. The crowd was squashing her, reminding her of the Global Trading Station before Ursilla had blown it up. Sahara shook the thoughts from her mind, remembering how Crystal had surfaced due to the blast, and thinking of Ursilla dredged up memories of Virus…

"Let's move to the side, I can see some bargain bins that are being ignored," Vanessa shouted, and pulled Sahara out of the way. She must have seen the distress in her eyes, and Sahara was a bit relieved, glad to be away from the centre of the commotion, finding she could breathe properly again. There was a faint laughing sound in the back of her head, and Sahara needed to calm down before things got worse.

"Are you sure your fine, you look as though you have a headache?" Vanessa asked as they moved towards a collection of giant mesh bins filled with bargain objects to entice people into spending straight away. Sahara smiled and shook her head, moving towards one that seemed to have all clothes, a pile of dresses piled precariously on top.

"I am fine, I swear, it is just a bit hot and noisy in here," she replied. "These are nice, aren't they? Do you think I could pull this off?" She said quickly, grabbing a simple silver dress and holding it up. Vanessa tried not to frown, but she knew that Sahara was hiding something and was trying desperately to cover it up. She wanted to find out what this was, but knew that pushing her could only make things worse.

"These dresses are alright, but I would rather find some fabric," Vanessa replied, pushing through a number of boxes and plastic cases to try and find what she was looking for. "Ah, see, this is what I'm looking for!"

"I'm pretty sure that's a curtain that ended up there by mistake," Sahara said, struggling not to laugh. Vanessa looked more carefully at the labels and packaging, but merely smiled and shrugged.

"Once I take the rings off, the fabric will look amazing… or should I keep the rings on…" she said after a drawn out pause, and then winked at Sahara. The two laughed as they continued to rummage through the random piles of junk thrown into the bin, finding more discounted dresses that ranged from beautiful to tacky, including several Pokemon inspired ones.

"Give this to Matthew, it will go great for his next contest," Vanessa laughed, holding up a pale blue one with a slight cape that was meant to represent Piplup. Sahara giggled for a few seconds, before gasping and dropping a black mini dress she had been considering.

"Matthew's contest! It must have finished by now!" She said, looking stunned. "Oh my god, we should have gone over and seen how he did!"

"Does it look like I care?" Vanessa said with a shrug. "If he makes it to the Grand Festival we can always go and see him there, mostly as it takes place at the fabulous Ribbon Resort. Otherwise, I am not wasting a day trapped amongst a gaggle of bitchy coordinators and the people that die to see a Clefairy and a Lopunny shoot sparkles at each other." Sahara knew Vanessa had a point, and a contest hall would probably be louder and more cramped than this mall was, but she still felt guilty.

"I still feel bad, we have never been to any of his performances," she said. "When Xavier mentioned it before it completely went past me, I was too busy thinking about… some other stuff," Sahara continued, awkwardly covering up what she had been about to say, something Vanessa picked up on. "Matthew is our friend, we should support him."

"Is he really?" Vanessa said, and Sahara was stunned. It must have shown on her face as Vanessa gave her a questioning look. "We sort of all ended up thrown together because of Team Galactic, and I only really knew of Xavier and Matthew because they were the only other trainers in Sandgem Town when I arrived. If Galactic hadn't attacked Sandgem that day, Xavier and Matthew could have just been rivals I bumped into every so often, kind of like Lucinda and all of Matthew's contest frenemies."

"What about us, we only met through Sandgem and Team Galactic, remember?" Sahara pointed out.

"Yes, but we actually became friends. We spend time together doing stuff like shopping and going to clubs, even if half the time we end up getting shot at or having to blow something up. The key difference is that I can get along with you, but sometimes, I find it too hard to talk to Xavier and Matthew. With them, what is there to talk about except for Pokemon and nearly dying every other day?" Sahara paused, mulling over Vanessa's words. She had never thought of this bond between the four of them as anythin other than friendship, but now that Vanessa had put these thoughts into the world, it was difficult to view it as anything else: would she even know Xavier and Matthew if it wasn't for Team Galactic, and if they met under any other condition, would they be friends?

"Oh my god Lily, I told you these would be here!" A high pitched squeal sounded from her left, and Sahara barely had time to register as two girls suddenly appeared, pushing past her and grabbing onto some of the dresses. The one who had spoken had black hair, while red headed Lily followed behind, holding two water bottles and plastic salad boxes. "Doesn't this just look amazing on me?" The black haired girl cried, holding a red dress that Vanessa had been an inch from grabbing up to her body.

"Excuse me, I was just about to look at that," Vanessa snapped, grabbing the coat hanger and pulling it away from the girl. The girl, who was the same height as Vanessa but much older, turned around, an ugly smirk on her face.

"Look Lily, this it what we would look like if we were poor and had no taste," she said, and laughed loudly and cruelly. Lily laughed as well, though it seemed more forced, but that did nothing to lessen the annoyance felt by Sahara and Vanessa.

"Don't you have something better to do with your day?" Sahara snapped, reaching a hand into her pocket, wondering if she would have to send Nutty out to deal with them. The two girls smirked to each other, and suddenly, Sahara found her head pounding. She dropped the dresses she had been holding and stumbled backwards into a bin of electrical goods, her mind racing. The laughter had gotten into her head, echoing around, with whispered words hissed between; _Are you going to take that? Fight, kill them! You can do it now, you know you want to…_

"Oh boo hoo, look's like someone's getting upset," the black haired women sneered, and she and Lily turned away, their laughter getting louder every second even though they were moving away. Sahara clutched her head, her legs beginning to feel weak, and she wanted to scream but knew even if such a noisy place she would get noticed. Vanessa stepped forwards and said something, looking frightened, but Sahara could only hear laughter and the hissed voices getting louder and louder: _use it, show them your strength, do it, do it!_

"NO!" Sahara yelled, unable to control herself, and she brought her hands down, for a second seeing another figure floating before her eyes and hoped she would be able to strike it. The two women turned back around, but as they did, the water bottles Lily was carrying exploded. They both shrieked as a tower of water engulfed them, soaking right through their matching uniforms. Sahara saw some of the dresses fly away and a light bulb burst a short way away, but the water and the screaming was the only thing people noticed. Sahara froze, but her body began to shake, the realisation of what had happened coursing through. Everyone nearby fell silent, and it crept throughout the entire floor, people trying to work out what had happened. Dripping wet black and ginger hair covered the women's faces, but accusing eyes stared out at Sahara, not sure how she had done it but somehow blaming her. Sahara wanted to crawl away and hide, her mind beginning to go blank, and she looked to Vanessa for support, but her friend was just as stunned as she was.

Then, as the clock struck twelve, everything changed.

Cyrus' call for destruction had come as a shock to many grunts, but Charon and the admins were ready for the event. Years ago, Charon had set up a plan to sabotage Veilstone should they ever need to shut down the city or cause some sort of distraction. This mostly involved smuggling explosives into many key building constructions, disguising them inside beams of wood and metal piping, sometimes even inside cement or mixed in with tarmac, priming them so a simple flick of a switch, any building, road, street lamp or even rubbish bin could be detonated and set off whatever Galactic needed to do.

Today, the attack was primed to begin directly at noon.

The silence was broken by an explosion, followed by simultaneous screams. The entire mall began to shake, contents spilling out of the bins, shoppers falling over, lights swinging and breaking. Vanessa whipped her umbrella out and fell down alongside Sahara, putting it over them in case something fell. They could not properly tell that the front entrance had shattered, the beam above exploding and endangering the structure of the rest of the building. A cloud of smoke wafted over from the area, bits of plaster flying across the floor, and for a moment, it seemed as though it was some kind of accident, possibly the result of an earthquake.

That was before the army arrived.

More screams sounded, and people began to run towards the back of the store. Vanessa checked things were clear before leaping to her feet, and anger rose up inside: A group of people in white uniforms, disguised but distinguished by turquoise wigs, marched inside, machine guns at the ready. They fired mostly at the ceiling, but several aimed at the people behind the sales desk and the security guards lining the doorways. It was obviously Team Galactic, and Vanessa could tell that this must be a display of some sort: why else would they be attacking a shopping mall, wearing items that marked them out as members of the organisation. She raised her umbrella up, considering her next move, but paused when she saw a familiar head of red hair walked through the remaining smoke.

"Calm down, calm down, no one's going to be hurt!" Mars yelled in her girlish tones, stopping dramatically at the front of the mall where everyone could see her. "Well, some of you will die, but at least it won't hurt." She cackled loudly, and a ripple of whimpering went through the stunned crowd. Vanessa felt sick and angry, watching Mars standing as the centre of attention, surrounded by weaponry but with no signs of any real order in the Grunts. Were they here for her and Sahara, having somehow spied on them, or were they trying to steal something from within the store? Mars showed no signs of moving, simply torturing the captured and trapped shoppers with a flash of her devilish smile, and it seemed odd that she was here doing nothing, when above them were countless floors of shoppers that would be making their way down eventually and coming across the scene.

As if she had read her mind, Mars pointed upwards, still smiling, her eyes flickering between her Grunts and the people she was trying to inject fear into. "Kill as many of these people as you can, and then make your way up the floors. Make sure to grab me something nice from each floor, I want to be able to remember all of this," the admin explained, and she laughed again as the first of the Grunts moved forwards. The entire floor would be washed with blood in minutes, and Vanessa knew she had to act quickly. She looked down at Sahara and saw she was still shaking, and quickly gave her a shove with one hand as she flicked the umbrella with the other. Sahara looked up at her, and for a moment she looked furious, almost murderous, her eyes burning with rage, but they quickly began sad and scared once more, and Vanessa shrugged it off as a trick of light.

"You need to send Smash out right now, alright? We are going to need him in a few moments." Sahara still looked scared but nodded, and she reached for the Great Ball inside her coat pocket. Vanessa briefly looked at the approaching grunts, who seemed to be savouring in torturing the shoppers, and felt another surge of rage before pulling the trigger of her energy gun. She fired wildly at the wall to her right and the back wall, blowing large holes big enough for about three people to move through. There were more screams as dust shrouded everything, but once the nearest shoppers realised no one was coming through, they raced towards their freedom. There was silence from the front though for several moments before an agitated scream came out, and Vanessa could not help but smile.

"Oh for fucks sakes, not you again!" Mars screamed. "KILL HER!"

"NOW!" Vanessa yelled, as she turned and fired at the ceiling. A large chunk of floor fell down, crushing several grunts beneath but bringing with it about a dozen shoppers from the upper floor. Shots began to ring out across the floor once more as a stampede of shoppers made for their freedom, one or two falling down in a spurt of red but most getting away. Vanessa turned towards the Grunts, ready to fire again, but suddenly there was a burst of light and a large shape formed between her and Team Galactic.

"OOOOONNNN!" Smash roared as bullets smashed into him, his rock hard body deflecting them, and the Rock Snake growled and swung his tail around, sending Grunts flying.

"Come on Sahara, we need to move!" Vanessa said, and grabbed Sahara roughly by the shoulders and heaved her up. The Grunts had fully opened fire now, with only Smash's impenetrable body protecting them from the onslaught. Sahara was still oblivious to what was happening, and Vanessa knew she had to send her somewhere else before dealing with the rest of Galactic. There was a ping that managed to sound above the gunfire, and suddenly the elevator doors were opening, people spilling out into the carnage. Some seemed to be security guards coming to see what the commotion was, but they froze up when they saw the fight they had walked into and were quickly mown down. Vanessa wanted to scream at them to get moving, but before she could something struck her across the neck, sending her and Sahara crashing down. The red head turned around, scrabbling to get back to her feet, but the same thing struck her legs, cutting a deep wound up her shin. She cried out in pain, and a joyous laugh sounded from nearby.

"Oh god, I have always wanted to make you cry," Mars hissed with delight as she loomed over Vanessa, her whip coiling back up, and with a wicked smile she raised it above her head, ready to bringing it crashing back down, and Vanessa knew she was screwed…

* * *

Matthew heard an explosion in the distance, and wondered what it could have been, but he could not stop for even a second.

He was not sure how long he had been running for, but Matthew was getting tired. He had followed Mira down footpaths, across roads and through alleyways, following her bouncing pink hair and getting angrier with his fellow coordinator with each step he took. Matthew was wearing his contest shoes and they were cutting into his feet. His sides ached and it was becoming difficult to breathe, but still Mira chased after Josh and the Porygon he had stolen. Prinplup and Beautifly remained in top spirits, and Matthew knew he had to keep going if they were willing to soldier on, but he was not sure how much more he could take.

The number of skyscrapers, hotels and businesses were thinning, becoming replaced with more rundown businesses and a lot of factories and warehouses. Matthew knew this was the north of the city, the industrial side of Veilstone where the hard work was done, and it was said to be the true work that kept Veilstone going. There was only one tower left in this area, piled a top a man made hill in the very corner of the area. Matthew could see it in the distance and wondered if they would be going there, but Mira took a left turn, leading them deeper within the maze of warehouses.

_Josh could disappear inside any one of these, _Matthew thought as the rushed past buildings that looked identical: all made of wood, metal and brick with corrugated roofs, few of them going above two storeys high, all of them about the size of football fields. There were some burly and hairy workers mingling outside their warehouses, smoking besides crates and giant sixteen wheel trucks, looking at Matthew curiously but offering no help.

_How much longer do we have to chase him? _Matthew thought wearily. He could feel sweat pouring down his face and seeping through his clothes. After walking across all of Sinnoh, Matthew knew that he could manage himself stamina and strength wise for a while, so the fact he was feeling this bad meant they had been running for quite a while, and Matthew doubted Mira had even noticed he was following her. _I could stop, but if I do, who knows what will happen to her? _Matthew thought, spitting phlegm that had crept down his throat during this exhausting run.

"You two … need to be… ready… to fight… once we… catch up…," Matthew panted at his Pokemon, and saw that Prinplup was starting to run a little slower, Beautifly flying a bit lower, the two starting to feel the wear of the journey. Matthew considered bringing them back, but saw Mira dive into an alleyway, and he followed after, thinking he might lose her. However, something loud banged, and Matthew heard Mira scream in rage.

"Oh god!" He cried, and rushed forwards, fearing the worst. But Mira was standing upright and appeared unharmed, banging furiously on a metal door, and Matthew realised Josh had disappeared inside.

"That bastard!" Mira yelled, and she angrily kicked at it, but the metal door did not budge, and she only groaned in pain, clutching her toes. She turned and suddenly seemed to realise Matthew was there, and she quickly tried to put on a tough face, even though her eyes were swimming with tears.

"You don't know… how long… I chased you!" Matthew wheeshed, finally catching his breathe. "That guy… will probably… kill you… without… a second thought."

"Let him try, I will _kill_ him if he gets anywhere near me!" Mira hissed.

"With what? You have no weapons, and you can't rely on your… Pokemon with them," Matthew explained, and Prinplup and Beautifly nodded. Mira simply scoffed and looked at the door, trying to find some way to get in.

"Do you have a Fire type? If we blew this up, we might be able to get inside."

"No, unfortunately, I have been meaning to catch one," Matthew replied. "Prinplup could use Metal Claw though on the hinges or something."

"Plup," Prinplup said with a nod, and walked forwards, claws glowing silver. Mira shrugged irritably, trying to hold back her tears, and Matthew could tell the loss of her Pokemon was seriously affecting her. He wanted to say something comforting as Prinplup smashed the door with her claws, but Mira's eyes suddenly widened in shock as she looked above his head, and Matthew and Beautifly turned, ready to attack. However, Matthew froze as well when he saw who it was, even though his blood began to boil.

"It's only me!" Adrian Pearl shouted, raising his hands in defence, though Matthew felt more willing to attack now than he had before. Behind him, his Blaziken stood proud and silent, arms crossed, glaring down at them. Matthew had not seen him since Piplup and Misdreavus had battled him and Zangoose at Hearthome, and it was quite chilling to have a Pokemon that had once carried him about now stare viciously at him. Prinplup quickly appeared at Matthew's side for protection, shaking her head when Matthew looked down.

"I am here in peace, alright?" Adrian said, taking a tentative step forwards, wearing an uneasy smile. "I saw you go outside the hall, and I wanted to congratulate you, but then I saw you disappear into a forest, and then run after some guy, and I know what sort of stuff you've been involved in so I thought I would come and make sure things were alright." He continued to smile, but stayed a few steps away, not daring to come closer. Matthew looked him up and down, wondering what to make of his father: he was clean shaven, but his hair had gotten a bit longer, and his clothes looked ruffled as if they had not been properly cared for. Matthew wondered where he was living and if he had gotten all of his stuff out of Pearl Manor, but then a voice told him he shouldn't care, which was followed with another voice saying he probably should, while the words flashed before him once again… _strive to be the best person you can possibly be…_

"Look Matthew, I am not here to discuss what happened last time, nor am I going to hold you up apologizing or explaining," Adrian said, his smile briefly turning into a scowl. "I am here because my son appeared to need help, and even though you may not want to be around me any more, I am here anyway. It's Mira, isn't it?" Adrian continued, looking over his son and addressing Mira. The coordinator nodded, surprised that the head of Contest Board knew her name. "Would you like some help knocking the door down?"

"Oh… yes… of course!" She gasped, and stepped aside as Blaziken walked past. Matthew looked up at his father, wanting to scream and shout at him, to vent all of his feelings, but when he opened his mouth, nothing came out. His father had always had this sort of power to talk his way out of any issue, from complaints to arguments, and had just worked his magic on his own son. Matthew wanted to tell him to leave, but there was no way Mira would allow it, not when Blaziken seemed their only chance of getting into the warehouse, and Matthew would have to remain silent and let his father try and word his way out of his issues.

"BLAZE!" Blaziken shouted, and lashed out with a flaming leg. The Blaze Kick collided with the door, and when the Blaze Pokemon moved away, a large dent remained. Blaziken struck out twice more, each time with a metallic ring and a flash of flame, and the door suddenly creaked open, revealing a dark, empty space.

"Thank god!" Mira cried, and she reached into her pockets to grab a PokeBall while jumping for joy. "Thank you Mr Pearl, thank you so much!" And with that, the little girl ran inside the warehouse.

"Mira, wait, we don't know what's in there yet!" Matthew shouted, pushing past his father and rushing after Mira. Adrian followed after, with Prinplup, Beautifly and Blaziken close behind. They sprinted inside the warehouse in a single line, Matthew expecting to find Mira waiting in the entrance, but instead they walked into complete darkness. Matthew froze, causing Prinplup to run into him, but ignored the pain as he looked around blinking, trying to see something in this darkness, wondering where Mira had gone, strange sounds echoing off metallic surfaces. And that was when Matthew knew his initial thoughts were right.

"We have to get out, now, this is a trap!" He shouted. Why else had Josh stolen Mira's Pokemon and run off without fighting? He had been leading them here, and it only made sense now that they had walked so blindly into it. Matthew turned to leave, pushing Prinplup backwards, but froze once again as a sudden rumbling came from above. It sounded monstrous for a moment, but then the lights turned on, blinding them all, and Matthew could make out a giant sliding door rumbling down the wall, a large sheet of metal thrice the size of the door they had just walked through. It reached the metal floor with a clang, and large poles slid into place, locking the door and sealing them in.

Matthew cursed under his breath, and turned around to examine the trap, shielding his eyes with his hand as the fluorescent lights that illuminated the warehouse blinded him. He looked down at the floor to try and see what they were standing on, and saw it was some sort of metal platform that snaked around the entire warehouse, with a long, wide walkway spreading across to the other side. There was nothing else except for a large space below filled with crates, and Matthew peered over the side, wondering what they could be. Large skull and crossbones were emblazoned on each side of the nearest ones, with a list of serious warnings and one word repeated over and over again across every single box, piled as high enough to reach the walkway 'CAUTION: Explosives'.

They had walked right into Team Galactic's ammunition warehouse.

Cold laughter echoed around the cavernous space, and Matthew finally looked up, trying to control himself even though he felt like throwing up, horrified at what he had stepped into. He saw Mira standing before him, his fellow coordinator also struggling with the light, but his attention was drawn towards the figures standing in the middle of the walkway: Josh, a smirk wide and proud on his smooth face, surrounded by two Grunts with PokeBalls in each hand. They could now identify the strange noises as footsteps echoing off the metal, and Matthew could see more Grunts were emerging from below, machine guns and blunt objects clutched tightly in their hands.

"I didn't know it was going to be this easy," Josh yelled out, and the Grunts all laughed as they advanced forwards. Matthew moved close to his team, wondering how he could have been so stupid, why he had let himself chase after Mira without more thought. The coordinator and Adrian moved in close, the three Pokemon covering each side, but Matthew glanced down into the pit of explosives, knowing a single spark could set everything off. If they did not go quietly, there was a chance they would all be killed instantly rather than whatever Galactic had planned for them, but Matthew could see no way he was going to escape this, his death being confirmed as soon as the door had shut.

* * *

Charles should have known Sahara would be there.

It had seemed so odd that morning when Minerva had made the announcement, calling all the Grunts together and saying an emergency plan had been ordered by Cyrus. Apparently, Team Galactic had rigged Veilstone City to explode at the drop of a hat if they so wished, a security measure for the organisation, and today they were needed to split up into different groups and attack certain parts of the city.

"Is this random terrorism to scare the great unwashed, or is there some hidden agenda?" Addison had queried before she and Roshonda had gone off with Saturn. Charles had had similar thoughts, and they had stuck with him as they had put on the ridiculous turquoise bowl cuts and been issued with weapons. Lately, Team Galactic had been doing things for more specific reasons, less of the senseless exploding like when Charles had first began. It seemed odd to go back to it, and Charles could only imagine that there were doing something special, just not letting the little minions know.

But after the brief journey via the Wranglers from the training compound out into Veilstone, Charles had doubted things less and less, especially as they neared the giant Department Store. It reminded Charles of the one in Goldenrod City, and he had smiled to himself, memories of his own travels coming back to him. But the smile had faltered when Charles realised what they would be attacking, and he began to feel sick. Recently, he had begun to doubt Galactic more and more, wondering what exactly their true motivations were. Randomly attacking civilians did not fit with what they had done lately, and as Charles had gotten out of the car, gun in hand, and had seen people on the street pause in shock, he asked himself why he was still here, why he was going to run into this building and shoot at people who didn't deserve it.

Mars had done no organising, no arranging them into neat, organised rows like they usually did. She simply flicked a switch and blew up a joint between the first and second floor, shattering the sliding doors and sending people on the street fleeing, and then told them to fan out, kill anyone with a weapon and wait for further orders. Charles reluctantly moved in with the other grunts, who all were smiling evilly under their wigs, enjoying the idea of torturing and harming innocent people. _These people all wanted to be a part of Team Galactic, most of them anyway, _Charles had thought as he ran alongside them, holding his weapon up but keeping his finger off the trigger, refusing to kill any of these people simply for Team Galactic's enjoyment.

However, it became pretty obvious that there were ulterior motives for coming here.

In a second, the lives of these shoppers had been turned upside down, and Mars had presumed working their way through the floors would be easy. Yet in another second, the tables had been turned, and Vanessa had appeared and blown a whole in the side of the building while Sahara's Onix came out to fight. Nearly everyone on the floor escaped through the hole, with more people coming down through the elevators and staircases, fleeing away from the destruction. Galactic was thrown into chaos, and while Charles was stunned to see the two girls, he was secretly pleased, watching as his comrades were disarmed and sent flying by Smash: no one was going to die unnecessarily today, it seemed.

Charles had turned his attention towards where the explosion had occurred, and wondered if he would be able to see Vanessa and Sahara and get them out of the mall before they were attacked. It seemed obvious now that this could simply be some sort of attack against the Sinnoh Dex Holders, and Charles wondered if Xavier and Matthew were targets of the other attacks. It seemed over dramatic, even by Galactic standards, but Charles guessed this was part of their mantra and there was no point debating Cyrus about it, especially when he had been absent over the last few days.

When he looked across though, he saw Mars striking Vanessa down, who collapsed to the ground, Sahara falling down with her. Charles realised what was about to happen, and that fight that had wounded him in the forest came rushing back. He was still decorated with bruises and his stomach and sides still hurt, but what would stay with him longer was the conversation he and Vanessa had had. It was then that Charles had questioned why he was staying with Galactic, as well as realise that he needed to make amends with Sahara so he could move on. And this meant he could not stand idly by as Mars prepared to slaughter them in the middle of a mall. Smash let out an echoing roar, almost as if he knew his trainer was in danger, and swung around towards the scene.

_That's it, _Charles thought, and he raised his gun at the ceiling. He pulled the trigger, pretending to aim at the Onix but going for the roof instead, copying what Vanessa had just down. The bullets tore through the roof tiles, breaking them apart and causing them to fall towards Mars, accompanied with plaster and a bit of wiring.

Sahara watched as a possible injury fell towards her, and she snapped out of her fear. She knew that the exploding water bottle had been her fault, the second instance of Crystal taking over her body, and it had made Sahara shut down in fear: if some slight mocking by two precocious girls was enough to set her off, than what would happen next time Sahara found herself in a life or death situation, or even a tense battle with a gym leader? Seeing the tiles falling towards her, and Mars' psychotic grin looming above them, the whip ready to be brought down, Sahara knew that if she kept going into this state, she was just letting Crystal, Eden and Jaki win.

"LOOK OUT!" Sahara cried, pointing upwards. Mars flinched, taken aback by the sound, but failed to listen to the instruction. Sahara lashed out, kicking the admin in the shin before pushing Vanessa out of the way.

"Bitch!" Mars hissed, and turned after them, but was forced to leap backwards to avoid the broken tile. Vanessa and Sahara scrambled to their feet, and in a second Vanessa had PokeBalls clutched in her hands, beaming confidently once more.

"You should really teach your minions how to fire a gun properly. Being fashion challenged terrorists and all, you would think it would be a priority," she said with a wicked grin, and threw the PokeBalls forwards. Mars seethed with fury as Monferno and Staraptor formed from red energy, fully healed after the gym battle, and the two launched their attacks. Monferno drove a fist into Mars' stomach before she could raise her whip, and Staraptor shot forwards, distracting the grunts from Smash and letting the Onix swing his tail around.

"We need to move quickly," Vanessa said, pushing Sahara forwards towards the blasted hole. "You go out through here and try and get some help, I will still and hold them off."

"You can't, you won't win, even with your Pokemon and your umbrella!" Sahara cried. Now that she had overcome the shock of Crystal's powers emerging again, she was feeling confident and ready to battle. In fact, there was still a tingling, airy feeling in the tips of her fingers, and Sahara could feel her head swaying but in a gentle way, despite the high pitched laughter echoing at the very back of her thoughts. Sahara knew that this was the lingering effects of Crystal's powers, having felt a strange tingling for an hour after Mason's accident. She could draw on the powers if she wanted to, and though Sahara was afraid of what that may led to, it made her feel strong for once in her life.

"Stay then, but try and avoid the bullets: I have been shot, I think that gives me some kind of resistance," Vanessa said with a wink. Sahara winked back, knowing Vanessa was only looking out for her, and already knew what she was going to do. Leaving Vanessa to her own devices, Sahara sprinted to the door leading to the staircase, trying not to look at a businessman lying sprawled on the ground, his shirt completely stained red with blood. When she got to the stairwell, Sahara pulled an Ultra Ball out and pressed the button. It was odd that she had a Pokemon on her team that she rarely used, but Sahara was frankly more afraid of Spiritomb than she was of Crystal. With her personalities, they always faded away after a time, or were forced out by external methods. But Spiritomb was unpredictable and rather untrustworthy, and Sahara was sure she had only come with her in to fulfil some secret agenda. Yet right now, Sahara needed her strength.

"Finally, I thought I was going to remain in there for the rest of my life!" Spiritomb growled once she had formed, glaring at Sahara with her wicked green eyes, before the sounds of battle and chaos drew her attention. "Oh, I sense some people have died recently. Let me guess, these are your white clothed friends from Solaceon Town, aren't they?"

"They are, and I need you to fight them," Sahara said. "Guard this stairwell from a far, do whatever you wish to the Grunts but make sure they don't harm the people coming down the stairs, alright?"

"Sure, a battle's a battle," Spiritomb replied croakily, and floated off into the middle of the floor, looking out of place amongst the bargain bins spreads out across the chaos. Sahara remained weary, wondering if it was right to send her out, but she saw bits of plaster fall down from the ceiling, and knew every second she wasted, the broken up ceiling was getting closer to falling down.

She sprinted up the concrete staircase, a rather bland stairwell that seemed like it would be more appropriate in some dodgy hostel than in such an elite shopping mall. Sahara's legs began to strain as she leapt up each step, and she was nearly breathless as she ran into the doorway for the second floor. Everything in there was designed for Pokemon, ranging from contest accessories at one end to every type of medicine available. There were large holes in the floors from where the ceiling had been shot at, and about two dozen people remained, cowering in fear around a service counter.

"You need to run down!" Sahara shouted. "There are Pokemon down there that will shield you, and there is a hole in the wall that will led you to safety! If you don't go now, this entire floor could collapse!" She pointed down the staircase but didn't wait to see if they responded, knowing that some people hadn't even left the floors above. Sahara ran up to the third floor, which was electronics, and found that more than fifty people were still there, some of them even shopping, looking rather unfazed about everything.

"There are terrorists downstairs that will slaughter you if you stay here!" Sahara yelled, trying a different tactic. "Get downstairs, you will be protected, just get out of here!" This caused a better reaction, people instantly sprinting towards her and racing down the staircase. A shop assistant directed half of the crowd to a fire escape so there wouldn't be a hold up, and Sahara was pleased to see people moving.

"Are there terrorists downstairs?" An assistant yelled over the stair rail as Sahara moved tiredly up, already dreading making her way to the top floor, the sounds of stampeding shoppers echoing in the background. "We felt the building shake, but we thought it was just an earthquake," the woman continued, starting to shake and look nervous. "Our phone lines are down, we can't contact anyone outside the building, we can't even contact our own staff! We've just been hiding up here, waiting it out –"

"If you stay here… your going to be… killed!" Sahara wheezed, coming to a stop by the entrance. "There are people coming, and they are going to kill you all if you don't get outside somehow before they come up here or blow the building up."

"Blow what up? Us up!" A stout woman with too much makeup cried from behind, and Sahara saw it was a beauty and cosmetics floor. The women turned around before the assistant could stop her and let out a bellow like an angry Miltank. "THERE ARE TERRORISTS IN THE BUILDING!" She screamed, a horrible sound that bounced off the concrete walls and travelled up the stairwell. The result was instantaneous: all the other shoppers, all women on this floor, screamed, and they instantly made for the doorway. The shop assistant was smacked aside into a display, and Sahara had to leap backwards to avoid the stampede. Shouts were now sounding from every floor, and Sahara tensed up, glancing up to see shadows moving down towards her, the combined noise of hundreds of footsteps coming her way.

"Quick, get in here!" The shop assistant yelled, and she pulled Sahara into the floor. She smiled gratefully and turned to watch the shoppers rushing past, many of them screaming, clutching onto friends and loved ones, looking close to tears or fainting. Others were scared but had still managed to take part in looting, rushing down the stairs with DVD's, clothes, any random item they had taken. Sahara was stunned, but the shop assistant didn't seem to care, grabbing her mobile and hand bag and making for the crowd.

"You coming?" She called to Sahara as the people in the stairwell began to thin.

"I should really check the other floors and make sure everyone is gone," Sahara replied.

"Why you?" The assistant replied. "If people can't leave on their own, why should you risk yourself for them?"

"It feels right," Sahara said, and the assistant shrugged and waved her goodbye, disappearing into the crowd. Sahara watched her go, knowing that she had a point but knew she had to stay. They had all been forced into this battle with Team Galactic, and in Sahara's mind, that meant that had become a sort of defence force against the organisation. No one else was willing or capable to fight back against them during times like this, so it seemed to fall upon them to do it, even though it usually meant risking their own lives.

Angry shouting, running and breaking sounded from the floors above, while from below, gunshots and screams rose up the stairwell. Sahara considered sending Aqua down to help, but was not sure how good he would be against guns. Her best bet was to clear the upstairs floors before moving down, and Sahara made her way forwards, wondering if she would have to deal with looters. But the second she stepped forwards, there was a sharp pain in the middle of her head, and Sahara yelled out as she swayed backwards: her he

_He is strong again, he is ready to fight once more! _Jaki hissed. _You will not be able to stop me when I take control of your feeble body, and then we shall finish what we started!_

"SHUT UP!" Sahara screamed, and she clutched her head, possibly hoping to squeeze Jaki away, but the pain simply got worse. She was beginning to see double, and Sahara had to lean against the doorway in order to remain standing. "Not now, you are not coming out now! Just go away, leave me alone!"

_We can never leave you Sahara, we are always here and we always will be, _Crystal said this time, and Sahara felt like she was going to cry. She could not focus on anything outside her own head, and did not notice the sole sound of one person running down the stairs, and only realised someone was approaching when she looked up and found a bearded man in a suit running down with a large box in hand, several items piled on top.

"'Cuse," he boomed, and quickly pushed past her. The box struck Sahara in the face, and she stumbled over backwards. She kept on stumbling, swaying awkwardly as the throbbing pain got worse and worse. Sahara yelled out as she tripped, her head smacking into the corner of the display the shop assistant had been pushed into, and she fell to the ground with a thud. Sahara tried to stay conscious, wanting to check on the other floors and make sure Vanessa was alright, but as the sounds of gunfire continued to come up the stairwell, the laughter in Sahara's head got worse and worse, and she could not hold her eyes open any longer…

A few moments earlier, the battle on the ground floor had increased in violence.

Mars had seen the shoppers fleeing through the hole Vanessa had created, hundreds of them, escaping her grasp in a way she hadn't planned. She had released her Purugly to fight, but it had been no match for the combined effort from Monferno and Staraptor. Vanessa herself had taken down countless Grunts with a few blasts of her stolen energy gun, using the bargain bins to hide from their bullets. Sahara's Onix continued to send Grunts flying, and the mysterious Spiritomb was happy to unleash attacks that simply caused the Grunts to collapse to the ground, either convulsing or screaming in pain.

The entire attack had turned into a nightmare, though Mars knew she should not be surprised. It happened this way far too often, and hunting down Vanessa and Sahara in the middle of a mall was never going to go as smoothly as she had hoped. Worse still, Mars had been looking forwards to using her whip on the public, to splatter blood across the walls, to ruin the mall's reputation with a simple flick of her wrist. Instead, her own men and women were piled on the ground, with the public being able to escape – something she would be blamed for, even though the day's attack had been forced on them at the last second without any time to plan on surrounding the perimeter.

_Fucking Cyrus, this all falls on him, _Mars thought angrily, stepping behind the service counter, half of which lay in ruins, to avoid an angry Smash. _He should have made a proper plan rather than sending us of on this pointless mission. We are going to lose here, and even if we cause some damage to the mall, we are going to remain a laughing stock. _Mars looked around, wondering if there was anyway to salvage this mission, spying more people fleeing from the floors above. Suddenly, it came to her, and a devilish smile appeared on her face.

"You there!" She yelled at a passing Grunt, and beamed when it was Charles who turned around, indistinguishable from the rest in his get up. Charles had been about to move after Vanessa, who had not recognised him yet, and warn her about what was to come, and was startled that Mars had called him. "Get the others out of here, I don't want to shout it out in case the Gingernut gets suspicious, alright?"

"Yes ma'am," Charles said with a brief nod, and with one last look of worry at Vanessa, he turned around, knowing better than to disobey orders. Mars smiled as he left, having caught the look in his eyes: there was something odd about the boy, having always carried out his orders but still holding onto the past he should have left behind. It amused Mars to see somehow so young and innocent slowly break, and she beamed as she moved out of the counter and towards one of the bargain bins, this one consisting mostly of outdated laptops, software programs and hard drives. Mars flicked through them as she pulled a touch screen device from her pocket, opening up a programme that gave her complete control over every explosive in the mall.

"Tactical retreat?" Vanessa yelled out, having leapt out from behind her own bargain bin to see Mars was the only member of Galactic remaining, the rest mingling awkwardly around the entrance. Mars looked up as if she had only just realised Vanessa was there, and smiled over at her and the four Pokemon spread throughout the floor, all of them eyeing her with their own versions of rage.

"Oh no, not really a retreat," Mars replied with a smile. "We are running a bit low on Grunts at the moment, so I am starting to think of their safety." Vanessa looked confused, and Mars laughed as she pushed a button at random. The entire mall shook as all five elevators exploded simultaneously, obliterating the lift shafts and destroying the doors before them. Two were on the ground floor, and Vanessa jumped as two balls of fire exploded out through the doors. Spiritomb cried out and Smash roared, and Mars' laughter joined them as she rolled underneath the bargain bin, this time specifically selecting the next explosives.

Fire erupted from the ceiling, and the mall shook as the entire second floor fell away from its supports. Vanessa yelled out and pulled Monferno and Staraptor with her under the bin as plaster, piping, wires, merchandise and stands fell down with the flames. Smash's yells were booming, but Vanessa could still Mars' laugh as the admin waved at her from the floor, quickly rolling out before the smoke had even cleared.

"I am sorry it had to end this way Vanessa," Mars yelled as she jumped across the flaming rubble, making for the entrance. "I was so looking forward to killing you in a much slower, more painful way." Her laughter echoed as she jumped outside, pressing the next series of buttons. Vanessa had planned on escaping, knowing she could not let Mars and Galactic get away, but there was a second explosion that tore through the mall. Monferno and Staraptor tensed up as a roar sounded above them, and Vanessa waited for the next floor to came crashing down, simply wondering if Sahara had managed to get away.

* * *

Xavier did not believe in luck, but he did believe in the power of having skills that outmatched those around him.

He managed a slight, pained looking smile as he collected his latest lot of winnings from his current slot machine, a giant contraption that was just as tall as he was, with flashing lights enclosed in a gold plastic frame and cartoon Pokemon dotted all about. The dozens of coins he had just won fell into his waiting cup, which was already close to overflowing, and Xavier could not help but be impressed.

_Who knew it would be this easy, _he noted as he stood up from the stool and moved onto the next, identical machine. Xavier had long watched his father's poker nights that he held with various elite Pokemon trainers and businessmen from around the world, and he understood the basics of the game. He had spent half of his time at a 'child friendly' table that resided to one half of the casino, where Pokemon trainers were allowed to play a watered down version to win money for their travels. Xavier was not good at reading emotions in most situations, but the young, inexperienced people had terrible poker faces, and his own blank emotions proved highly capable in guaranteeing he outsmarted them all.

The slot machines were a far more interesting challenge. Xavier planted himself down on the fourth stool he had sat on that hour, and quickly looked over the Silph Brand 'Lucky Gold' Slot Machine. It seemed every machine in the casino was the same, and each machine had the same symbols on the three rotating wheels that made up the heart of the device. It struck Xavier as a far greater challenge to work out exactly how many symbols there were, how fast the wheels went and how great of a chance it would take to ensure he got the three 7-shaped Mew's that guaranteed a jackpot, so he set his sights on winning at every machine.

"Let's see…," Xavier mumbled as he examined this latest machine, which currently had a yellow 7-Mew, a Pikachu face and a Piplup face on display. The symbols consisted of the starters, Pikachu, a bundle of berries, a large R that allowed for free turns, a sparkling symbol that represented meteorites, and finally the 7 shaped Mews. The prize money came from lining up three identical symbols, and went from 10 coins all the way up to 500, depending on how many you got lined up. The starters, Pikachu, berries and R's appeared three times on each wheel, the meteorites appeared twice and the Mew's only once. Xavier knew that the Mew appeared between a Pikachu and Chimchar on one wheel, a berry and Turtwig on another and a replay and a meteorite on another. The machines all used identical wheels slightly rearranged, meaning all Xavier had to do was quickly identify which wheel was which before beginning to have his advantage.

"Very easy," he mumbled, and inserted his coin before pulling the giant level to the side, setting the wheels rolling. Xavier had made calculations on how fast it would take each wheel to reach Mew, and he readied himself as he counted down the individual seconds and prepared to press the buttons.

"Three… one… and finally… two!" Xavier said, and he watched as two of the Mew's appeared before him, while the middle one revealed a meteorite. "So close…," Xavier uttered, receiving no payout for this particular amount. It was dejecting, but he put his next coin in, having plenty to spare, and pulled the level again. He knew the mistake he had made on the middle on, having pressed the button a second too quickly, and prepared himself to correct that mistake…

"Excuse me sir," a deep voice said from behind, and Xavier glanced briefly to the side to see a well kept, middle aged man in a fine suit was standing uncomfortably over him. Xavier also noticed two taller, more muscled security guards in similar suits behind him, but did not directly respond as he counted down the numbers and pressed the buttons. "Sir, I must ask you to leave our facilities and return all of your winnings. Our other patrons have reported that you are counting the wheels to guarantee which ones turn up, and this is against our rules."

"Is it? I did not notice it in the rules," Xavier said dryly as he succeeded once again in getting all three in a row. The machine made a series of noises and flashes, and coins poured out from the bottom.

"Do not touch those!" The man exclaimed. "It may not specifically be mentioned, but it falls under our general –"

"If it is not specifically mentioned, than I can easily build a case against this casino and sue you for taking away my rightful winnings," Xavier said matter-of-factly, and stunned the man into silence. He scooped his coins out of the slot and stood up, moving towards the next machine, but the security guards stood in his way. Xavier did not see what the fuss was about, though all the other trainers were staring and whispering as if it was something important.

"Sir, you are going to have to come with us," the tallest of the two said in his deep voice, and Xavier stared curiously up at him, unable to work out what their issue was.

"Would you mind explaining what exactly I –" but Xavier never got to finish his sentence, because at that moment a loud crash echoed throughout the casino, quickly followed by screaming and a stampede of footsteps.

"What is that?" The less intimidating man said, and he rushed around the side of the row of slot machines. Xavier saw his face lose colour the second he turned around, and the man quickly returned, losing all sense of calm and cool. "There are men coming in here with machine guns! Everyone get down!" The trainers all gasped, and they quickly rushed to hide behind the game tables. Xavier was curious about the commotion, unfazed by the sudden appearance of killers in their midst after his weeks of constant danger and coming close to death numerous times.

"Excuse me, but what do these men look like?" He asked the suited man as gunfire sounded in the middle of the casino. The man looked startled by the question, but was too jumpy and shaken by the change to ignore him.

"They have… um… white uniforms on, that all match, and… um… green hair, I think… I could not tell…"

"Thank you, you've been helpful," Xavier said, and he pulled five PokeBalls from his pocket. In a series of flashes Grotle, Lapras, Drifblim, Heracross and Hoothoot had joined him, making the suited man look even more frightened, and he rushed away to join the others hiding behind the table.

_Team Galactic, I presume? _Lapras thought drolly as more gunfire sounded behind them.

"Exactly," Xavier replied, missing the irritation in Lapras' voice and expression. "You four stay here; Drifblim, would you mind phasing me through?"

"Blim!" Drifblim said, and Xavier grabbed hold of the end of her curled bits. She led the way forwards, directly towards the slot machines. Xavier felt a familiar chilling sensation through his entire body as a bond was created between him and Drifblim, and he walked effortlessly through the slot machines as if stepping through water and appeared on the other side.

The rest of the casino was a restricted, larger area contained by velvet ropes and more security guard, where people over 18 were allowed to gamble more freely for bigger windfalls, as well as enjoy wine and food from the bar and restaurant. It was meant to be quite elegant, with rich purple carpets and chandeliers providing all the lighting necessary, and well dressed waiters moving between blackjack tables and machines with free beverages for all the people throwing their money away into the casino.

It did not look beautiful anymore. Xavier looked around and in a glance could see everyone was on the floor cowering, hands over heads, drinks spilled across the carpet. The bar had been targeted, with all the bottles being smashed, leaving only dripping shards behind. There were about a dozen Galactic Grunts spread out, intimidating everyone with their machine guns, indistinguishable from the next in their matching outfits. The casino had suddenly gone quiet, making the grand building feel very eerie.

_Why are they targeting a casino, there is nothing significant here,_ Xavier thought, and he turned as something crunched by the doorway. He instantly recognized the blue, pointed hair of Saturn, the admin strutting in as if he was as rich and powerful as all the other gamblers there. Behind him came a small army of Bronzor, round, metallic discs that floated in mid air, their constantly smiling faces seeming out of place in the suddenly silent, gun stricken casino.

"No one will be killed unless you get in our way," Saturn boomed, and then he clicked his fingers at the Bronzor's and pointed. The Psychic-Steel types suddenly floated forwards in a neat row, and formed themselves in lines against the slot machines. There were about a hundred in the middle of the casino but only about twenty Bronzor, so many went unattended.

"Take them to the truck, now," Saturn commanded, clicking his fingers again. The Bronzor all began to whirring and groaning noises, and their eyes flashed pink. The slot machines began to rise up, creaking as they were pulled away from their power sources, and then the Bronzor escorted them out through the shattered door, two lines of floating machines bobbing past Saturn.

"Interesting," Xavier thought, and he stepped backwards, pulling Drifblim with him. The connection broke as he turned back to his Pokemon, and the suited man peered above his table, visibly shaking.

"What is he doing?" The man said in a hissed whisper.

"They are stealing the slot machines, though that is not something I would have expected from Team Galactic," Xavier said, struggling to work out exactly what was being planned. However, he was well aware it would not be long before the Bronzor came and removed the machines before him, and then he would be exposed to the people that were always trying to kill him.

_You want us to fight, don't you? _Lapras groaned.

"That would be good," Xavier said. He could not stand idly by and wait for Galactic to get to him, and he did not know where any other exits were either. It was best to stop them now before anyone was killed, and Xavier wanted to find out exactly what they were doing here.

"Drifblim and Hoothoot, you go to the left, Grotle and Heracross the right, and Lapras, you use Psychic to distract them while the others attack." Lapras was the sole one that appeared annoyed by this, but Xavier did not let that get to him as the others appeared enthusiastic about it, or at least they seemed so to him.

_Whatever you say, _Lapras thought, and her eyes flashed pink. With a sudden snap, the slot machines were all lifted at once and sent flying in a large, solid row, and instantly the battle began. Rapid gun shots were fired towards them as the machines smashed against Grunts or fell to the ground, followed quickly by screams from the trainers and thuds as the bullets struck the back wall. Xavier was unfazed and remained behind Lapras as she moved forwards, now using her Psychic upon the carpet. It was torn effortlessly and was lifted up like a wave, causing a chain reaction that sent people flying and knocked more of the slot machines over.

"It's Diamond, kill him!" Saturn screamed, but when Xavier looked around to see him, the admin was rushing towards the door, joined by suddenly less organized Bronzor rescuing the damaged machines.

"Drifbliiiiim!" Drifblim exclaimed, shooting forwards before they could escape and unleashing an Ominous Wind. Several of the Bronzor lost concentration as they struggled against the effective attack, and the machines fell to the ground and crashed open, spilling coins and wires across the floor. Xavier was impressed, having gotten a bit of training from Fantina during the time she had stayed with them, and it seemed to have paid off. Drifblim moved quickly forwards and took several on at once, pinning them to the wall with Ominous Wind and blasting away their energy.

"HOOT!" Hoothoot soared past her and went right for a single Bronzor, striking them with a Take Down. The Bronzor seemed unfazed by the attack, with Hoothoot bouncing backwards and looking dazed, but the Owl Pokemon soldiered on and went back in with an Air Slash. Xavier had focussed on training his latest team member over the past few days, especially with helping her recover from the wing injury that had brought her into his life. Hoothoot seemed young and was enthusiastic about being on a team, but there was a long way to go, and Xavier felt better when Drifblim turned and joined in the fight.

_Stop analysing your team and analyse the bloody battle! _Lapras snapped in his ear, and Xavier looked around as the Water type flipped a poker table over, crushing one of the fleeing Grunts. All of the Grunts seemed to be fleeing now, but Grotle and Heracross were going after them: Grotle lumbered forwards and got one down with a Bite, the injured Grunt setting his machine gun off as he fell down, while Heracross leapt over the flipped table and knocked another out with a perfect Brick Break. The gunfire was aimed towards the ground and set off renewed screams as the bullets tore up the carpet, but fortunately they missed any of the casino goers.

"Don't let the Grunts get away," Xavier called out to his team, and looked up as the Grunts passed beneath a chandelier. "Lapras, use Psychic on whatever is supporting that!"

_Oh where's the fun in that? _Lapras replied, and turned her long neck and smirked at him as she smashed her front flippers into the floor. A torrent of water burst through the rumpled carpet, and three Grunts screamed as they were lifted up and thrust into the glass. The force made the tiny bulbs shatter, while the water caused the whole thing to short circuit. There were more screams as the remaining bulbs exploded and the chandelier fell from its holding.

"Effective," Xavier said, and Lapras chuckled aloud as the remaining Grunts fell under the combined strength of Heracross and Grotle. Xavier saw the last few Bronzor were being taken out by Drifblim and Hoothoot, but he quickly remembered Saturn fleeing from the scene.

"Outside, now!" He yelled, and he sprinted freely forwards now that there were no more threats. Heracross whacked another Grunt aside and joined the run, his thick cobalt body moving briskly across the floor. He was one of the strongest if not the toughest Pokemon on Xavier's team, and his speed, strength and other skills were all on display right now. Xavier gave him a nod and Heracross leapt across the rest of the floor, diving between the Bronzor and out onto the main road.

"GROT!" Grotle yelled, and flew past Xavier as well, but he was not going for the exit: the Grove Pokemon leapt and grabbed a Bronzor with his mouth, pulling the floating steel plate down and giving it a hard Bite. The Grass types weight did lead to him stumbling around a lot, but Grotle was probably the most loyal of Xavier's Pokemon, and was the one he had currently been with the longest, and the trainer could not deny there was a bond growing between them.

"Come now Grotle, we need to stop Saturn from leaving," Xavier said, and Grotle threw the Bronzor aside into the line of Drifblim's Ominous Wind and followed him outside. The two crunched over broken glass and rushed down the concrete steps flanked by marble columns. The casino was on a road of other flash buildings, the majority being hotels competing to touch the sky and fancy restaurants and high price department stores. Expensive cars lined the road, but Xavier was only on the lookout for one.

"HERA HERA!" Heracross screeched from further down the road, and Xavier and Grotle turned to see two grey vans were speeding away towards the end of the street and a long line of traffic. Xavier had noted an increase in the amount of motor vehicles and other modes of transport that they saw while they had been in the city, and it seemed traffic jams were a recurring thing around here, but the line of cars was moving swiftly at the end of the road and Galactic would easily get away.

"Get down the street Grotle and use Earth Power!" He commanded.

"Till Grot Grot!" Grotle barked back and raced off, moving quickly but his big frame swung about, his tail and thick feet smashing into several of the cars. The vans were trying to turn off but could not pull in, and as Lapras, Drifblim and Hoothoot emerged with a line of security guards, Grotle was able to leap up and slam glowing claws onto the pavement a few metres from the vans. Car alarms went off as the ground shaked, gold light breaking through the street, and there was a deep rumble as the two vans sunk through the road.

_That was easy, _Lapras remarked as she slid down the stairs. Xavier had been about to move forwards, but as her words sounded in his head, he quickly froze. He looked down to see coins that had fallen from the stolen machines, scattered across the road with shards of shattered glass, and Xavier wondered if this had just been about money. Team Galactic had always attacked as part of this unknown grand scheme of theirs, and attacking a casino, stealing a few slot machines and leaving everyone alive seemed very unlike them.

"Approach the vans with caution," Xavier yelled. There was something suspicious about this entire attack, and though it unnerved him to carry on with it, Xavier had to find out exactly what Saturn and Team Galactic were up to, and he had to find his friends before anything happened to them.

* * *

As Team Galactic's chaos spread throughout Veilstone City like a disease, none of the authorities paid any attention to the meteorites hidden away to the side of the city. One officer at the local police station sent out a warning about the attacks, and the security team at the park stated their security procedures had been activated, and the national treasures went forgotten amidst the explosions and terrorism occurring throughout the heart of Veilstone.

"I told you it would be easy," Cyrus laughed as he stared down the empty, tree lined road leading back towards Veilstone, the sole official entrance and exit into the park. The distant sound of sirens filled the air, but none of them were coming their way. "So bloody simple!"

"Indeed sir," Jupiter responded, but she was not as easily assured as her boss was. "Sir… you are aware that there have been some troubles? Mars was attacked by Vanessa and Sahara at the department store, and Xavier was present when Saturn went for the casino." She expected Cyrus to be annoyed, disappointed, furious, something to show he had paid attention. However, the Galactic Boss simply laughed and turned to face Jupiter, a broad smile across his face that did nothing to liven up his stubbly face or bleary red eyes.

"Who cares about the successes out there, as long as they work long enough to make _this_ a success!" Cyrus boomed, and he spread his arms wide, gesturing towards the four craters spread out behind her. Jupiter turned around and examined the park; a wide field of green grass bordered by a forest on three sides and a stony cliff wall to the east, a perfect little spot like any other park in Sinnoh except for the four black scars carved deep into the earth. Jupiter was not sure how long the meteorites had been there, but the four had certainly been there as long as she had. Thousands flocked every year to examine the rare treasures, and indeed the latest visitors were spread out around them: several had fallen with the security guards as they tried to fight back, but most had simply been incapacitated. Jupiter had expected Cyrus, as unstable as he currently was, to command them all killed, but for some reason he was letting all the visitors simply be spectators for their plan.

"Soon Jupiter, soon we will get the meteorites, and our grand scheme will move forwards as fast as it has ever gone!" Cyrus said, a strange eagerness glowing in his bright red eyes. Jupiter moved forwards with him, her Skuntank moving from its spot under the trees several metres away to join them. A group of Grunts were unloading machinery from one of the containers they had brought, and Jupiter examined what looked like a magnet on a swivel stand being set up alongside one crater.

"Sir, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly is the benefit of using these meteorites?" The admin asked as they walked towards Charon, the scientist sitting at a collapsible desk tapping away on his laptop.

"They are very powerful rocks Jupiter," Cyrus replied with an arrogant tone that suggested she should know this already. "If we get control of the meteorites, we can use their electro-magnetic energy to create even greater and more powerful weaponry than we currently have, and then nothing would stand in our way!" Cyrus then walked off without another word, moving towards one of the craters and staring down towards the bottom. Jupiter raised an eyebrow and turned towards Charon, and was satisfied to see the scientist, who usually kept his emotions blank, looked as perturbed as she did.

"He is unstable at the moment," Charon explained in a hushed voice. "The injuries sustained by his Castform the other day have deeply upset dear Cyrus, and he wants to do everything in his power to make it up to him."

"Why the meteors though?" Jupiter replied quietly. "I heard about what happened when Rocket tried to steal the ones in Kanto, and it does not sound pretty."

"They performed some of Charlotte's magic though in order to get a hold of them, and that was what drew the Deoxys attention, that and Giovanni's own selfishness and arrogance. If we are quick and do not disturb the meteors all at once, we should be able to steal them before they can alert Deoxys."

"Alert?" Jupiter asked, smirking. "You mean like sending them a text?" Charon shot her a steely look, causing Jupiter to fall silent.

"I will not claim to be an expert on these meteors, but I have read several papers about them, and it is well known that Deoxys sporadically appear in order to utilize the meteorites to change formes," Charon explained. "I imagine that at some point Deoxys will realise what we have done, and frankly, I am not looking forward to that day, but I am also not one to waste time arguing with a delusional man. Let Cyrus realise his mistakes himself, and then it may be enough to teach him a lesson and let us get back to doing things that are _necessary _for our plans to be achieved." Cyrus turned around as Charon neared the end of his speech, and the scientist quickly went back into typing mode. Jupiter smiled across at Cyrus before turning away, Skuntank moving right at her heels. She glanced up at the sky above, a perfect blue hidden by ever moving banks of cloud. Somewhere high above them, Deoxys was travelling about, the rare gem of a Pokemon, one of the most unknown and most mysterious of all the Pokemon…

_And we're about to piss it off, _Jupiter thought. Saturn had been annoyed this morning when he had been sent to go after the casino, but Jupiter would rather be dealing with Dex Holders than stuck here when the meteorites were finally moved. She had gone over photos of Pewter Museum before they had left, and a shiver went down Jupiter's spine when she thought about what could happen to her within the next few hours.

* * *

Matthew was willing to go with the Grunts: it seemed the safer option, and if they were taken away from the pit loaded with deadly explosives that would kill them all in a second, then maybe then they would get the chance to fight back in a better environment. He waited for them to approach him, not offering any orders for his Pokemon or comfort to Mira, simply ready and waiting to see what happened.

His father had other ideas.

"BLAZE KICK!"

"NO!" Matthew screamed, but the damage was already done: Blaziken lashed out with a leg coated with fire, slamming his flaming foot into the nearest Grunt and sending him flying back into the next two. The remaining Grunts were taken aback for a moment, but they quickly snapped out of it and raised their machine guns.

"DUCK!" Matthew yelled and he pushed Mira and his Pokemon to the ground, hitting the metal surface as the gunfire began. Adrian cried out above them, but Matthew was so furious with him that he did not care what happened to his father. How could he have not noticed the explosives piled up below them, a clear threat that Team Galactic had laid out to force them into submission?

"Halt your gunfire you fools!" Josh shouted from the middle of his walkway. "Do you want to kill us all? If you are going to kill them, do so without risking fire!" Matthew was relieved to see someone else here had some sense, though it was annoying that it was someone he was supposed to be fighting. The gunfire quickly stopped, but when Matthew looked up, he saw the men armed with blunt objects were beginning to approach them, whilst the gunmen removed the cartridges from their guns and prepared to use them as hand held weapons.

"How are we suppose to stop them?" Matthew whimpered into Mira's ear, trying to remaining still in case the men decided to avoid him and go for Adrian instead.

"We can still fight back," she whispered back. "We just can't start a fire, so do you have anything that is good at _preventing fires_!" Realisation crashed over Matthew, and he could not believe how much he had let his fear cloud his judgement. The Grunts were nearly upon them, but Matthew quickly leapt to his feet and pulled Prinplup up with him, trying his best to look tough and determined.

"Whirlpool!" Matthew yelled, and the Grunts eyes bulged in surprise. Prinplup smiled at them before opening her mouth wide, a spiralling torrent of water shooting out. She moved her flippers about to control the water, making it spin faster before throwing it forwards. The Whirlpool struck the nearest Grunt and pulled him into its grasp, sending the man flying over the edge of the platform before carrying onto its next target.

"Perfect Prinplup, perfect!" Matthew shouted, and he turned dramatically and pointed towards the Grunts his father had attacked. He briefly noticed Adrian lying on the floor, shocked by uninjured, but Matthew put him out of his head and focussed on Beautifly. "Hidden Power, go!"

"FIGHT BACK!" Josh roared from his platform, and as Beautifly moved to attack and Prinplup fired a barrage of BubbleBeams onto her side of the attackers, the nearest Grunt threw his own PokeBalls forwards. An angry looking Graveler landed on the platform, making the metal groan, while a Staravia formed overhead, his wings flapping furiously as he instantly shot forwards.

"Blaziken, use –"

"Shut up Dad!" Matthew snapped, and Adrian looked just as stunned as the Grunts did at the command, but Matthew had no time for his foolish father and his unintentional attempts to burn them all. "Prinplup, you take on the Graveler, and –"

"Togetic, make this into an aerial battle!" Mira yelled and she sprung to her feet, all the anger and confusion she felt before being replaced with grim determination as she sent a PokeBall forwards. The Staravia was nearly upon Beautifly before a ball of light came in front, quickly forming into the fluttering white Togetic, smiling widely as she hovered with disproportionate wings. Her eyes changed to a deadly shade of pink, and she sent the Starling Pokemon soaring away with a single Extrasensory.

"PLUUUP!" Prinplup yelled as she ran past Matthew and started another Whirlpool, stopping the rolling Graveler from getting anywhere near them. Matthew was stunned by the change in fortune but was pleased and knew they had a chance to win. He eyed Josh over his spinning Graveler, remembering Mira's Porygon and why they had come here in the first place, and saw the Galactic Grunt was suddenly alone, his cronies racing towards the other end of the warehouse, though it was most likely that they were getting reinforcements than abandoning a group of people with heavy weaponry.

The fight was truly on now, with Beautifly caught up battling a group of angry Golbat and a feisty Roserade while Prinplup and Togetic tackled Josh's duo, both of his Pokemon quickly faltering under the onslaught of attacks. Matthew could see that he now had a perfect opportunity to end this before things got worse.

"I am going after Josh, you stay here and make sure my father behaves," Matthew yelled to Mira.

"Hang on a second! That douche stole my Pokemon, not yours! I want to be the one to kick his head in, and you wouldn't even be able to trip him!" His fellow coordinator snapped, and tried her best to look tall and intimidating, but amidst all the fighting, she simply looked like a little girl forced into a situation where she didn't belong.

"No Mira, not this time. Team Galactic is my problem to deal with, not yours!" Matthew said firmly, and he moved forwards before she could protest anymore. He meant every word of it: ever since the start of January, Matthew had been fighting this group and it had quickly left a dark stain across his journey. He was not going to let Mira get caught up in this never ending battle, one he had never wanted any part with, and as Matthew advanced towards the walkway, he simply hoped that this entire thing would be over for good but any more of his friends got caught up in the fight.

Prinplup moved Graveler aside with a simple flick of her flippers, and Matthew nodded at her as he raced towards Josh. The Galactic Grunt no longer had the same cocky confidence he had displayed earlier, his mouth hanging open in shock as his plan quickly fell apart before him. He didn't even notice Matthew approaching him until it was too late, and Josh simply stood there stupidly, not sure what to do.

"There is no point keeping this up!" Matthew shouted. "Just give back the PokeBall and we can end this now, no one else needs to get hurt!" Josh held Porygon's PokeBall in his hands, looking very uncertain about what to do next. There was a loud squawk from behind and Matthew watched as Staravia was blasted across the platform, crashing into the metal and rolling unconscious towards his trainer. Togetic turned away and engaged in the fight with the Roserade that was trying to swat Beautifly out of the air.

"See, you're losing!" Matthew yelled to Josh. "Do you really want to keep this battle up? There is a Blaziken fighting over there, right above a massive pit of explosives! End this now before anyone has to die!" Josh stared at Matthew, and it was clear from his face that the Grunt was out of his depth, an awkward nervousness etched into his features as though he did want to stop fighting but something was holding him back.

"I am the only Grunt leading a mission today," Josh said, his voice going quiet and barely audible above the battles behind. "Mars and Saturn are out there fighting the rest of your friends, tearing the entire city apart. This was meant to be a simple task, that was why they gave it to me… but I never wanted this, I don't want to have a fight in here, I don't want to die!" Matthew was taken aback by his honesty, but there was something far more important in his statement.

"What do you mean fighting the rest of my friends?" He asked, a chilling feeling going through his body. Loud bangs came from behind them, and Matthew looked back briefly to see the Golbats were pushing Beautifly and Togetic towards the platform, while the Grunts were doing the same with Mira, Adrian and Blaziken. "Please tell me, I have to know if my friends are in danger!"

"Everyone is in danger," Josh hissed as the battle came closer towards them. "I have heard things, mostly rumours but they seem legitimate… Galactic is going to destroy everything… not just this city or this region, but the entire universe! I thought if I could prove myself today, then maybe I could rise up in the ranks, maybe I could be spared, but when they hear about this, I will be left to die with everyone else."

"What are you on about?" Matthew snapped, being forced forwards as the battle got closer and closer. He came up only a metre away from Josh and instinctively snatched for the PokeBall, and was stunned when the grunt basically handed it to him. Their original goal was achieved now, but now Matthew had to get them out of the battle before the reinforcements arrived or they were killed.

"BEAUTI!" Beautifly cried, and she slashed two Golbat down with an Aerial Ace, but the rest swarmed around her firing multiple Poison Stings. Togetic was invisible amongst the blue and purple, Prinplup had joined in now with her BubbleBeam, yet nothing seemed to be getting achieved.

"We need to get out of here now Matthew, your father is starting to order more Blaze Kicks!" Mira screamed. Matthew grunted irritably and looked towards the other end of the walkway, another doorway and an exit waiting for them. Josh followed Matthew's eye line and stood aside, already accepting his fate and not caring what happened next. Matthew nodded grimly at him and went to move, but the Grunt grasped onto his wrist, looking stunned.

"You need to stop them! If you don't, then everyone will die!" Josh whispered into his ear. "They will tear this world apart and rebuild it in their image, and no one will be spared!"

"MATTHEW, RUN!" Mira screamed, and she burst through the swarm of Golbat and pushed him forwards. Josh let go of his wrist but Matthew still stared at him, not sure what to think about the warning…

"BLAZE KICK!" Adrian roared once again, and Matthew snapped out of it and turned around: his Pokemon were running towards him, the Golbat battle going abandoned, revealing Adrian and Blaziken on the other side. His father was running away as Blaziken lashed out with a flaming leg, kicking the nearest Grunt over the edge of the walkway, their clothes erupting in flames. Matthew knew what would happen next and turned, reaching for his PokeBalls, unable to process all the information he had received in the past minute. There was a shout from behind from the Grunts, and as Matthew sprinted as fast as he could, he looked behind to see the flaming man crashing onto the box of crates below them, and he knew then that it was all over.

He turned away as the first crates exploded: heat filled the warehouse, a shockwave rippled across them all and the walkway buckled. There were screams from both the Grunts and Golbat, but Matthew tried to block them out as he ran forwards, his neck burning from the blast. He raised a Net Ball and brought Beautifly back as there was another explosion, quickly followed by several more, and Matthew nearly stumbled as the walkway began to collapse. Adrian and Blaziken ran past him, and Matthew passed Porygon's PokeBall to Mira as his fellow coordinator withdrew Togetic. Prinplup was firing multiple Whirlpools behind them as they ran, and Matthew turned to watch them go; the attacks paled before they even reached the fire that had already consumed half the warehouse in only a few seconds, with no signs of Josh or his fellow Grunts. The back half of the walkway had collapsed, and the fire was chasing after them as they sprinted for their lives.

"We'll be safe soon," Matthew shouted to Prinplup, and he pulled his starter close as more explosions rocked the warehouse. The explosions were deafening, and the closer they got towards the door, the harder Matthew found it to breathe as heat and smoke filled the air. But they were so close to the other door, which remained unguarded, and Matthew refused to give up, surging on towards freedom.

"AAAH!" Mira cried out as another explosion shook the walkway. Matthew watched as she

fell over, and for a moment he feared she had fallen into the pit of explosives, but she had simply landed on her side an inch away from rolling over the edge.

"Mira!" Matthew cried and he rushed towards her, offering a hand to help her up. Adrian and Blaziken had already reached the door and were trying to get it open, and Matthew knew that they had a strong chance of making it before the chain reaction reached them. The shockwaves were getting stronger, the smoke was making his eyes water and his throat dry, and there would be only a few seconds left before they ran out of time.

About the thirtieth explosion in a matter of seconds shook the warehouse, causing sections of the roof to crumble behind them and making the entire walkway wobble. Mira screamed as Matthew helped her stand and they were nearly knocked down again, and a creaking sound echoed loud enough to be heard above the blasts.

_No, _Matthew thought, seizing up in fright, but his worst fears came true: one second he was staring at his father, who stared blankly back as the horror erupted before his eyes, and the next Matthew was tipping forwards as the walkway fell away beneath him. The coordinator pulled Prinplup close as the ground surged up to meet them, and he stared back at his father, pleading silently for rescue, unable to find his voice. Adrian stared back at his falling son for a few moments, his face blank, and then turned without another word before Matthew had even hit the ground.

"DAAAAAD!" Matthew screamed, but the breathe was knocked out of him as he crashed to the ground. It registered somewhere in his brain that the ground was sand rather than concrete, and normally Matthew would have wondered why, but the shock of the fall and his father handing him a death sentence was enough to send him silent. Prinplup whimpered in his arms, and Matthew put the last of his energy into holding her tight as he realised how close the fire was too them now: red, orange and yellow flames danced before them, rising up above them like skyscrapers, feeling as though the sun had landed right in the middle of Veilstone. The warehouse was collapsing, they were running out of air, and Matthew knew that he was about to die.

"PROTECT!" Mira screamed right in his ear, and Matthew turned to see her Porygon sitting right next to him. The pink and blue-green Pokemon looked like it should be some strange wooden children's toy with its perfectly flat areas and sharp corners. Porygon started blankly forwards for a few moments before its eyes glowed a mix of blue and pink, and suddenly a transparent bubble emerged around them. Matthew wanted to say it would never work, that the explosions would tear through it in seconds, but the look on Mira's tired, ashen face was so hopeful that he did not feel like crushing her right when they were about to die. He reached out, and Mira managed a smile and clasped onto his hand. For a moment, there was a feeling of calm as if they were simply sitting around having a chat, as if nothing else was going on in the world…

The next explosion came from right next to them, and flames burnt into Matthew's eyes as he shut them tight, a strange sensation creeping across his body…

* * *

Charles watched silently as the dust cleared, though it took nearly a minute before he could properly see again. A dull grey and brown cloud surrounded the mall, dust mixed with the smoke from the various explosions, slowly blocking out the sun above. Sirens sounded everywhere, and it was only a matter of time before the emergency services arrived to put a stop to them. But despite all of this, the only thing on Charles' mind was Sahara. Had she gotten away in time? Was she lying before him, crushed beneath several blown up floors, or trapped on one above waiting for the next explosion and a great fall to her death?

"We need to get out of here now!" Mars roared at the grunts as she emerged from the dust and rubble. The third floor had collapsed only a few moments ago, and Charles could see the fallen floors were beginning to pile up, making a respectable pile of rubble and ruins for the entire city to see. Charles knew that at least Vanessa was under there, but it seemed unlikely that she could have survived being crushed by all of that.

"What about the rest of the floors?" Someone else yelled.

"They'll collapse on their own accord, this building is more unstable than Cyrus' mentality!" Mars snapped back. "The police are going to be here soon, and we are running out of people to fight back! Vanessa is probably dead and if Sahara is inside this building she will die soon enough if she has not already, but we do not need to wait to confirm any of this! Get back into the cars and get out of here!" The admin ran towards their nearest vehicles, flicking her whip at the surviving shoppers and gathering crowd to scare them away. Charles was not as quick as the others to flee from the scene, longing to see what Sahara's fate was, but nothing seemed to be stirring from within and Mars was right about one thing: being left behind when the authorities showed up was not the best position to be in.

But just as Charles went to move, there was a sound like a small explosion. He wheeled around as bits of ceiling and floor were blasted away from somewhere to the left on the first floor. The other Grunts and the crowd all looked around as a Monferno emerged out from the rubble, pushing bits of ceiling aside, and was quickly followed by a Staraptor and Vanessa herself, her robe turned from bedazzled to dusty but otherwise appeared fine.

"For fuck's sake, don't you people ever die?!" Mars roared. Vanessa shrugged as she stumbled down the rubble piled around her, and looked a bit dizzier than Charles had first thought, but the red head was not backing down yet.

"It's a miracle what those metal bargain bins can hold up," she called out with a broad smile, before sliding down one piling and nearly crashing into Monferno. "Considering how much cheap crap was already piled up in them, some more shouldn't do any harm!" Charles looked carefully and he could see a bit of blood trickling down the side of her face, masked from obviousness by her ginger hair: it was clear now that she had been hit by something, though the effects were not clear. If she was incapacitated by her injury, than Charles and the others may be able to escape without further bloodshed…

"So, about your tactical retreat that isn't a retreat," Vanessa said as she walked closer towards them, leaving the ruined department store behind. "I really don't think you people should be running away… it makes this whole event quite dull, doesn't it?"

"Are you suggesting every one of us takes you on?" Mars shouted, followed by a cackle that echoed around the silent street. The other Grunts picked it up, and even Vanessa began to laugh after a moment, glancing back at her Pokemon and chortling away with them. Then there was a sudden flash of orange, and the crowd screamed as one of the Wranglers exploded. The shockwave knocked Charles onto his hands and knees, while other Grunts screamed as flames and flying shrapnel struck them. Vanessa continued to laugh, and she raised her gun again.

_Does she ever not try and blow something up? _Charles thought. He wondered if he should stop her, or if he should use the opportunity of a distraction to go and look for Sahara, but the thoughts had barely crossed his mind before Mars whip shot out of the corner of his eye, forcing Vanessa to leap backwards.

"You are not going to destroy anything else!" The admin snapped. The sirens were getting louder, which meant that they were likely only a street or two anyway, and it was clear Mars did not want to stay here any longer. "If you aren't dead, get in the fucking car! Leave the dead to take the fall!" The Grunts quickly fled towards the remaining cars, some of them helping their injured comrades but many others being left behind. Charles glanced nervously around, half expecting the police to appear, wondering what would happen to him if he got caught. Mars was reaching for a PokeBall as she flung her whip forwards, lashing it across Vanessa and her Pokemon, and Charles suddenly felt an urge to help her… He was not sure why, and the idea managed to frighten him, but Charles knew that Mars needed to get away.

"VANESSA, WHAT HAPPENED TO SAHARA!" Charles shouted, the words coming out before he had even properly thought them over. Vanessa glanced his way, and Mars used the chance to get her across the face: the red head yelled as the whip gashed at her cheek, tearing it like a knife, and Vanessa stumbled to the ground. Mars beamed and gave Charles a nod before sprinting across to the car. Charles raced after, unwilling to be left behind, but suddenly red and blue lights appeared around the corner, and a blue car tore across the pavement towards them.

"DRIVE!" Mars screamed as she jumped onto the back, and the Wrangler roared into life. Charles gasped and tried to run faster, manoeuvring around the flaming wreckage, but the cars all disappeared before the police could get to them. A fire engine and two more police cars rounded the corner as the Wranglers disappeared, and Charles swore, suddenly finding himself surrounded.

"FUCK YOU CHARLES!" Vanessa shouted behind him, and he turned around, half expecting to find a sword against his throat again. However, Vanessa and Monferno were climbing onto Staraptor's back, the red head angrily looking at Charles as the Predator Pokemon spread her long wings. "I will get you for that, but not today!" She hissed, and Staraptor sprung: Charles watched as she flew overhead, soaring above the emergency services parked only a few metres away and heading off after the Wranglers. Police officers were scrambling out of their cars now, and Charles knew his Grunt uniform would make him stand out the second they moved past the burning Wrangler. He watched Staraptor disappear around the corner, and he knew that if Vanessa got to the Wranglers, she'd easily destroy them. Charles needed to do something to prevent this and his own arrest…

"Gliscor, Gyarados, let's go!" Charles yelled after a moment of thought, flinging his PokeBalls into the airr. Police officers pointed and shouted, pulling out guns and their own PokeBalls, but Gliscor formed in front of Charles before they could start shooting, his hard body forming a perfect shield. "No time to explain, just Fly!" Charles shouted as he leapt onto his back.

"Scor Gli!" Gliscor cried, and he sprang up into the air with a push on his tail. Gyarados swooped after them, his long body throwing the entire police force into shadow, and Charles was satisfied to see them frozen in shock.

"We need to find Vanessa and her Staraptor, they are following after one of the Galactic cars!" Charles shouted so both Pokemon would hear. They nodded to show they had heard, and Gyarados soared closer to the ground while Gliscor moved higher to catch more of the wind. It had been a long time since Charles been flying on a Pokemon, though those times it had always been on his Dragonite or Lugia. Flying with Gliscor was new, and it required Charles to be desperately clinging to his hard body, making for an uncomfortable experience made no better by freezing winds blasting his body and Gliscor's long black wings and tail constantly whacking against him. The Ground-Flying type flew by gliding on the wind, so it was a very uneven pattern, but Charles forced himself to hold on: it was a long fall to the streets below, and he still had to find Vanessa and Mars.

Veilstone was an interesting place from above. Charles was able to see everything from the skyscrapers that they soared alongside to the small town houses and cafes squeezed in between them, piled high on eroded hills caged in with concrete and stone. Veilstone was one of the few places in Sinnoh that had a lot of cars, though he could not remember why this was. There was a strange mix of the natural and commercial worlds here, as Charles could see random patches of grass nestled between glass and steel monsters, while some buildings were made taller by the natural ledges they were built upon. Charles thought the city probably matched Jubilife in terms of business and busyness, but Jubilife had seemed more fun, more alive, more active: Veilstone just seemed like a giant economic hub made up of unnecessarily tall offices and large stretches of warehouses to the north that ruined any of the cities beauty.

A strong gust of wind pushed Gliscor downwards, closer towards the road. Charles could see people were staring up at them in shock, most likely due to the shiny Gyarados bobbing about like an escaped parade balloon. There were no signs of Vanessa, Staraptor or the Wrangler yet, but Charles did notice that a lot of traffic was backing up, and he never seemed to be able to escape the wail of sirens. Roshonda and Addison had gone off with Saturn, and Cyrus and Jupiter had gone together as well, so Charles could only presume that Galactic was blowing more things up around the city than just the department store.

A screech of tyres sounded below, followed quickly by screams and a banging noise. Charles leaned over Gliscor's head and looked down: the Jeep Wranglers were tearing across the pavement below, sending pedestrians scattering as they cut across to the next road. The bang had come from a traffic light falling down, smashing onto a small car as smoke and flames curled up from its base. There was a flash of black from below and Charles watched as Staraptor slowed down in order to turn and continue her chase.

"ROCK SLIDE!" Vanessa roared into the sky, and Charles was stunned to think she would cause so much destruction simply to stop Team Galactic. Their heart to heart the other day had been nice, and while Charles thought they had made progress, he could not let this go ahead.

"Gyarados, Flamethrower!" He shouted.

"Gyaraaaa!" Gyarados grumbled deeply, and Vanessa looked around just as the jet of flames shot out of the Atrocious Pokemon's permanently angry mouth. She pulled onto Staraptor's wings, signalling to turn left, and they got out of the way right before the burst of fire struck them.

"Missed me!" Vanessa roared back, and she pointed her umbrella towards them, currently in gun mode.

"Dive!" Charles cried at Gliscor, and the Ground type dipped his wings and fell as the orange energy soared over them, exploding in a shower of glass against a skyscraper. Charles and Gliscor fell fast, and for a moment it looked as though they would crash into a four wheeled drive, but a change in wind direction let them rise up once more. The chase was really on now as Gyarados was flying after Staraptor in retaliation, and the Normal-Flying type was picking up speed to get away from their attacks whilst continuing the pursuit. The Wranglers tore around another corner, forcing all three Flying types to swerve, Gliscor's tail whacking into a lamp post while Gyarados accidentally knocked into a building, smashing about two floors worth of windows.

_Oh joy, another trail of Galactic destruction, _Charles thought bitterly. It seemed unlikely that this match would be going anywhere fast, as the Wranglers were constantly turning in order to get rid of Vanessa and Staraptor, which meant Gliscor and Gyarados, each with their flying flaws, were having difficulties. Occasionally, Vanessa would fire her gun or Gyarados would unleash a Dragon Pulse or Flamethrower, but nothing was really coming of either match up asides from chunks of dirt or road being blasted into the air and small car crashes below.

"We need to knock her out of the sky!" Charles cried to his Pokemon, hoping Vanessa would not hear him. "Use Dragon Pulse and Stone Edge on either side!"

"SCOR!" Gliscor yelled, and he flew down so quickly that Charles nearly fell off. The Fang Scorp Pokemon smashed his tail into the footpath, tearing the pavement apart, and used the force as a spring to lift back up, soaring past lamp posts as a series of jagged rocks went after Staraptor. Gyarados roared above them and fired a turquoise-blue beam, and Staraptor swerved to the right to avoid the attack, but moved right into the direction of the Stone Edge.

"STAAAAR!" She cried as the rocks struck her middle, and Vanessa and Monferno both yelled as she slumped forwards and fell to the ground. Gliscor and Gyarados dived after, ready to intercept and end the fight.

"Don't you give up just yet Staraptor, we've been through worse!" Vanessa grunted, and she pulled onto Staraptor's wings as if there was a cord that would get her flying again. Staraptor managed to snap out of it and pulled out of her dive at the last minute, a few metres from crashing into the road.

"Get in close!" Charles yelled, and his two Pokemon came up on either side of Staraptor, pinning her low. They could see cars crashing into one another or onto things on the sidewalk as they tried to avoid the Pokemon and the erratic Wranglers tearing down the road. The traffic jam was getting worse as they carried on, and it appeared that Mars was going to lead the Grunts acrpss traffic islands and medians to get away from their pursuers.

"Give it up Vanessa, you can't win this now!" Charles yelled. Vanessa looked angrily back at him, her hair being blown wildly around to make her look more mad when combined with her glittering robe, bleeding scalp and deadly looking gun.

"Bullshit!" She snapped furiously. "You are just being a pest like always! You've actually done me a favour," Vanessa added, and she pointed her gun downwards. It was only know that Charles realised how close they were now to the Wranglers, and Vanessa chuckled as she aimed for the back of the nearest car.

"There are cars on either side!" Charles yelled, an idea quickly coming to him as a rainbow of four wheeled machines rolled alongside the Wranglers, many unable to keep up with the speeds or erratic movements. "You'll injure the people inside them if you blow one of the Wranglers up. If you hurt innocent people just to stop Galactic, are you really gong to be any better than them?" It seemed like a long shot, and Charles tensed, trying to study Vanessa's face as he waited for her reaction, and after a moment her gun was slowly lowered.

But before she could say anything, Charles began to freeze. He looked around, wondering why he had suddenly gotten so cold and realised that the entire world had gone white. Gliscor seized up beneath him, and Charles let out a strangled cry as they fell down towards one of the Wranglers, only then realising he had just flown into a blizzard…

* * *

Xavier was getting quite bored of battling.

His Pokemon were spread out in a row before him like soldiers, facing off with the remnants of Team Galactic. The majority of the Grunts had been detained at the casino, and police sirens in the distance showed that the authorities were close to arresting them properly. However, Saturn, the Grunts called Roshonda and Addison and four other males remained, having attempted escape in the vans. They were unwilling to go quietly, and had quickly decided a war in the middle of the road was the smartest way to do things.

_Don't these people ever learn? _Xavier thought as some off-target attack caused a parked car to explode. _They always lose in the end, and there aren't exactly excellent battlers. I would much rather face these people in a match of wits than just see who can cause the most fire. _

_There is a time and a place to think about stuff like that, and it isn't now! _Lapras muttered furiously in the back of his head. Xavier knew she was right, but it was still bothering to be drawn back once more into this continued battle.

"Earth Power beneath them Grotle, see if there are some sewers beneath us. Lapras, use Blizzard and try and slow them down with some ice. Hmm, what else can we do…," Xavier mumbled, glancing about. The heat of the most recent explosion added to the stuffiness in the air, as three other cars had been destroyed by the attack and two of them were still burning, spewing grey smoke into the air. The street was empty except for their battle, though the road running perpendicular that Galactic had tried to escape onto was gridlocked: rows of slow moving cars were trapped right next to the battle, and if Xavier looked at them close enough, he could see fearful faces staring back out from the windows, the public unable to take their eyes off this very strange sight. Xavier wished they would get away before any attacks struck them, but there really was no way of preventing public interest.

"GROT!" Grotle yelled, and he slammed his legs onto the road once more. The glowing light burst through the surface and zigzagged towards the Grunts; a great bright chasm erupted underneath two of the males, and they screamed as they disappeared into the glow.

"Don't let that happen again!" Saturn roared. "Toxicroak use Shadow Ball on Drifblim! Rhydon Hammer Arm the Lapras! Scizor use Bug Bite on Grotle!" The admins three Pokemon advanced forwards, ready to attack, but before they could get close Heracross leapt out towards them.

"HERAAAA!" He yelled, and the Bug-Fighter launched a barrel of attacks: with an Aerial Ace he sent Scizor crashing into Toxicroak, and then slammed Rhydon right on the head with two powerful Brick Breaks that instantly knocked him out. Saturn looked stunned, and Xavier managed one of his pained smiles.

"Great job Heracross, engage the enemy further!" He ordered, and Heracross nodded, still full of energy, and he soared into battle against Addison's Victreebell. "Drifblim and Hoothoot, take out Scizor and Toxicroak as best you can! Grotle use Razor Leaf on Saturn, and Lapras hurry up with that Blizzard!" The battle was easily going in their favour, and it would not take long for the enemy to be indisposed once more. Lapras had already frozen over their vans, preventing them from getting access to their remaining weapons, and Xavier knew that a physical battle would be enough to secure a victory.

_I'm getting there, I'm getting there, _Lapras thought wearily, and she opened her mouth wide, her eyes turning ice blue. Skirmishes erupted within the middle as Drifblim and Hoothoot confronted Saturn's remaining Pokemon, while Heracross' flailing arms sent scattered the Grunts. Lapras readied her attack, and Xavier wondered if this would be the end of their battle.

Suddenly, there was a screech of tyres, and Xavier looked around as the roar of a car engine came towards them. He instantly recognized the distinctive yellow of the Galactic cars and knew that these would be reinforcements, but before he could give any orders, something long and red appeared overhead, floating directly above the battle.

_I recognize that Gyarados, it belongs to one of those Grunts! _Lapras informed Xavier, and she quickly fired her Blizzard upwards rather than downwards. Xavier examined the Pokemon again and realised it was in fact a shiny Gyarados, and something registered in the back of his head that Charles, the one Sahara always had dealings with, owned one. The snowstorm enclosed Gyarados, and the Pokemon let out a dull roar before sinking down towards the road: the long, frozen, serpentine Pokemon fell onto at least four different cars, causing the roofs to cave in and glass to explode, before rolling off onto the road. Xavier watched as more figures fell from the sky and the Wranglers pulled up behind Team Galactic, screeching across traffic with the doors already flinging open. Xavier was less interested in the falling figures than the people about to start attacking him, though he vaguely registered something falling near one of the burning cars on his side.

"Psychic on the cars, quickly!" Xavier yelled at Lapras. "Drifblim use Ominous Wind!"

"BLIM!" Drifblim cried, and her body contracted as she unleashed the purple-black gust of wind, sending broken bits of cars and rubble soaring towards Team Galactic and the new arrivals. The Ominous Wind caused the reinforcements to pause, giving Lapras enough time to flip one of the Wranglers with her Psychic: the car was sent rolling backwards into the middle of the road, sending Grunts flying out the doors and causing the car to squash together as easily as a cardboard box.

"Excellent work!" Xavier cried out, and Lapras turned slowly to glance at him with sagging eyes.

_I am getting weary though, I do not think I can keep going much longer, _the Transport said, and Xavier noted the tiredness in her voice. The rest of his team appeared to be getting weary as well as the battle lingered on, all except for Heracross as he furiously sent a Hitmonlee flying. He was not sure how much more they could take, and Xavier wondered if one of his other friends would be around to help.

"If that was you Xavier, I am going to kick you when we get out of this!" Someone snapped, and Xavier managed a slight smile as he turned towards Vanessa, her bedazzled purple robe shimmering from the flames dancing around them. Though there was a bit of snow and frost around her, Vanessa emitted confidence and power, and Xavier was certain now that their victory would be guaranteed.

"I never thought I would be glad to see you," Xavier said, and Vanessa laughed as Staraptor shook snow out of her feathers, battering Monferno with her outstretched wings.

"Fair enough Diamond. Your Pokemon are looking tired, I think they could use some help from my team," she replied, and pointed towards Team Galactic's line. Monferno and Staraptor instantly rushed forwards, and Hoothoot flew out of the way as Monferno drove a burning Fire Punch into Scizor's stomach and sent him crashing backwards.

"So, what's happened here?" Vanessa asked as she switched the settings on her umbrella, bringing out the long barrelled device that fired rubber balls.

"Saturn stormed the casino and we defeated him, but I have a feeling that its a trap," Xavier replied, watching as Vanessa fired multiple balls and knocked Grunts down, a smirk crossing her face as Addison was hit in the face.

"I am not sure what Galactic is up to today, but I find it weird that they just happened to choose today to target buildings we were all in," she replied. "Sahara and I got attacked by Mars at the department store. I have no clue where Matthew is." Xavier only now noticed that the right side of Vanessa's face was red with blood, and a tiny part of his brain began to question the whereabouts and safety of his other friends. He glanced back at Team Galactic, expecting there to be some sort of gunfire, but he could now that they were falling under the strength of the Pokemon tearing through them; the support of Staraptor and Monferno had reinvigorated Xavier's team, and they were moving closer towards Team Galactic, bringing the fight to them. The new arrival of Grunts were actually fleeing to hide behind the flipped Wrangler, which was now holding traffic up in both directions, though Xavier doubted anyone would want to get in the middle of this battle now.

"Come on Beedrill, fight back!" The familiar voice of Roshonda shouted, but a moment later she was screaming as Hoothoot soared down and grabbed onto her head.

"HOOT!" She said defiantly, and began adamantly pecking at her scalp. Vanessa laughed and fired more of the rubber balls, striking Grunts in the stomach and chests and causing them to double over, joining their Pokemon in falling unconscious on the road. Xavier came up alongside Grotle and scratched his bushes as another Earth Power caused the still standing Wrangler to sink through the road, removing all options of escaping by motor vehicle.

"You are doing a great job, all of you," Xavier said, feeling confident. "Team Galactic is falling, they won't be able to hold us off any longer if we keep disrupting their plans. Soon this nightmare will be over, and then we can go and find the others and move on."

"Grot Grot," Grotle said happily, and Xavier surveyed the damage once more. The vans were left abandoned, sinking slowly through the ground as they wore away at the edges of their holes. Grunts scrambled to hide behind the Wranglers, moving away as Toxicroak and Heracross began squaring off directly in the middle of the road. The public were fleeing the scene on foot as the battle got more intense, yet Xavier was certain it would be over soon.

"Don't worry Xavier, I am pretty sure we've got this in the bag," Vanessa said, flashing him a pearly smile before firing more of the rubber balls, and Xavier knew she was right.

A loud horn sounded right behind them and everything went wrong.

Xavier turned around to find a large truck had come out of nowhere, some sort of sixteen wheeler that seemed out of place amongst fancy hotels and stores. Presumably the driver was trying to avoid the traffic jams, hoping for a shortcut away from all the chaos but unaware he had driven right into it. The driver appeared stunned when he saw the scene unfolding before him and brought the truck to a stop, not quite sure what to do now.

"Get out of here you idiot," Vanessa hissed. After a moment, the driver began to turn the truck around, desperate to escape the battle, but when he turned it onto an angle Xavier realised there was a giant metal cylinder attacked to the back, something that looked almost like it belonged on an alien spacecraft.

"It's an oil truck!" Addison shouted across the intersection, and Xavier and Vanessa exchanged looks, silently coming to an understanding that they had to get out of there. Xavier looked around, searching for a place to hide, but the only thing that got his attention was Mars: her shock of red hair stood out from her dull white uniform, and the Galactic admin cackled as she stepped forwards, holding what looked like a long black tube with a jagged head at the front up on her shoulder.

"Oh, how easily the tables turn," Mars hissed, and she squeezed down on the device's trigger. Vanessa and Lapras both shouted, the Pokemon and Grunts all froze except for Heracross and Toxicroak, and Xavier's head turned as something like a black oval soared over his head and flew towards the tanker. His knew he should be running, he could register some sort of force pressing down on his body, but Xavier turned towards his Pokemon, reaching for their PokeBalls that he had to get to within the next few seconds: Drifblim floated next to Grotle and a stunned Hoothoot, offering them protection, as Heracross drove another fist into Toxicroak, Lapras watching in horror from the sidelines…

The tanker exploded before Xavier could do anything else, and the world was ripped apart.

A blast of heat and energy slammed into Xavier as the noise of the explosion filled his ears with a painful ringing. He felt small objects tear at his skin like knives, and his clothes caught aflame as they were pushed backwards, slowly choking him and squeezing his life out. Something crashed into Xavier's back, and he realised he had been sent flying into the back of one of the vans. His skin was blistering and burning, a pain so strong that even Xavier's lack of emotions could not prevent him from feeling it. He kept his eyes shut yet the heat and light shone through, and Xavier could only wonder why he had not died. Somewhere in the back of his mind Xavier remembered feeling a type of pressure pushing down on him right before the explosion, and the pieces quickly clicked in place.

_Lapras…_Xavier thought, and he managed a smile as he slid down the back of the van: the explosion had only last about two seconds, yet all the intense feelings it brought made it feel like it had lasted an hour. The smell of smoke instantly filled his nostrils and burnt his throat and eyes, and Xavier wanted to cough but found he lacked the energy to do even that. Something slumped against him, and Xavier opened his eyes enough to see singed ginger hair draped across his blackened clothing.

"Vanes…" Xavier gurgled, but the cough finally came and he doubled over, unable to stop himself as he hacked up blood, his chest feeling like it was about to split open. His ears were still ringing from the explosion but Xavier could hear sirens wailing in the distance and dozens of people screaming, but it was difficult to determine where exactly the noises were coming from.

_Xavier… _Lapras sounded pained, close to passing out, and Xavier tried to look up and see where she was, to find out how injured she was. A shadow was cast across his face, and Xavier continued coughing as hands grasped his arms. Pain shot through his body, making him wince, and the people holding him laughed as they dragged him away, not caring for his injures, letting his burnt legs scrap along the road. Xavier struggled to keep his eyes open but he managed to spot a few things going past; he could see a giant black crater in the middle of the road where all the smoke was coming from, he could see Grunts racing towards more figures that were trying to fight back, but the weakened Pokemon could not do any more to save themselves. Xavier tried to cry out, but his voice failed him, and his head slumped down. His legs bumped against something, and as Xavier's swayed in and out of consciousness, he vaguely registered a distinctive curved horn on the blackened creature he had just touched.

_Heracross, _Xavier thought, but the shock was too much for him to take, and he passed out right as the Grunts heaved him backwards into a truck, ready to finally get their revenge.

* * *

The Veilstone Department Store was barely standing. Fire crews were trying to find ways to stabilize the structure before the remaining floors collapsed, but the main beams that kept it upright were struggling to hold the weight. The multiple explosions had burnt and damaged the remaining parts of the walls and floor, and if it was not stabilised soon, the entire building would come falling down.

And Spiritomb had only a few minutes left to rescue Sahara.

_Where the hell is this bloody girl, _the Ghost-Dark type grumbled as she floated up what remained of the staircase. Smoke lingered in the air, dust and debris covered every inch of the floor, and the walls, which had been burnt black by the explosions, cracked and crumbled every time the unstable building shook. Spiritomb was unfazed by the destruction, as she could survive in nearly any condition, and this battle had been tame compared to the things she had seen before, but Sahara was not as indestructible, especially when five floors were about to fall on top of her.

_What on earth is taking her so long? _Spiritomb thought. The stairwells were empty, and with most of the lower floors having been turned into smoking rubble, Spiritomb simply floated up alongside the smoke, waiting to come across the next whole floor and see if she could find Sahara. Smash was lingering below beneath the rubble, Spiritomb's failsafe to try and hold the building up should she not return with Sahara before the tower block collapsed.

_The Rock Snake does not trust me, but what choice does he have? This is the only way that Sahara can be saved now. The red head could have easily done it instead, but she seems more focussed on her revenge and victory than on her friends, but she will learn that in time. _Spiritomb smirked to herself, thinking back over all the things she had seen on the rare occasions that Sahara had unleashed her. The trainers were all so weary of Spiritomb that it actually made them oblivious to the things she did, allowing the Forbidden Pokemon to gaze at them from the sidelines, letting her enter their lives, see the things they were denying, making the connections none of them had made yet. Spiritomb knew them better than any of them would ever know themselves, yet none of them had realised her own intentions. The other Pokemon suspected something, but they would never realise what she was intending on doing until it was too late… _I need Sahara alive just as much as they do… there is no way I will be able to get my revenge if I am not taken to the source…_

Spiritomb snapped out of her thoughts as the building groaned, reminding her of her intentions. She looked around and noticed that the smoke was beginning to thin, which meant that she was moving away from the source. Spiritomb quickly soared up towards the next doorway, figuring that she had passed all the fallen floors, and peering through showed her theory was correct: she had come across what seemed to be the 'feminine' floor, the walls painted in light shades of pink with matching carpet. Racks of women's clothing ranging from simple shirts to extravagant dresses were the main items on the display, with make up counters to the walls and various beauty products and pink and purple themed knick-knacks left to the shelves.

"My Arceus, how fashion has changed," Spiritomb tutted as she gazed around the room. It seemed unlikely that Sahara would be here and Spiritomb nearly turned and left in disgust, but she could not help but notice something white lying across the floor, sticking out intensely in the bright pink room.

"There you are!" Spiritomb exclaimed in delight, and she floated quickly towards Sahara. Her trainer did not respond though, and when Spiritomb registered that she was laying face down with her arms and legs sticking out in the oddest directions she realised she was unconscious. "Great," Spiritomb grumbled, her rescue operation now a lot more difficult, and she nudged Sahara with the Odd Keystone, hoping to wake her up…

"He is rising!" Sahara exclaimed so suddenly that Spiritomb floated back in surprise. Sahara remained face down, but she began sucking in air like she had just survived a drowning, and began banging on the floor as she struggled to lift her body up. Spiritomb watched in confusion, largely as the voice that had spoken sounded nothing like Sahara, even if it was familiar. It took a few moments longer for the voice to click, and Spiritomb was even more stunned when the realisation hit her.

"He was wounded… weakened… but he will rise again stronger than ever before!" Jaki hissed, sounding tired and pained. She had not appeared since Solaceon, and Spiritomb did not think that an unstable building was quite the place for the demonic personality to resurface, yet she was so taken aback that she could not think of a way to stop her. "In only a few hours, he will rise again, I can sense it, and I will get the control I have been waiting so long for!" She laughed, the noise high, icy and joyless, but it quickly turned into a strangled shriek. Spiritomb watched as Sahara's body briefly convulsed, limbs flailing uncontrollably for a few seconds before falling still once more. The trainer groaned, and Spiritomb hoped it was over and that she could get her out of here before the creaking building collapsed.

"Oh please, we all know I am going to get out first!" A new voice said; it sounded similar to the previous one, but there was something more normal and calm about it, with a strange tang as if Sahara now found things amusing. "I managed to make a tear in the barriers between Sahara and myself, and she is letting me get through every time she uses my abilities. There will be a time where Sahara will desperately need me, and when she lets the walls fall down completely, then I will get control!"

"LIAR!" Jaki snapped, followed quick by laughter that did not match the aggressiveness of the single word. Spiritomb watched as whoever was now in control managed to lift Sahara's head up off the ground, flashing her glowing purple eyes that shone through Sahara's black hair.

"Who are you, what is going on?" Spiritomb snapped, but Sahara screamed once more and slumped back to the floor. There was a loud snap that echoed across the floor, and Spiritomb looked around to see the building was now beginning to lean heavily towards the main road. Spiritomb gazed up at the floors above, and knew it was time for them to leave.

"You are both big old idiots!" Sahara suddenly cried out, but this was another new voice, one that was slurred and slower than the previous two, and Sahara remained face down as if she had a weight pressing down upon her back. "None of you have seen my true… my true… true powers yet! And… and when you do, then… then you will see that _I_ will be the… the… WINNER!" Spiritomb paused, waiting for something else to be said, but Sahara finally stayed still and silent, the only noise coming from her being her breathing. The Department Store creaked, and there was a series of rattling as the shelves of make up toppled over, sending cylinders of lipstick rolling towards one corner of the floor.

_Bugger me, _Spiritomb hissed, and she hovered down towards Sahara. There would be time to worry about the voices later, but for now she needed to get her out of the building. If Sahara had been conscious, it would be a simple enough procedure of her grabbing onto the Odd Keystone and Spiritomb phasing her away. But Sahara no longer showed any signs of stirring and Spiritomb needed to act quickly. The stairwell was only a few metres away, and it seemed the sturdiest part of the whole building, but Spiritomb doubted she could move Sahara there in time.

_Stupid humans with their idiotic buildings! _The Ghost type snarled, and she watched as the walls continued to tilt, the racks of clothing falling and sliding down to join the make up in the corners. Random ideas crossed Spiritomb's mind, and the only one that could work would be if she could hook the Odd Keystone around Sahara's bag, then she could hold Sahara up, but that would not be of any use should the building fall down on top of her.

_If I could get the upper floors to fall away from Sahara, that might just save her… but how? _Spiritomb thought. She stared at the upper left corner of the floor, and then eyed the cracking ceiling directly above, and realised that there may be a way: it would be risky, as it would leave Sahara open to injury and could easily go horribly wrong, but there did not seem to be any other way to fix things.

_Let's just hope this works, _Spiritomb told herself, and she quickly gathered in energy. It took only a few moments for her attack to charge, then she fired a Hyper Beam towards the opposite walls. The pure energy obliterated the upper wall and the one to Spiritomb's left, quickly turning them into plaster and rubble. The entire building shook and groaned, and Spiritomb looked up to see the ceiling dramatically tilting forwards, coming away from the stairwell and elevator shafts. The Hyper Beam died down, revealing only a cloud of dust and a panoramic view of the other skyscrapers and the road below, but Spiritomb did not stop for the view: she hovered down and forced her Odd Keystone into a strap of Sahara's bag, beginning to recharge from the powerful attack.

_I am not as springy as I use to be, _she thought with a sigh, but her plan seemed to be working though: the top floors all tilted away from Sahara, unable to remain standing without the walls below to help them. Spiritomb smiled as they broke away from the building, and watched as the upper floors dramatically tumbled down to the roads below, crumbling as easily as if they were made of paper. Car alarms and screams rose back up to Spiritomb, and she managed a devilish smile, pleased with the chaos she was causing.

Then there was a loud, metallic creak. Spiritomb froze, the smile quickly fading away, and she felt a tug right beneath her: their floor was falling in the same direction, tilting away at a nearly vertical angle. Sahara was sliding down, and Spiritomb did not yet have the energy to hold onto her. She looked out to the cloud of dust rising up from the fallen floors, seeing the piles of wood, metal and plaster that lay below like a pile of discarded junk. It was clear that Sahara would not survive a fall from this high up onto a pile like that, and Spiritomb tried to lift her up, but Sahara was just too heavy…

_I have waited too long to get my revenge, I am not letting my only chance of achieving this fall away! _Spiritomb thought, but there was the sound of a crumbling wall, and she could only watch as the floor fell away. Sahara looked like she was standing up backwards as she was pulled away from the carpet, and Spiritomb did her best to hold on as all of her trainer's weight was put onto a single rock…

"Come on Sahara, wake up, WAKE UP!" Spiritomb yelled, and she tensed up, feeling Sahara slipping away towards the empty oblivion below…

"OOOOOONNNNN!" A loud roar came from below, and Spiritomb looked down to see Smash bursting through the falling floor, coming up to reach them. Spiritomb was relieved, and she stopped struggling and simply let Sahara drag her down towards the Rock Snake. Smash curled his body together to provide a kind of landing platform, and for the last metre Spiritomb pulled against Sahara to slow her down, allowing for a much smoother landing.

_Finally, _Spiritomb thought as she collapsed alongside her trainer. The amount of energy that had taken was worrying, and for the first time in a long while, Spiritomb actually felt drained. _Maybe I am not as young as I once was, _she thought as she glanced over the ruins of the Department Store that lay scattered around them: bricks, metal, wood, plasterboard, glass, piles and piles of merchandise gone from shelves to ruins within seconds. Two hours ago, the building had stood ten stories high and had been an international attraction. Now it was spread across the road, taken down by a death that had been custom built into the facilities since the very start. Spiritomb had seen plenty of destruction in her lifetime, and seeing something as simple as a store get taken down seemed so unnecessary compared to everything else.

_What are these people really fighting for if they have to take down a shopping mall to achieve their goals? _Spiritomb thought with a weary sigh as her eyes followed the smoke floating up into the skies above. She shut her eyes and remembered a time when fighting really meant something, back in the days when she still had all her strength and could battle on for hours on end. There had been a reason in those wars, but Spiritomb could see no point to the destruction she had witnessed since being unleashed once more.

_And people think I'm chaotic…_

* * *

The flames were quick to consume the warehouse.

Minutes after the first explosion, the entire building was alight. The central pit had turned into a massive furnace, with huge, unstoppable flames rising higher and higher, dancing from red to yellow to orange as everything was consumed: parts of the roof collapsed, the walls were burnt black, platforms bent and melted, the offices exploded, and the smoke rose in sky as thick and black as night. It was as if a monstrous Fire type had suddenly appeared in the middle of Veilstone with no sign of stopping, and to anyone passing by the flaming warehouse, it would appear there was no way of achieving this either.

And there, in the heart of this burning chaos, a Pokemon was born.

Matthew slowly opened his eyes but instantly wished he could slip away again. It took a few moments for his brain to really wake and for the rest of his body to notice, but when all the feelings came back to him, Matthew was certain he was about to die. His head was throbbing like it had just been cleaved in two, and it seemed to be affecting his vision, everything blurry like some badly tuned television. Matthew noticed that it was difficult to breathe, and every gulp of air reduced him into a coughing mess, made no better by his aching, raw throat.

But the pain was nothing compared to the feelings down his body. His skin felt sore and tender in most places, but there were some areas that jarred with pain every time he moved, and when Matthew ran his arms up his arms, he could feel several areas where the skin had burnt away, and others were it had blistered and engorged.

_How am I alive? _Matthew asked himself as he collapsed back to the sandy ground. The last thing he could remember was falling from the walkway, then seeing a blast of orange followed by an intense burning sensation. Matthew could feel the sand against his skin and realised that a large amount of his clothing had been burnt as well, and he began to whimper, lying on the sand even though his burnt wounds were exposed.

_Maybe I have died and I am just not aware of it yet… _Matthew asked himself. His stomach suddenly heaved and he stifled a groan as the taste of bile came up his throat. The air felt hazy, and Matthew sniffed to confirm that it was smoke. _I must still be inside the warehouse, but that's impossible, I should have died…_

That was when he noticed the glowing.

A dim golden light began to shine from behind him, and Matthew tried to turn and see it, but it only sent spasms of pain through his body and the glow seemed to move as well. His back began to shake as the light got brighter and Matthew fumbled for his surprisingly intact back pack. Another coughing fit began as he finally got it off and lifted the top up, but the brilliant shine that came from within was enough to lighten his day: the entire bag was filled with a magnificent golden gleam that simply got brighter and brighter, spilling out into the wider world. It illuminated metal pipes and framework, and Matthew realised that they had been buried, trapped but rescued underneath a fallen section of roof.

_Wonderful! _He thought, wishing he could shout it to the world but his voice seemed to have failed him. Matthew reached in and touch the source of the glow, and he managed a smile as he pulled out the shaking container that housed his egg. He slipped the top off and rested it down right in front of him, not taking his eyes of the breathtaking glow that seemed to make everything better, even though Matthew was starting to hear the roar of the fire that raged outside this tiny protective barrier. He touched the egg as it began to crack open, and he imagined harmonious, beautiful music erupting from within as the surface burst apart…

"Eeeeeevaaaaa!" The egg cried, and Matthew had to shut his eyes as it gave one last blast of light like an exploding star, little flecks of some kind of dust fluttering against his face, and then the glow disappeared. He opened an eye, waving away the smoke that was seeping in through cracks, and found the most glorious Pokemon he had ever seen sitting before him.

Matthew had met plenty of Eevee during his life, but there was something so spectacular about this one that it was like meeting the species again for the first time. The Eevee sitting before him had wide, curious black eyes that darted around in confusion. Its coat was a glorious mixture of brown and cream, looking glossy and shiny with a fluffy tail and neck. Matthew reached out slowly and calmly towards the frightened looking Pokemon, but when he stroked his new Pokemon's ears, a smile crossed its face.

"You shouldn't have been born here," Matthew croaked, pulling Eevee closer, feeling the smoke in the air now as it crept into his body. "I am sorry for this… you will probably be in a lot of these positions though. I never intend for it to happen, it usually just does. I wish it would be over… maybe it nearly is, who knows? But you are here now, and I promise I will do everything in my power to protect you."

"Eevee Eve Eevee!" Eevee said excitedly, oblivious to any signs of death and destruction coming towards her. Matthew wished he had her optimism (for some reason, Eevee felt like a girl to him, but he was not quite sure why), but instead he had the ability to protect it and nurture it. And that meant getting out of here alive.

"Come on you lot, get up, quickly!" Matthew croaked at the others, and nudged them as gently as possible, largely as his left leg had been burnt and it nearly made him scream every time it moved. The coordinator looked around at the curved roof section that had saved them from the fire for so long, yet it would not hold much longer. Everything was becoming hotter, from the sand that covered the floor to the air itself, and the roof was beginning to melt from the severe heat. Through the cracks Matthew could see orange flames dancing outside, and it was quite clear they were surrounded, as if the fire knew they had awoken and was doing everything to claim another victim.

"Owwww," Mira whimpered behind him, and Matthew did his best to turn without causing himself too much pain. There was little point though as the smoke was getting so thick that Matthew could only see her bright pink hair hanging dejectedly around her face.

"Mira, are you alright?"

"Everything hurts," she croaked back before beginning to cough as well. "Why aren't we dead? It feels like I'm dead, so why aren't we?"

"Part of the roof collapsed on top of us. There is still a chance we can survive, but we just need to act quickly!" Matthew explained. "What Pokemon do you have on your team?" He waited a moment but got no response. "MIRA!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine, don't snap!" She grumbled back in her usual sassiness, and Matthew was relieved to see her personality was still in check. "I have Kadabra, Sandslash, Porygon, Togetic, Delibird and Smeargle. Maybe Sandslash could use a Ground attack like Earthquake, would that stifle the flames?"

"It might, but it also might bring the rest of the warehouse down," Matthew responded. "You have Kadabra, and Porygon… I can use Prinplup and Misdreavus, and maybe…" He lunged for his bag and fished around inside for his PokeDex, Eevee sitting quietly and contently in his arms as if nothing was wrong. Matthew pulled the blue device out and flipped it open, quickly going to the settings to scan Eevee. "Sand Attack, Tackle, Flail and … wow, Detect!"

"Vee," Eevee said with a proud nod, and Matthew smiled as a plan quickly formed inside his head.

"Alright Mira, send your Pokemon out, quickly!" He exclaimed, and then used the weak light of his PokeDex to look around for Prinplup. The light reflected off the metallic parts of her flippers and head, and the Penguin Pokemon thankfully appeared alive and well. Matthew was relieved, and he reached out with a free hand to pull her close. "You cannot imagine how pleased I am that you survived!"

"Plup Plup," Prinplup said weakly, but she still managed a smile and wrapped her flippers around his body. She touched several burns, but Matthew resisted the pain and smiled back, pulling her in close.

"Save the hugs till we are actually saved!" Mira snapped, and Matthew looked to see she had sent Kadabra and Sandslash out to join Porygon. Things were quickly getting stifling hot, and Matthew was starting to see more flames creeping through the cracks, giving everything an eerie red glow.

"Right, right, my plan!" He said, and quickly grabbed Misdreavus' Dusk Ball from his pocket and rolled it forwards. The ghostly Pokemon quickly formed, looking rather startled by the place she had appeared, but Prinplup gave her a reassuring smile and explained the situation in hushed tones. "We need to get out of here before we get cooked, but before that we need to find a way to stifle the flames as much as possible. I say we risk Sandslash using Earthquake and see if that will do anything, and then we can get through this section of the roof and use Psychic and Water attacks to escape!" Mira and the Pokemon all looked a bit uncertain, but Matthew felt confident that his plan would work: he had to get out of here, for himself, his old team and his brand new Eevee; he could not let her only life experience simply be a few minutes trapped waiting for flames to consume her. Matthew looked pleadingly with Mira, hoping his coordination rival could see how serious and determined he was, even as the smoke turned the air a murky shade of grey.

"Sandslash… Earthquake," she said in her cracked voice, and Matthew's heart nearly skipped a beat of excitement. Sandslash moved forwards into the centre of their little area, a small golden coloured Pokemon with sharp claws and a back that looked like a row of brown knives, and he nestled down against the sand. Silence fell as the Mouse Pokemon focussed on the area around them, preparing for the attack. Matthew could feel a slight vibration beneath his feet, and if he could see the particles of sand begin to bounce about. The flames roared outside, and Matthew could feel the heat through a gap directly above his neck, but he tried to focus, he tried to hope… this had to work…

"SAAAAAANDSLAAAAASH!" Sandslash roared, and he slammed a glowing white claw down against the ground: Matthew yelled out as the shockwave unleashed sent him crashing back into the metal of the roof, burning the back of his neck, and he fell down onto the shaking ground. Eevee cried out in fright as the entire floor shook, the sand leaping into the air as the Earthquake roared through the earth. There were sharp, mechanical groans throughout the building, followed quickly by several loud crashes and metallic explosions.

"Our roof is falling apart!" Mira yelled, and Matthew looked up to see one section had fallen through, letting a fist of flame come through and cast a burning light across them all. It would be only seconds before the rest of it was burnt up or caved in, and Matthew had to act.

"Misdreavus use Psybeam on the roof, lift it off!" He shouted. "Prinplup, ready yourself and use Whirlpool to surround us!"

"Keep using Earthquake!" Mira yelled. "Porygon use Protect and Kadabra use Psybeam to hold the flames off!" Misdreavus looked uncertain, but Matthew smiled as encouragingly as possible, and the Ghost type gave a weary nod. She looked upwards and rainbow coloured circles came out from her eyes. Matthew glanced at the other Pokemon, seeing they were all tensed and ready to act, and then watched the roof as the Psybeam struck.

The second the roof was lifted up, the flames came towards them. Mira screamed as a rush of orange fire surged underneath the rising roof, and Matthew thought that they would get toasted. He winced in anticipation, but it quickly became clear that they had survived once more: Porygon was straining with the effort of a powerful Protect, a glowing barrier that encircled all of them. The flames were being forced against the very edges, and Matthew thought it bizarre to see fire like this, pressed against the protective wall like some roaring orange beast trying to break through a window.

"PLUUUUUP!" Prinplup cried, and a Whirlpool strong enough to sink a ship erupted from her mouth. Matthew had not noticed until now but Prinplup's eyes were shining with a brilliant, rich blue glow, and he realised that her Torrent ability had activated. Stunned, he watched as the ribbon of water swirled around them, controlled by Prinplup's flippers, arching through the Protect and out to the flames. It was a mesmerizing dance between water and fire, and Matthew became so caught up in the clash of elements that he nearly forgot where they were. The Whirlpool was joined by attacks from Kadabra and Misdreavus, the two unleashing a never ending barrage of Psybeam upon the fire, manipulating and weakening it in order for the Whirlpool to be most effective. A ring was quickly cleared around them, showing massive craters in the sand and the twisted remains of half melted roof sections and walkways.

"Its working, its actual working!" Mira yelled. Porygon's Protect fell, leaving them to feel the intense, nearly suffocating heat, but Matthew hardly cared: he watched as the walls and areas of roof that remained caved in, crushing the raging fire. Anything left was swept up by Prinplup's dazzling Whirlpool that seemed to be destroying everything, and Matthew could see that every last ounce of strength was going into this attack to keep it going.

"We need to find a way out now," Matthew yelled, "before the fires start up again; there are bound to be a few embers that will come across some hidden explosives."

"Let's just run up the bloody roof!" Mira said, and pointed towards the jumbled up pile of metal rubble, forming an imperfect ladder to the streets above. Matthew smiled at the solution, and then he began to laugh. Everything turned to look at him, probably because it sounded like a Persian being strangled with his sore, raw throat, but Matthew could not help but laugh.

"We did it!" He said to Eevee, lifting her up above his head. "We survived!"

"Vee!" Eevee replied, giggling along with him with a great big golden ring around her. Matthew moved her and realised it was the Sun: he had not even thought about the fact that they were now completely exposed to the outside world. Matthew looked at the streets above and saw that there was a crowd gathering coming to see what had happened to the warehouse.

"Does someone mind lending us a hand?" Mira shouted, and Matthew laughed hysterically at this. He laughed so hard that he could not keep standing, and he toppled over onto his side, searing pain going through his body. Matthew's laugh quickly turned into a cough, and his eyes suddenly began to droops hut.

"Prin!" Prinplup exclaimed, and she suddenly came rushing over. Matthew looked up at her, with her golden beak and brilliant blue face, and he wanted to keep on laughing: he had cheated death once more, what wasn't great about that? Yet, somewhere in the back of his darkening, dizzying mind, Matthew had a feeling he had not won just yet, and the last thing he registered was Mira screaming once more before he slumped backwards into the burning sand, still feeling the heat of the fire they had conquered.

* * *

The first thing Xavier heard when he came to was laughter.

The trainer slowly and painfully opened his eyes. It took a few moments before his vision went straight, and in that time his brain registered how much pain he was in: Xavier's arms felt like there had been torn out of their sockets, and he looked down to see that the front of his clothes had burnt away. His thin, lanky chest was exposed, but it was not as pale as it had been this morning: his skin had been horrifically burnt, varying in patches of raw pink skin to exposed flesh that hurt without Xavier contributing anything towards it. Some areas had blistered, huge, discoloured things that were spread about his body, while a few spots almost looked black. Xavier shut his eyes, briefly seeing the massive fist of flame that had slammed into his body, and opened them wondering if these wounds would ever heal.

"Oh, how easy this has been!" A familiar voice cackled nearby. "After all of this time, all it took was a bit of flame to bring two bastard Dex Holders to their knees – crisp, rough, freshly singed knees!" Xavier could see that there was grass beneath his feet, so he knew he was no longer in Veilstone – at least, not on the streets. His shoes, which had been burnt to black, melted rubber, were at least an inch above the ground, and Xavier presumed he was strung up around his arms, but the pain in them could simply be more burns.

"Whatever you do, don't say anything," another familiar voice hissed in his ear, and Xavier raised his head for the first time: he had been brought to a very expansive field, wooded on two of the sides that he could see and with a bare, earthen cliff rising up to his right. Two container trucks the same size as the fuel tanker that had nearly killed them were parked several metres away, the containers blank with their doors open. Groups of Team Galactic Grunts were standing near them, laughing at the sight of their captured foes, though Xavier did not recognize anyone there. Xavier looked up to see Cyrus standing a few feet away, the owner of the first; the Galactic Admin looked more dishevelled and less intimidating than he had last time but there was still some malicious quality etched into his face. Saturn and Mars stood behind him, showing no injuries from the explosion, with Jupiter alongside: a perfect quartet of unstable killers, assembled for some sort of victory celebration.

Xavier glanced to his left where the second voice had come from, and could not help but be dismayed to see Vanessa hanging alongside him. Her back was as equally burnt as his front: Xavier could just see the scorch marks coming up on her robe. Vanessa was trying to look determined, but Xavier figured she would be in worse pain then he was due to their differences in being able to feel. Her arms were strung up above her head, and Xavier could see they were tied to metal bars. He curiously stared through and surveyed the scene behind him; Staraptor thrashing at the bars with her wings while Monferno slammed into them with his fists, with more figures further behind hidden amongst the shadows. Xavier could see Drifblim leaning unconscious behind Monferno, and he only now understood the severity of the situation, though his attention stayed upon the heart breaking sight, even for him, that was there before him.

"Your Pokemon will not get free," Cyrus snorted. "The bars were specially designed by our old friend Ursilla: made from the toughest metal to prevent any kind of physical take down, and special properties repel all kinds of Pokemon attacks. I believe it was with a similar idea that she created her energy beam. Such a wonderful invention. Do you know what happened to that by any chance, Vanessa?" Jupiter smirked and lifted up Vanessa's umbrella, which remarkably had survived the explosion undamaged. Vanessa grunted and struggled at the ropes, but it only brought on more laughter from the crowd of Grunts.

"Such foolish little children, thinking that could wield such power, that they stood any chance of bringing down Team Galactic," Cyrus hissed. "I did not think finally capturing you would be so simple! You all feel for our traps: we watched you all on security cameras, we tracked you to the different places you were going. Matthew was led away to one of our facilities while we simply targeted the rest of you selfish, arrogant little shits where you were, and it was such a joy how you fell for our bait." Cyrus stepped forwards, suddenly glaring down at his two prizes, and a for a moment Xavier was sure he was going to attack them. There was a maniacal look that even Xavier could read, and he could not help but wonder how stable this man currently was. However, after briefly staring furiously at Vanessa, Cyrus turned and stepped aside, gesturing at the field before them.

"You think you are powerful, strong enough to defeat Team Galactic?" He hissed. "_This _is power!" Cyrus roared, and swept his arm across the park. Xavier was not sure what he meant, but then he saw four uneven craters dotted around that he had not noticed before, possibly as they were currently surrounded by Grunts and some obscure machinery. However, Xavier now realised where they were, and was surprised that they were still in Veilstone.

"Those are the meteorites," Xavier said, to which Cyrus nodded. Xavier had been told the legend of Deoxys as a child, but it had been a long time and he had not thought of it lately. However, old bits of information rushed back to him as he gazed across at the meteorites that had sat here since before his grandparents had been born, and he could understand Cyrus' statement.

"They did tell me you were the smart one, on occasions," the Galactic boss replied. "Indeed, these are the four Veilstone Meteorites, as they are popular known, but they have never really be officially named. To many, they are simply black, glittering rocks that they believe fell from the skies eons ago. Yet to the rest of us, the wise, the genius, we know that these meteorites are the remnants of a meteor, a meteor that, many, many centuries ago, the legend Deoxys was created inside of." Silence followed his words, the intensity of his statement overwhelming, and Cyrus beamed as he took pleasure in what he had said.

"Deoxys is a legendary Pokemon, said to be some sort of alien virus created inside the meteor as it soared across the universe. Deoxys broke free at some point, and the meteor turned into chunks, scattered all across our world… or the world we know," Cyrus added, flashing a wide smile, and Xavier could see Vanessa was as taken aback by the statement as he was. "Over the years, many people have recorded Deoxys shooting down from the sky in a glittering rainbow of light, travelling across the stars and galaxies to find the meteorites from which it had sprung. Deoxys will then touch one of the four pieces and will magically change into a completely different form, and then fly off into the sky once more. It is amongst the rarest of Pokemon, largely as it is one we know so very little about: why does it need to change forms, does it have a gender, is there more than one Deoxys? What we do know though is that the meteors produce a strong amount of electro-magnetic energy: these four meteorites literally are self generating power! If we harvest these fragments, if we turn them from tourist attractions into weapons of mass destruction, then Team Galactic will be POWER!" He roared this last word, and the Grunts surrounding them began to cheer and applaud his statement. Xavier glanced over at the roaring crowd, watching as they celebrated his simple statement. He had never put much thought into the white clad soldiers that he so regularly fought, but Xavier had to wonder why they were apart of all of this: did they want to control the world, had they been coerced or manipulated into signing up, did they believe it to be fun? They all seemed to view Cyrus as their leader, and Xavier could only assume that they all wanted the same thing; power.

"I think we have waited long enough!" Cyrus announced, and he turned back once more. Xavier craned his neck to look in the same direction and saw a large piece of machinery had been assembled next to the nearest of the craters. It was white, with a large control base that Charon was bent over, and was topped with a tall, swivelling arm with a flat white disc at the end, reminding Xavier of the sort of lamps attached to the chairs at the dentist's. "Charon, it is time we begin!"

"Your wish is my command," the scientist replied drolly, and he began to tap away at the buttons before him. The machine whirred as it came into life, and Cyrus watched eagerly as Charon moved the joystick that controlled the arm. Xavier stared as it effortlessly moved down into the crater, disappearing past his eyesight. Everyone's attention seemed to be on the crater now, all members of Team Galactic focussed upon the black hole to see what would happen next. Xavier glanced at Vanessa and saw she had begun to tug at the ropes bounding her, trying to work them free while everyone was distracted. Xavier tried the same motions, but every movement sent a spasm of pain through Xavier's body. His wrists were as burnt as the rest of his front, and it was becoming a struggle simply not to voice his feelings.

"I can't keep this up," he whispered to Vanessa. The red head tugged at her own bounds for a few more seconds before sighing and slumping back against the bars. She was clearly annoyed, and Xavier pitied her, but he felt worse for the Pokemon trapped behind them. "Grotle, are you there?" He called out, capitalising on Galactic's distracted focus.

"Grot," the Grass type replied quietly, and Xavier craned his neck to look down: Grotle was right by where his feet were dangling, and it was clear that the starter had positioned himself to try and free his trainer but to no avail. The bushes on his back were badly singed and Grotle looked drained, but he was otherwise unharmed. Xavier felt something warm stirring in his chest, and he pushed left leg through the bar, patting the Grove Pokemon with his foot.

"We'll be free soon," he said, and Grotle smiled, but Xavier was doubtful. There was no sign of any rescue team, no hint of Matthew or Sahara coming to save the day. Their Pokemon were incapacitated: Xavier remembered seeing Heracross as he had been dragged across the road, and turning his neck more he could see the Single Horn Pokemon lying face down a metre from Grotle, his cobalt body turned ash black. Xavier did not know if he was alive or dead, and he felt a strange mixture of emotions bursting forth, like water threw a leaking dam: anger, shock, dismay, sadness, but overall, a strong need for retribution.

"It's working!" Charon shouted, and Xavier looked back around. The mechanical arm was rising out from the crater with something attached to the end of the magnet. The Galactic Grunts all began to whisper excitedly to each other, and the three admins exchanged wide eyed beams. Cyrus remained silent for a few moments, but then he wheeled about to face his captures, a sly grin on his face and a look of malice in his eyes.

"Try and stop Team Galactic now!" He roared and pointed to the machine. Xavier watched as the arm rose above Charon's head, bringing the meteorite with it. It was one of the most beautiful things Xavier had ever seen in his entire life: it was like the night sky turned to rock, a glittering black jewel that sparkled and shone from every direction, a rainbow of colours hidden just below the surface. The glow that came from the meteorite seemed to be the electro-magnetic energy that Cyrus was so desperate to harbour, and a shiver went down Xavier's spine at the thought of Team Galactic getting their hands on it.

"Quickly load it into the trucks!" Charon barked at the Grunts as he lowered the arm towards a metal crate on a cart. The Grunts had been so in awe that they didn't move until the meteorite was out of sight, and then a dozen scrambled forwards and began sealing a lid on and preparing to move it towards the container truck. "Now help me move this, we have to go quickly now!" Charon yelled, and he stood back as more Grunts ran forwards and pulled the machine through the grass on a set of wheels.

"Why are they moving quickly?" Xavier asked as the thought crossed his mind, and Cyrus glanced angrily towards him. "What has changed that things must be done at a faster pace?" He looked at Vanessa as if she may have the answers, and was pleased when he saw a smile cross her lips.

"Pewter Museum!" She said, and Xavier saw Cyrus' face sink. "It's coming back to me now, I remember seeing a newspaper article about it years ago! The museum got destroyed when the meteorites were on display, and there were all these rumours that Deoxys had destroyed the building in retaliation for them being moved, but the blame was placed on Team Rocket. Yet the rumours are true, aren't they? Deoxys is going to realise the meteorites are in danger and come and kick your ass!"

"No, that isn't true!" Jupiter hissed. "Don't listen to her sir, what does my stupid little cousin know?" But now that Xavier thought of it, the memory of a similar news report came rushing back to him. His father had gone to the opening as it was meant to be a big event, and he had managed to get out just before the museum had collapsed.

"It is true, I can remember it now," Xavier said. "If Deoxys views this as a similar intrusion of his meteorites than it is going to come here as well, quite soon I would imagine," and he looked towards the clouds, expecting that rainbow of light to appear and for the legendary Pokemon to come shooting down. Cyrus was looking frustrated, his eyes flicking between the sky and the mechanical arm as it was wheeled to the next meteorite, and it was clear he was thinking the same thing.

"Oooh, imagine that Xavier, seeing three legendary Pokemon in such a short space of time!" Vanessa said, looking genuinely excited. "First there was Giratina, then there was Rayquaza, now Deoxys! Oh boy, its our lucky month!"

"Permission to silence her?" Mars hissed, flicking her whip on the grass, but Cyrus was becoming too frustrated to pay attention, looking at Vanessa as a Tauros may stare at its prey.

"Funny thing is, you lot have all had some role to play in bringing the legends out, haven't you?" Vanessa smirked. "Never intentionally though, I don't think. Were you intending for Rayquaza to come and destroy an entire route, or was that just an accident like summoning Deoxys will turn out to be?"

"SHUT UP!" Cyrus roared, and he stepped forwards and struck Vanessa across the face. "You know nothing of our plans! The only legendaries we will be summoning will be Dialga and Palkia, and that will be no accident! When they arrive in our world, you will rue the day that you ever thought of crossing Team Galactic! Now remain silent or I will kill you now and take such great pleasure in doing so! Charon, bring me the rest of the meteorites NOW!" Charon turned back and went to reply, but before he could say another word the entire park went dark. Silence fell across them all as everyone looked at each other to check it was not just their imaginations before turning to the skies. It was the kind of darkness like a cloud passing over the sun, yet there were no clouds in sight: the world had simply gone dark. Xavier wondered if this was smoke from the fires getting into the atmosphere, but when he looked at the craters he saw a dim glow emitting from within them, and everything clicked into place.

The sky above seemed to split open, as if someone had cut through the atmosphere and pulled it back to see what was inside. Rainbow light poured out, shimmering and dancing high above them all and shifting through the different colours. Xavier had been to another world only a few weeks ago when he and Drifblim entered the strange Distortion World, and looking into this gap felt like he was seeing yet another new place right above his head.

A figure began to descend from the centre of this rainbow, floating down as gently as a feather in a breeze, and Xavier could tell that this was Deoxys. All eyes watched as it fell from the sky, yet with more grace than any other Pokemon could do so. Xavier was fascinated by this Pokemon he had never seen before, and even though it was still too far away to make out the finer details, he could tell that this was be a sight and experience he would always remember.

"FUCK!" Cyrus roared, and the serene beauty of the moment was destroyed as the Galactic Boss wheeled madly around to face his organisation. "Is the crate in the truck? Answer me, QUICKLY!" He snapped at a nearby group of Grunts, and they all frantically nodded their heads. Xavier noted Cyrus' face had turned red and his teeth were bared and clenched, making him look more like some monster than he had before. He gave Xavier and Vanessa one final glance before running towards the container truck that the meteorite had been loaded into, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars following behind. Charon abandoned his machine for the Grunts to take care of and followed after, getting inside the container as Deoxys began to pass the tops of the trees. The container began to whirr loudly, something mechanical coming to light, and Xavier had to shut his eyes as a brilliant blue flash was blasted from inside. By the time the light had faded and he had opened his eyes again, Deoxys was beginning to land and the remaining Grunts were wheeling the container trucks around, planning on making a departure.

"The fuckers teleported," Vanessa hissed, "and they took my umbrella with them!" Xavier merely nodded disinterestedly in her direction, no longer caring about the fleeing Team Galactic, especially as the majority of their plan had been foiled anyway. He instead focussed upon the Pokemon that was now walking towards them across the field, its feet moving so lightly the grass did not even move.

Deoxys was an amazing sight. The Pokemon looked almost human, with a head, arms and legs and a general humanoid shape, but those were the only similarities. Deoxys' body was made of a thick red shell, making it appear to be encased in a body suit. The legs did not end in feet but simply narrowed to a curved point. A purple jewel was encased at the front of its chest, and Xavier wondered if this was the Pokemon's heart. He examined its arms, which were in fact red and turquoise tentacles that curled around each other in a helix pattern, resembling hard rubbery wires more than arms. As Deoxys got closer, it continuously looked around with its wide white eyes that were situated in the same position as any humans but with a lack of any other features on its green face except for a single purple stripe down the middle. Red bits that resembled handlebars came out from the head almost like ears, but Xavier did not want to say anything in case he was wrong.

Deoxys continued to move towards them with its blank face, now focussed entirely on the humans bound to a cage of a Pokemon. Xavier wondered if Deoxys would free them, but his attention quickly went towards something occurring behind them: brighter, more intense rainbow light was coming out of three of the craters, a pulsating glow that resembled the now diminishing aurora above them. The meteorites were reacting to the presence of Deoxys, and Xavier could only question how much power there was contained in those rocks.

_Vanessa Backlot and Xavier Diamond, _a voice suddenly whispered in the back of his head, and Xavier looked towards Deoxys, who was now less than a metre away. He could tell the voice belonged to him, but it did not sound masculine or feminine to him: a mix of the both to create a very neutral tone.

"How do you know our names?" Xavier asked, and Deoxys turned its head towards him, his big white eyes staring into his mind.

_I have scanned the thoughts of everyone left in this field, _the Pokemon replied. _You two appear to have the most knowledge on the people that stole a piece of the meteorite from which I was born. _

"Team Galactic," Vanessa said with a nod. "Why did you not stop them? You had the opportunity to defeat them before they got away."

_I learnt a while ago the consequences of stopping those that have wronged me in such public places as these, with such innocents around that it would prove deadly to strike, _Deoxys replied. Xavier looked around and saw what it meant: a group of bound captives had been left behind by Team Galactic, most likely tourists who had expected their day to consist of having picnics and admiring the meteorites, but instead had ended up victims of a brutal attack.

_Can you tell me where I can find them? I am scanning the immediate location for them but I am only picking up signals of distress, _Deoxys replied. _It appears this is not the only area of this city under attack. _

"We don't know where they are, but we can help you find them!" Vanessa exclaimed. "They have severely burnt both Xavier and I, they have injured our Pokemon, they stole from us and our friends are under attack. We have just as much of a need to defeat them as you do!" Deoxys did not reply but instead stared back at Vanessa for more than a minute. Xavier looked over at her as well and it was obvious how uncomfortable Vanessa appeared, which was very unusual for her, but the feeling lasted only a few more seconds before Deoxys spoke again.

_You have fought this group many times, I can tell. The resources of this city are being stretched to their limits and it is likely that this Team Galactic will escape with what they have taken from all of us without suffering any consequences for their actions unless another party is to stop them. _

"Then it is up to us to defeat, isn't it?" Xavier asked, looking back at his Pokemon lying injured and unconscious around the cage. He had to make Galactic suffer as much as his team had, and Xavier would not stop until this had occurred. The trainer looked back at Deoxys, and for some reason could see an invisible smile across its face.

_Let our battle begin, _it said simply. _But first, _and Deoxys raised its arms towards them. Xavier and Vanessa were both taken aback to see the ends were twisting together, mutating into a pair of human-like hands. Deoxys raised its hands towards them, and Xavier had to shut his eyes as a white light encased his entire body, and he felt something crawl across what had once been his skin.

* * *

If most people saw a large cloud of grey smoke hovering on the horizon, they would probably try and avoid the fire most likely raging under something that thick, dirty and grey. Yet for Sahara Plattina, something like that was usually a sign of where she would find her friends.

Sahara had awoken in a daze on confusion on Smash's back, taking a few moments to remember everything, but once her memories came back it began to make sense as to why the Department Store that had stood ten stories high when she had last been conscious was now a large pile of rubble piled across the road. She withdrew Smash and fled on foot, going the back way to avoid the authorities dealing with the collapsed building, and had set her sights upon the smoke, not sure where else to go. She now wandered dizzily through the back streets of Veilstone, away from all the police cars, fire engines and ambulances that were roaring up and down the main road. These streets were still and silent, the pavements and roads empty of any other signs of life, almost as if everyone was hiding away from the various horrors occurring across Veilstone.

"How did this all happen," Sahara muttered to herself. Only two hours ago she had been shopping inside an intact building, slowly beginning to enjoy herself for the first time in weeks. After trying to keep this sudden change in the abilities of her personalities under wraps, Sahara had savoured the time spent away from her thoughts and to have a relatively normal life, something she had never had the pleasure of knowing and one of the main reasons why she had gone on this journey in the first place.

Yet ever since Sahara had gotten her PokeDex and stepped outside of Sandgem Town, her life had become more chaotic than it had ever been: exploding mines, collapsing buildings, Virus being taken, Crystal and Jaki completely controlling her body, everything Team Galactic had ever done. Sahara was not sure why she was been targeted like this, why these villains were willing to tear cities apart to get to her and her friends, but she increasingly was beginning to wish she had listened to her mother and stayed in her new house and waited just a bit longer… maybe then everything would have turned out better.

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself!" Spiritomb snapped alongside her. The Forbidden Pokemon had insisted on staying out of her Ultra Ball for the time being, saying she wanted to look around the city, but Sahara wondered if her latest Pokemon was really looking out for her. Spiritomb had saved her from being crushed in the fallen building, so Sahara was grateful for that, but she really just wanted to be alone, even if she had just been knocked unconscious. Wandering down these empty back streets, away from the skyscrapers and flashy shops, through never ending warehouses was giving Sahara some time to herself, and she so rarely got a chance to simply think things over.

"Alright, sure, they probably blew the building up in order to kill you," Spiritomb said, "and yes, your friend abandoned you in order to get revenge, and you nearly died, I know, I know! But it is not the end of the world, and I am certainly not going to hang around if you continue to be annoying and depressed."

"You're not helping in the slightest," Sahara replied, but Spiritomb merely did a sort of shrugging motion with the Odd Keystone and floated on ahead. Sahara managed a slight smirk as she watched the supposedly vicious, ancient Pokemon floated around an empty street, humming to herself. There was something mysterious about this her, there was no denying that, but it seemed that Spiritomb may need Sahara as much as Sahara needed her.

The cloud of smoke got nearer and nearer, but surprisingly there were no signs of fire engines anywhere, no sirens wailing through these back roads as they raced to put it out. Sahara was unnerved by this, but it may have just been the area she was in: all the rows of nearly identical, prefabricated warehouse implied this should be a bustling industrial area, but there were no signs of any people, Pokemon or trucks asides from themselves. Had the cause of the fire been enough to cause all of the workers to abandon their posts?

"I am getting a bad feeling about this," Sahara said as Spiritomb moved down an alleyway which would seemingly take them to the same street as the fire. The smell of smoke was getting strong, and Sahara covered her mouth in preparation, wondering if she should be sending Aqua out.

"That is probably because you are near me; I basically am a bad feeling personified," Spiritomb replied with a wicked grin before carrying on ahead. Sahara was not calmed in the slightest. She stared down at her hands, flexing her fingers as she remembered the tingling sensation she had felt earlier. Crystal could control water, so if Sahara brought her out…

_No, you can't! _A voice, most likely her conscience, snapped. _What if Crystal comes out instead of just her abilities? Imagine what she could do! You can't risk it! _Sahara knew the voice was right and she lowered her right hand, keeping her left covering her mouth and nose. It would be foolish to gamble with these powers, but Sahara could not shake the feeling that it would be better to use them for good rather than leave them for the personalities to abuse…

Sahara rushed through the alleyway after Spiritomb, wondering what to expect, but when she reached the end she froze in her tracks.

She had found the source of the smoke in the form of a large, rectangular pit only a few metres away. A broken ring around the edges showed evidence of walls that had previously stood there, and as Sahara stepped nervously closer, she could see that metal frames and bricks had become piled inside: clearly, the building had caught ablaze and had collapsed in upon itself. There were still flames burning, but a Floatzel and two Lombre were being led around by a group of what looked like workers in high visibility vests, clutching masks to their faces with one hand and holding fire extinguishers in the other. More workers stood in a large crowd surrounding the pit, all muttering to each other about what had happened.

"I was on my lunch break and I just heard this massive _boom_ from inside! I dropped my mug in shock, got a great big stain down my pants," a bald man was complaining.

"That warehouse always has been dodgy," another was telling a small group. "You always hear people working in there, moving stuff around and that, but you never actually see anybody…" Sahara was intrigued by the conversations, but all the workers were looking curiously down at the teenage girl with a bruised forehead and a dust covered jacket, so she quickly moved away along the edges, trying to look like an innocent passer-by.

"Can you see any of the others here?" She asked as she approached Spiritomb, who was watching the scene from the shadows of a nearby lorry.

"Not really, but there is something bright and pink over there, that seems very much like your friends," the Ghost-Dark type replied snidely. Sahara looked around in the implied direction and instantly saw a hot pink convertible parked between two warehouses further down the road. It seemed very out of place in an industrial area, and Sahara watched as a stout figure emerged from one side, stunned to recognise her.

"Lucinda!" She cried and quickly rushed forwards. The reporter looked up as Sahara approached, and Sahara could see her face and clothes were black with ash. Lucinda smiled as she swung her boot open and pulled out what looked like a picnic blanket before turning and saying something to someone else.

"Oh my goodness, you look a wreck, what happened?" She asked in shock as Sahara got close. The Pokemon trainer knew the bump on her head must look awful, but she merely shrugged it off as there were more important things to worry about.

"I swear I'm fine!" She replied, wearing a smile to show it. "What about you though, what exactly is going on here?"

"Harrison and I are investigating a tip-off we received about the warehouse that is currently melting over there," Lucinda replied, pointing back towards the pit that continued to spew smoke from a dying blaze. "A smaller company my father owns has a warehouse here, and the manager alerted us to the fact that no one ever saw people go inside yet there was always some sort of activity happening in there. We figured it was drug dealing, illegal Pokemon racket, something like that, so we came here to do some snooping around. But when we get here, boom goes the dynamite: the windows and doors are suddenly blown apart, and in less than a minute the place is engulfed in flames and collapsing. We saw Adrian Pearl come out and race away, so Harrison and I had to fight it on our own with some help from the workers that came to investigate the noise. After a while, the entire thing collapses inwards, we begin to fight the fire downwards more, and then we discover some familiar faces." Lucinda looked worried at this point, and the four words struck Sahara like a blow to a stomach, and she quickly pushed past the reporter and raced down the alleyway without another word, fear quickly rising up as she wondered who the familiar faces were

She quickly came across Harrison, who was surrounded by a Wailmer, Vaporeon, Aggron and Buneary along with a variety of medical looking equipment, though he seemed fine himself. Sahara looked past him and saw Mira: the usually mischievous girl was quiet and content as she sat on the dirty ground wrapped only in a thick coat. There had a bright red burn covering most of her right cheek that looked painful, and a Kadabra, Sandslash and Porygon were cuddling next to her for comfort. Sahara felt sorry for her, but something blue moved to her right and she quickly turned around, her heart sinking even before her worries were confirmed.

Matthew was lying on a blanket, eyes shut but mouth hanging open. He could have been sleeping if it had not been for the scars and burns that covered his body, hinting at something far more serious. Sahara clasped her hands to her mouth in shock and near stumbled over as her eyes went up and down his face: there were several blisters and sore patches of raw red and pink skin, bits of his dark hair had singed off and his lips had almost disappeared into a cracked mess. A blanket was covering the rest of his body, and half of Sahara wanted to see the rest of his injuries but she knew that it would be too painful to see.

"We didn't even make it to his contest," she whispered, leaning back against the convertible in complete shock. Harrison stood up and rubbed her shoulders consolingly as a tear crept down Sahara's cheek. "I don't even know if he won or not!"

"He did win, and he was so happy about it," Lucinda said, smiling warmly as she lay the picnic blanket over him. Prinplup was sitting vigil by his side, Misdreavus floating low above his head. An Eevee was cuddled up next to him, surprising Sahara, but then she remembered his egg and realised it had hatched. _And what a dreadful thing to be born into, _she thought, a flash of worry crossing her mind as she imagined what situation her Happiny may find itself in when the pink and white egg finally hatched.

"What sort of friend am I when I wasn't even here for him?" Sahara said, unable to contain her thoughts. "If we had gone to the contest to see him then maybe he would not be in this situation!" She remembered the conversation she and Vanessa had had before Galactic's attack had begun, remembering her feelings that what they had wasn't friendship. Yet staring down at Matthew, seeing him in this state, Sahara felt closer to him than she ever had before, and guilt came out of nowhere and pressed down against her heart.

"You can't say that," Mira whispered from the ground, her voice quiet and hoarse, a dramatic change to her normal loudness. "Matthew is like this because of me. Someone from Team Galactic stole my PokeBall and I chased after them, and Matthew followed to make sure I didn't get hurt. If he had not tried to protect me then his father would have not followed us, and he would not have set off their explosives, and none of this would have happened!" Sahara's tears stopped abruptly as she listened to Mira and thought over her words, making a quick connection between what she had said.

"_Their_ explosives?" She asked. "Do you mean Team Galactic?" Mira nodded and Sahara looked around, half expecting her constant enemies to appear. Everything from the darkness of the alleyway to Matthew and Mira's injuries seemed more unsettling now that she knew Galactic was potentially based here, and Sahara had a sudden yearning to get away.

"Hang on a second!" Lucinda said, exchanging a glance with Harrison that was a mixture of curiosity and potentially excitement. "So someone from Team Galactic stole your PokeBall and you chased them to what used to be the warehouse over there, and you were followed by the two Pearls in some chain of protection thingy, yes?" Mira nodded. "And it was some sort of ammunition warehouse?"

"It must have been," Mira answered. "Adrian's Blaziken caused the first explosion off, and we tried to run away but Matthew and I fell into their pit with our Pokemon. Porygon was able to use Protect to save us for a short time, and then the roof collapsed and protected us from the rest."

"I can't believe this though: there is a warehouse owned by the biggest terrorist group operating in the world right now just down the road from us!" Lucinda exclaimed. "Once that ambulance arrives and you two are in the hospital we are going to record this!" Sahara rolled her eyes at her journalistic greed and excitement, but she was too worried now to comment on it. She was beginning to piece together Mira's story with Lucinda's tip off and the conversation she had overheard: what if Galactic was based here, what if they owned more warehouses and had some secret way of moving around the city? It would make the fact they had built explosives into the department store more likely, and Sahara knew she could not stay here any longer.

"I think we should move," Sahara said, moving away from Harrison and looking around for Spiritomb, the Ghost type appearing to have disappeared. "Is there anyway we can get them to the hospital ourselves?"

"Probably, but we are just trying to make sure they are not in any serious pain first," Lucinda replied. "We called the ambulance about twenty minutes ago, they should not be too far away."

"You are aware that this entire city is basically on fire? They are going to be held up!" Sahara snapped, her nervousness getting worse and worse as the seconds ticked by. Voices began to sound at the end of the alley and Sahara jumped and turned around, wondering if it was just workers or something worse.

"Why on earth are you so jum – AAAAH!" Everyone turned as Lucinda screamed halfway through her sentence, but Sahara saw it was simply Spiritomb phasing through a wall, her green features furrowed as if disturbed.

"I don't think the warehouse that got torched is the only one Team Galactic owns," the Forbidden Pokemon said, sounding disturbed. "And did anyone else see a blue light glowing about half a minute ago?"

"Blue light…," Sahara muttered, thinking it over, and then it hit her. "We need to leave, NOW!" She cried, and sprinted for the car and grappled for the door handle, but it was too late. The voices at the end of the alley were closer and angrier, and Sahara stifled an angry scream as the door failed to open, the familiar voices getting nearer and nearer.

"You should have moved faster, you should have been more efficient!"

"I only had a few hours to get things organized, be glad that we even managed to get one!"

"I will be glad when those Dex Holders are actually confirmed dead! We've lost the two we had, do we know where the others are?" Sahara looked up as two very familiar people entered the alleyway, and it was quickly clear that everything was lost. Cyrus and Charon froze in their conversation as they spied the scene before them, causing the Grunts following behind to stop as well. Sahara looked desperately back for a way to escape, but she realised that there was no way she could run off in time and manage to take Matthew's unconscious body with her.

"Right here," Charon answered with a broad smile, one that Cyrus quickly matched, and the Grunts began to step forwards with their variety of machine guns raised. Sahara simply shut her eyes and leaned dejectedly against the car, feeling only relief that her nightmare would soon be over…

(**This is an unofficial two parter in a sense - please don't hate me!)**


End file.
